Has anybody ever made money selling a buggy or kit car?

[allencoal1975]

maybe I've just been married to long. almost any woman looks good enough to me

[CoryN]

You have certainly been married too long.

[Thanatos]

Never, unless you count my days assembling Bradley GTs, MG replicas, SS100s and Gazelles (VW and front-engine) and assorted non-VW neoclassics "as seen on Dallas" for a van conversion shop that did kit cars as a sideline, and that paid the bills and kept food on the table, while leaving a little money for greens fees, beer and other nonessentials.

My very first kit car, the 1934 Fraser Nash replica, I paid around $2000 for the kit in 1978, $100 for the donor bug and have probably spent $8000 on repairs, upgrades and accessories in 32 years. It is worth about $5000 now and will probably never be sold until after I'm dead. I bought a Bradley GT that had its gelcoat damaged from work in 1980 for $2800, and sold it in 1992 for $500 after I had driven the p*ss out of it.

I built a Classic Motor Carriages VW Bugatti, a mid-engine V8 Kelmark GT and a Sterling later on, spent between $5,000 and $10,000 on the builds, and sold the Bugatti for $8000 in 1996, and the Sterling for $4500 in 2003. The Kelmark burned to the ground from an electrical fire and I only got $2000 in an insurance payout. I also spent $11,000 on an Alfa Romeo Spider-based Lotus 7 replica, finished in 1999, and sold it for $10,000 in 2008.

So no, I could not make money off of kit cars except when I built them for a living.

[eaterofdog]

[RCros]

Ok this buggy for example.

I have way too many projects to keep this thing. I have it listed high right now knowing I would come down. If I were to part it how would should I divide it up?

Body (ok condition no major issues just filling PO's holes)
Swing Pan (needs halves replaced, but has current title and plates)
Front end complete (needs rebuilding)
Swing trans (unknown condition)
sp motor (needs rebuilding)

What do you think the fair values of each item ?

[wythac]

In my layman's opinion I would say you have a few things going for you;

You are less than a days drive from a part of the state where people drive cars without roofs or a heater year round.

If the pan has a CA title I think that adds some value to it, but others on here who actually live in your state can probably speak better to that issue.

If it is only "PO holes" and no body damage, the body is worth at least a couple hundred bucks.

Trans and engine good for cores. If the SP heads are good, they are worth something if they are rebuildable.

Thanks for bringing the thread back from "the dark side"....we were traumatizing too many folks with talk about a different kind of tranny......

[tstracy39]

I'm sure anyone still making bodies from scratch must be making money, otherwise they wouldn't still be doing it. It's not like that kind of thing is particularly hard either, just requires lots of space, good organizational skills and at least one good helper. Of course, there's only a small handfull of guys still making VW based kits, so the lack of competition has a lot to do with it.
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Check my classifieds for kewl gauges:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/search.php?username=tstracy39

[GS guy]

SO what is it with the Speedster replicas then? These always seem to be priced in the $10K and up range and also seem to sell well. Basically a gussied up buggy with doors? I know they have the "Porsche" mistique, but otherwise what makes them so special (and worth so much more money)? Seems like money could be made there (building and selling them), unless the kit prices are way high. All standard VW stuff underneath, similar to a fiberglass buggy - and not a whole lot more creature comforts either. Yet they command much higher prices??
Jeff
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70's vintage Deserter GS buggy - undergoing transformation to Super GS!

[anmilsurp]

[wythac]

GS Guy, after I finished my buggy but before a lack of space and a surplus of common sense reasserted themselves on me, I was looking to pick up a speedster kit. I was hoping to find one that had something in common with many of the cars that provide the starting point for guys like us.....more or less all there but requiring assembly and perhaps some major mechanicals.

In my short time looking it appeared that even those few folks abandoning one of the speedster kits wants top dollar. Nice finished cars go for between 15-20K, I found a few partially constructed for between 6-8K. Given the restrictions placed by trying to build a reproduction car rather then our relatively simple FG tubs, I could see how additonal costs for purchase and parts could eat up your profit margin on these cool little kit cars too.

[jspbtown]

I rebuilt an old CMC Speedster a few years back. It was hit hard before it was even assembled. I had to buy a new front fender and do some serious body work. The overall cost to rebuilt it (other than the fender) was about the same as a buggy. It does come with some door hardware, although its simple. Things like a good fitting top and quality interior parts do add up. I think I sold mine for around $9750.00

Alot of the cars you see going for mid to high teens are either used Vintage, Beck or JPS cars. They are not home built, they are sold as fully completed cars for the low to mid $20's when new. Most have very few miles on them which is why they still sell for much more.

The number of left over, unbuilt CMC cars is dwindling, and therefore they still get a decent (as compared to a buggy) price. Plus, there wasn't nearly as many kniock-off Speedster kits as buggys. If you can find a decent priced CMC kit then you can rebuild it for similar costs of a decently done buggy.

[BL3Manx]

$19.8K for this Manx.

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/onlines...0&it=1

[surfnc]

Here is a link where you can see it better when you click on the pictures:

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/onlines...&pop=1

You can see some red over spray on the side in one of the pics. Dash painted red too instead of the original black.

I have seen much better builds here on the Samba.

[73SpeedBuggy]

[wythac]

$19.8K was the sold price. The auction was last weekend. By the time the premiums are paid to the auction co, the owner got a lot less. With all the work claimed to have been done on it, they may have just broke even if they discounted a lot of the labor as a love for the hobby.

There were a few buses in various forms in this year's auction that fetched close to 20K....those guys probably lost money. A few "survivor" Beetles too.

A lot of what you see on the block at Barrett Jackson is about advertising...you sell a car at Barrett Jackson, you can tell the next guy you build a car for that you sold a car at Barrett Jackson.

[Manx102]

Too bad that the Barrett-Jackson Manx was not something of a period correct restoration along the lines of GeoffP's 68 Lime Green Manx to see what one done to that level would have brought at auction. This one had none of that going for it.
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"The simplest of outdoor adventures - the most treasured memories." - Bruce Meyers
54 years of "outdoor adventures" and "treasured memories" with our Manx in my gallery.

[wythac]

I agree. That would be a better indicator of what a restoration would be worth, rather than a refitting.

I think that a documented history of ownership and use is definitely worth something....I'll bet that if you let a copy of your photo album go with yours you could see better than that kind of money easily.

[BL3Manx]

I agree, at an auction like Barret-Jackson, I think something as well done and correct as Geoff's would bring at least the same. Of course there's not many around like that.

[Manx102]

[GTBRADLEY]

You could adopt me I'll take good care of it.