I want to get an estimate of how much everyone has invested in there cars- now be honest! Has everyone invested more than they are worth? I would estimate an investment of at least $8k - estimated value $6k (optimistically!). Pictures welcome!

I'll start - I have $5,500 invested and would be luck to get $4k. I am going to quit counting.

Will have to post pics later - wrong computer

Is this a trick question?

Did my wife send you?

post some pics, are you selling?... is it nice?.. how are the tires?.. new shocks?..

I need just a little more coffee..

Do I have more in my car than it's worth? I don't know it's not for sale... yet...

You got to have creative math.
Sumpin like smiles per mile is equal to the lightness of your wallet times the speed of your car divided by the number of curvy roads near your house.
Uh well ya how do you think it got so fast? I throw obscene amounts of money at it. 3 sets of tires in 12 months.
was offered 7 k for it a few months back. I got well over 10 grand in it. Plus a parts car that has donated everything cept the tub itself.

As for myself I quit adding the receipts up years ago.(I still keep them just afraid to add them).I like having and driving a car not to many have,at least where I live.Not to mention how much fun it is to drive a street legal go cart.Speed limit 45 mph around the corners,just turn and go!

QUOTE (vesnyder @ Jan 17 2006, 06:36 PM)

I am going to quit counting.

yes, quit counting now!

with the newly purchased engine, i'm over the $30k mark now ...
i'd be very lucky to get $10k for my car ...

Andy

I spent at least $1000 just finding my teener, before I even put down the purchase price...a plane ticket and car rental to chicago to check one out (that I ended up not buying), installing a trailer hitch on my truck, renting a trailer, taking a day off work and driving 500 miles to look at another (which I did end up buying). Not to mention countless hours online looking at ebay motors, etc. I stopped keeping track after that.

73-2.0
$1300 ebay
shows 83,000
cracked windshield
bad motor
$400 towing home
$600 (so far, engine work)
I think another $1000 for the motor and $ 500 for the paint
I imagine the car will be worth $7000
when we're done, but it won't be for sale so
it's value ees "no importa"
This one's a keeper!
Oh, sway bars on both ends
I think we're ahead.

Look at it this way....Buy a new car, turn the key, how much have you lost...It is now a used car.
Never add it up....It dosn't matter...all hobbys cost money.

On the bluecar I quit counting at $14,000 in parts alone.

Whitey easily has more $$ in it than it's worth, probably by a factor of at least 2. I bet most folks (over 35) are in a similar mode.

I estimate that my car will be worth at best 1/4 of my investment on the open market. I think it was a mistake in retrospect. But I still think these cars are really cool.

Yep, I second that and that and....well that too.

I have easy 18k and it may be worth 6-7 NOW after the 6 conversion....8k so far in just the F^kin parts....that'll be another story....sweat equity aint worth sheet unfortunatly

but I love her and will never sell....pull a Jay Leno maybe (god and funds willing) but it's like that.

peace

Josh

I think I have over 15K of parts in my garage that no one else would be interested in

all money spent well before "bail fund"

$350 = chassis (solid chassis, salvage title)
$1400 = new fuel injection and ignition
$500 = 1.8 engine(s) one in car used and abused, other on workbench rebuilt with less than 5K miles

$1200 = 17" rims and tires
$1200 = brake system, new or professional rebuilt parts
$400 = new interior parts

plus I'm sure at least a few hundred bucks for things I forgot about.....

So lets say $5300 so far and I still need a paint job and other items here and there....value of car? Maybe $2000 before paint if I'm lucky????

That financial term does not apply to these cars or most cars for that matter. "Investment" applied to a car is an indicator of how bad an investor you are.

The value is in personal taste, nostolgia, entertainment, historical, etc.

I don't expect to see a cash return but the joy of designing and building it is priceless...

Of course if Jay Leno...

QUOTE (Mueller @ Jan 17 2006, 07:02 PM)

all money spent well before "bail fund" $1400 = new fuel injection and ignition.. $1200 = brake system, new or professional rebuilt parts $400 = new interior parts plus I'm sure at least a few hundred bucks for things I forgot about..... So lets say $5300 so far and I still need a paint job and other items here and there....value of car? Maybe $2000 before paint if I'm lucky????

[QUOTE]

Ok
maybe there's a few peices I forgot!

I bought my first 914 for 2k. Spent 4k rebuilding it and wasn't even done (still needed body work and paint). Sold that for 4k and spent another 9k for a 6 conversion that needs another 8k to finish it.

You do the freaking math!!!

914's suck.

Hell yes...

I have 2 answers I like:

1) Of course my car is worth more then I put into it. I would have to be a flat out fool to do otherwise!


2) I sell drugs to make money, not cars.

