Hey Guys.I am sure quite a few people have thought about this one,here goes.You see a classic car for sale,ad says 30k invested must sell 20k.What`s the deal?? Wheres the 10k loss??The issue here is ,what mods/restorations increase appraisal/market value?? Here are a few.Body/Paint??,Original engine re-build vrs modified engine from another model??,Overdrive trans??,interior??These are some issues I am pondering before I go further spending big $$ on my GS.I am sure many guys have this same dilemma when they have a very nice driver and are not sure if they should take it further $$ wise and end up at a loss.Any stories?? Advice?? Thanks in advance,Tony.
You could easily spend $75,000 trying to restore a GS to concourse condition, but that doesn't guarantee the value will be there. You can pretty much take a $30-50,000 hit as soon as you sell it. You spend $50k on the resto of a 72 H/O, but the market value is $30k. You're never going to recoup the money you invested in the car. People say how much they've put into the car because it's a good selling point on paper. You can see that by spending XXX amount of dollars, this guy did a quality job or not...of course that doesn't actually mean diddly squat. I could spend $15xxx on a resto and if I did it right, It would be just as nice a car as the guy who spent $30k.
For some reason the Buicks still haven't hit the break even point as far as restoration/resale value goes. I know for a fact that if you wanted to do a complete resto, to concours (or slightly modded, but still 100% redone) it would cost right between 50-60k, depending on the details. About the only car right now that will sell for what you have into it would be a white GSX (probably a 4sp staged car) or possibly a yellow GSX (although they are not as rare, and generally don't bring as much). If you wanted to turn your GS into a show winning restoration, you would have to do it for the love of that particular car, and the desire to win shows with it. You would be lucky to get 1/2 of what you had into back out when you were done. There are exceptions to the rule, but more often than not this would be the case. You could probably expect less than 1/2 out of a 350 GS ( you might be able to sell it for high teens if you tried) and maybe a little more than 1/2 of your costs for a Staged car (high 20s, low 30s depending on who did the resto). Of course, out of the ordinary options or interesting documentation can help with the value also. A 3 speed car with all documentation would be worth more than an automatic in most cases. I would say this: the most valueable your car will ever be is in 100% restored to stock condition. A concours car will bring more $$ than the exact same car that has been turned into someone's hotrod (OD tranny, Big motor, fancy wheels). Usually if someone wants a HotRod (read that: a car that has been personalized with motor, wheels, etc) they will find a GS fixer-uper and build their own. Just remember that it is your car and you may do whatever you want with it. If value is important to you, then keep in mind that every personal touch you put on the car will make the car more desireable to you and probably less desireable to someone else. Again exceptions to this rule too. I hope I didn't sound too repetative, and I'm not an expert at this by any means. These are just my thoughts on the subject, and what I feel you would find if you watched the market for very long. :TU:
Well, if you take an old $500 beater of a car, and put $400 of new tires on it, that doesn't make it a $900 car... Same goes for restoring old cars. The specific dollars you spend on a car are not directly related to what the car is worth on the market after the investment. Example, I bought my 68 GS350 for $6500 a couple years ago. I then talked to the owner that did most of the resto work, or paid others to do work, about 7-8 yrs ago. He told me he spent at least $13,000 on the resto work. And I bought it for 1/2 of that. Well, it sat and sat and sat around for sale a couple owners later. There was no market for a 68 GS350 Hardtop. And thus, the $6500 I paid for it. The moral of the story...don't do a restoration of a car because you intend to then sell it and make money on it. It won't happen, 99% of the time, at least on the Buicks. Restore a car because you love the car and want to enjoy it for a long time.
Ditto what's said above, if you think for a second that your going to have to sell this car then stay away from restoration. You'll dig yourself into a financial pit that it may sour you from ever buying another classic car. Buy an already completed car for $.50 on the dollar as above then add a couple personal touches to it. The only reason I'm restoring is because I've selected a car that I've always wanted to own (year, model, color etc...), this will be my car (personality wise) and I plan to own it forever (and with what I'm spending on it I wouldn't dare sell it).
If I was 25 I would have done what Len said. Would have found a 68 GS400, 'vert maybe, and taken the time to do as much of the resto work as possible myself, over a number of years. If I had done that now, in my 40's, I might not get to enjoy it til I was an old man! And like Len said, you can usually buy for 50-75 cents on the dollar if you do some shopping for a restored car. You'll pay a lot more initially, but won't need to put nearly as much into it in order to be able to drive and enjoy it now.
i've simply come to the realization that i will NEVER sell my skylark because i'd lose too much. it get's tempting every once in a while, though, when you see a car for sale for a few grand that has as much as the car you've been a couple thousand more into. good point. also of note as far as bringing up a car's profit margin is labor, and not the cost in parts. if i spend $20 on a head gasket becuase the old one it blown, does that mean i should sell the car for $520? no, i might ask a grand becuase now it runs well and any shop would charge at least a few hundred for the job.
They biggest key for a Buick is ORIGINAL and CORRECT. The people that have and will spend big $ will only pay for correct cars. The BCA is the pickiest in judging, and correctness of any GM club. Thx a lot JA
Guys,good points.I thought it was a thread that should have been brought up.The bottom line it seems is to keep the car all original for ones best $$.I am not in the business of buying/fixing/selling cars.I plan on keeping my GS around for a long time and am aware that any mods I will do could effect value down the road.A bit of a game isn`t it!! I will probably enjoy the car more once it`s modded the way I want it to be.Anyway,everyone must make their own choices it seems.Later,Tony.