I gave up long ago, 1500 car, 2000 engine, almost a grand in the interior, +suspension, clutch job, converting to side-shift, blah,blah,blah... and 4k would be probably about as much as I'd get...

and I'm not even including the raping I took on the first 914 I bought... that was just a rough lesson learned well: research, then look(for rust especially)

I quit adding up totals years ago. Now I just measure the thickness of the folder that I keep receipts. 1-3/8 inches....
un-compressed. I figure it's worth 1/2 in.....tops.

Okay...I'll fess up...

I have $30K invested in The Beast as it looks today....17 months and counting...and that is AFTER selling my spare 3.6 and WEVO 915 for a fair price. You can only imagine what I had out on the car above that $30K....

So far I have been offered $6K for The Beast AFTER it is painted and reassembled...

I'm a fuchin idiot....worst decision of my life.... I'm a lucky man that my wife still let's me come in the house....

Here's a pic of the current state of affairs...

Bill P.

QUOTE (vesnyder @ Jan 17 2006, 07:36 PM)

I want to get an estimate of how much everyone has invested in there cars- now be honest! Has everyone invested more than they are worth? I would estimate an investment of at least $8k - estimated value $6k (optimistically!). Pictures welcome! I'll start - I have $5,500 invested and would be luck to get $4k. I am going to quit counting. Will have to post pics later - wrong computer

I bought a boat. Now my car seems cheap!

Are we talking only 914 costs or can I add in the sponsor money I paid for Danika to run the Indy circuit?

Hey...that's it....I'll try a new marquee....maybe buy a brand new Fleetwood 34 foot, double slideout RV for pulling the race cars and then selling it 18 - 24 months later!

I hear that RV's really appreciate, especially after two years!......

Bill P.

Absolutely! I quit counting the dollars too. In the end I will have spent a low of 2x to a high of 3x what the car will be worth when complete.

If I had it to do over again, I would say NO! I certainly won't do it again. I'll buy someone else's work for pennies on the dollar.

$50k.....

im in my car prolly 10-15k.....

I sold my yellow/red 4 cyl race car for 10% of what I had into it.
I bought Elvira for 25% of the original build cost.

It is not about the $$$'s.
It is the priceless enjoyment that makes it all worth while.

It isn't that I'm relunctant to set a price on what I've spent.
I would have to take an inventory of what is on the car presently, then go thru the folder and price the stuff. A WAG would be that half the stuff in the folder is no longer on the car but has been solt off for pennies on the dollar...moot money, eh?..I don't wanna know that bad.

$3500 car and parts
$1500 tools (keep for life)

Value of car in current condition (no paint/body work), starts and drives well $2k

With $1500 paint, worth $4K (paint sells!)

Still be slightly upside down, but just barely. Pretty cheap hobby for mesince I just wanted a driver and can kept my eye on the costs.

I tried not to spend any money on things I could not remove easily, which is why I'm hung up on paint.

Dan

I would only make my self sick if I knew how much money I have invested in my yellow beauty, but I cant put a price on the fun and togetherness my sons and I have had spending it on the car.

Bernie

2000 initial purchase
3500 clutch, brake caliper stuff, and getting the 2.0 to run.
1500 single carb conversion....
~700 rust repair

at this present moment, I couldnt pull 1k from my car.

b

I'm afraid to answer that question. If I added up all my receipts and looked at the number, I'd probably wake up in a hospital 2-3 days later. I have not added everything up for this reason. I were asked to take an educated guess...I'd say I've spent well over 40K on my LS6 v-8 powered 74 914. Here's a couple of pics.

Regards,

Bill

PS: I need to meet Rick Ollah personally. Hey Rick...I have talked to you some time ago on the phone and since you are in Duluth, MN...we are about 2 hours away from each other. I've lost your number, and would appreciate it if you could e-mail me so we can talk shop again.

I think that I have spent 3 or 4 times what my car is worth...but then it is not for sale and may never be.

Over the years, maybe $50K and that includes the purchase price, the rebuild, the 2nd rebuild, the third rubuild, the cost a T4 rebuild or two, several 901 rebuilds, and of the 3.2 engine, the 915 trans, the brakes, the etc etc.

But I have driven it a lot...on the street and on the track, average over 32 years is only $1500 per year. Not really bad, compared to all of the other vehicles I have had, that were worth half what I paid in a year or two.

Now, as I have gotten older and wiser, I only buy used cars. Still all in all for almost a lifetime of ownership, the 914 has been a bargain.

one pic

One more pic. And by the way...I'd lose big time if I sold this car...(I know...I'm an idiot?)

So our cars are worth more than they're worth?
This doesn;t make sence.
Parts are too expensive or buyers aren't paying enough!
Are you guys counting your own "hours" at like $50 per as though you were doing programming? Are you hiring a Porsche Tech to do this rebuild stuff?
wot the hey?

Edit

A car is worth what it's worth. Right?
How fucked up am I?

I did almost all my own work excluding the transaxle work. I left that task in the hands of a professional. If we were to add an hourly labor bill to all our various projects (even if we did all the work)...the value of our projects would be astronomical! Rick's Alien would be worth $60-100K. A great deal of other projects would be worth upwards of 100K...It get ridiculous if you think about all the blood, sweat and tears we put into our cars. And that includes the guys that are just trying to build a nice mostly stock daily driver on a budget of $5,000. From the $800 dollar car that barely runs to the extreme projects...I take my hat off to you all! Keep those 914's alive in what ever form.

Bill

Fuch
Which one?
Besides what about the driveway and the trailer?
Towe vehical?
Tools?
Fuchs?
Last year 2 items 35K.
:PERMAGRIN: Joe

QUOTE (wbergtho @ Jan 17 2006, 09:04 PM)

..It get ridiculous if you think about all the blood, sweat and tears we put into our cars. And that includes the guys that are just trying to build a nice mostly stock daily driver on a budget of $5,000. From the $800 dollar car that barely runs to the extreme projects...I take my hat off to you all! Keep those 914's alive in what ever form. Bill

Even Jay Leno is frugal with his car money...only walking into the Ferrari dealership he just gets to hear this : "We don't have anymore Jay".
It really does'nt matter what you do with your 914 money, think of it as a blank canvas which you can express your artistic talent onto
Marty

this is a funny thread....
your joking right?

I don't think I want to know the actual number.

and the labor... phew...
If I actually counted the labor that would be over 30K alone.... but my dad and I work slow, and I'm bad at math.... so I will (luckily) never know.

brant

QUOTE (wbergtho @ Jan 17 2006, 09:04 PM)

I did almost all my own work excluding the transaxle work. I left that task in the hands of a professional. If we were to add an hourly labor bill to all our various projects (even if we did all the work)...the value of our projects would be astronomical! Rick's Alien would be worth $60-100K. A great deal of other projects would be worth upwards of 100K...It get ridiculous if you think about all the blood, sweat and tears we put into our cars. And that includes the guys that are just trying to build a nice mostly stock daily driver on a budget of $5,000. From the $800 dollar car that barely runs to the extreme projects...I take my hat off to you all! Keep those 914's alive in what ever form. Bill

BILL!!!

PM sent!

paid $400 for a 75 914 1.8 that had been sitting in a portland garage for 20 years. this was back in december 04 (see signature).

a year later. i'm finally doing the body/paint in a few weeks, which will easly match the $5k or so that i've put into it so far. but i can't complain, i've managed to install some nice components:

- new windshield + trim
- new gas tank and fuel lines
- new fuel pump/filter
- all new german vacuum lines
- new afm
- new pushrod tube seals
- temperature sender
- pressure sender
- optima battery with cutoff switch
- backdated exhaust setup with new ssi exchangers
- bursch exhaust
- turbo tie rods (the only thing i didn't do myself)
- euro turn signal lenses front and rear
- euro driving light mod
- h4 euro headlights
- koni sports all around
- adjustable rear spring collars
- sourced new, uncut door panels
- dr evil visor mounted rearview mirror
- third brake light
- passenger side mirror
- backdated to chrome bumpers
- factory new fog light grilles
- pilot fog light kit with stainless mounting bracket
- fog light switch
- set of five mahle wheels (in the process of being sanded and polished)
- set of bridgestone potenza re950 tires
- new brake rotors all around
- rebuilt and polymer coated calipers + speedbleeders
- new soft brake lines
- welt 22mm front swaybar
- factory rear swaybar
- triple gauge temp + pressure + fuel from palo alto speedometer
- momo steering wheel + porsche crest horn button
- rennshift
- new shift bushings
- new headlight switch
- new ignition switch
- new double relay
- new rocker panels and valences
- cocomats!
- stripped and rebuilt pedal cluster, installed bronze bushings and new springs
- new 19mm master cylinder
- i'm sure there's more...

and coming soon:
- new bf torino le mans seats with custom orange plaid insert fabric
- bodywork and paint
- new horns

every time i get behind the wheel... priceless.

~a

I really don't think I have that much money in my car. Time is another issue..

QUOTE (Dead Air @ Jan 17 2006, 08:56 PM)

Are you guys counting your own "hours" at like $50 per as though you were doing programming?

no hours, $30k+ is just the original purchase price ($3500) plus parts and shop expenses.

if i had to add my own hours at $50 per hour, i could have bought a house instead ...
Andy

$1 for roller, $3800 parts and parts car so far, estimate of $5800 left to buy.
Sound about right?