If you are Jay Leno, you can buy a used Briggs & Stratton lawn mower, sign your name on it with a magic marker, and sell it for a profit. Likewise, Jay can buy a rusted Vega, run it ragged at the strip and still sell it for multiples what he paid. However, you and I ain’t Jay.

I’ve long ago lost count of friends and fine members on our Forum who spend their hard-earned money on a Chevy Cruck, customization, fancy parts, etc. and then get slammed when they have to sell it. The loss can be many thousands of dollars and, unbelievably, might even cause friction with the spouse.

With help from the members, I wish to start a list of some words of wisdom that a new rodder should consider before getting stung. Most every ole pro on this Forum learned some lessons the hard way and could add value to such a list. I wish someone had done this for me when I was 16. I can’t be the only one.

Do what you want to your cruck and have fun, and while there are always exceptions, a rodder is well served to remember:

1. If you drive it, it’s NOT an investment. Don’t kid yourself. As a Financial Consultant, I’ve been preaching this for decades. Sure you’ll hear stories of great profits and a few are true, but expecting to make money on a depreciating asset is a bad bet at best. Vegas gives better odds.
2. New parts aren’t new except to the original purchaser. No one else is going to see the same value in those new wheels as you – even if they aren’t mounted yet!
3. Don’t expect anyone to value your custom work as you do. You customized it to your taste, not theirs.
4. The more radical the mod, the less valuable to others. I’ve yet to meet one person who got their money from a turbo or a $10,000 glow-in-the-dark paint job.
5. No one wants a car that has been raced or abused. I’m not saying don’t run it the way you want, just know what it does to the resale.
6. A non-running vehicle with several hundred dollars worth of parts is still just a non-running vehicle with some extra parts. Don’t expect a potential buyer to see the value in it you do.
7. Your labor should be enjoyable. It might as well be because you aren’t going to get paid for it.

I hope some you pro’s add to this.

Take care.

You have written a simple truth.

I have seen friends spend thousands of dollars on what they see as a big upgrade. Once it comes time to sell, that investment vanishes.

The best value is to buy a car that some other fool spent a ton on money on customizing.

Go to any hot rod show and look at the vehicles for sale. Few if any are worth the money and time invested.

My Elky is upgraded to exactly what I want. I has a boring white paint job that is better than the factory paint job. Stock wheels and the original 305 with 255,000 miles. I drive it every day and I know it is worth more than it sold for new.

I would never consider it a hotrod but it is a vehicle I can drive every day and enjoy. I expect when gasoline is 20 dollars a gallon I will convert to hydrogen power and keep on driving. I plan to keep my Elky until the day I quit driving.

Great subject for a thread!
I think you hit the nail on the head, and we should not loose site that this is a hobby. As in any hobby you spend money to enjoy doing something you like. If your a dear hunter it's a hobby, you spend lots of money on guns, ammo and gear and you bring home maybe a few good meals worth of meat, sometimes. But you do it because you enjoy it. All hobbies are like this, but at lest in this one you can usually recoup some of the money you invest and move on.
The hole Rat Rod thing fascinates me because I have always built cars this way. I start off with a project most times a driver and as I fix it up I'm always looking for ways to save money. I don't cut corners just save money, sometimes used parts are a better value and I recondition them. Sometime you'd be surprised to fine parts cheaper at the dealer then a restoration parts store. Sometime a afternarket part is a better value. Then sometime I trade parts with friends to get a certain part. I often trade off repair work for parts. This is all part of the hobby.
Once the car/truck is mechanically sound I start working out the body. Many times I have driven a project around for years in primer. Sometime I never finish them, sell them to some guy that wants it and then move on.
For me complete tear downs are always bad news, like my 69 El Camino it will usually take me a very long time to get it back together if I ever do. This should be a lesson to anyone wanting to do a frame off. You have to have lots of room, and not lose site of your goals. It's very easy to just get off on another project and that one never gets done. For me I got into the 69 knowing this and I don't really care if I ever get it done because when I do get time to work on it I have fun doing so. And that's what it's all about.
Non of us are Chip Foose or Jay Leno so non of us will make a killing on out project. I even know one of the best custom car guys in this area and when they do a project for themselves they try to at lest break even on parts but very seldom come out on their labor. And their work is top of the line. Believe me the TV shows are fantasy unless you have sometime very special and can get to Beret Jackson or your just ripping people off on Ebay there is no money to be made here.... it's just a hobby.
Mike

Naturally I agree with youse guys and thank you. I want to be clear though that I'm not knocking customizing or spending money on a ride. I am most guilty of that myself, and will continue to be - cars and motorcycles.

Essentially, the point is not to mislead ourselves. There is no dependable ROI (Return on Investment) in old cars. I hate to see a guy get his lungs ripped out by getting a fourth of what he thought he would sell it for.

It's not just young rookies either. I watched a man lie to his wife for years as he continually dumped bucks into a 70's era Vette. When he died, she believed she had a valuable collectors item. She really needed money and I'll always remember her tears when she discovered the truth.

There are many similar stories to be told.

Take care.

Very wise statements "HOBBY" MEANS TO LOVE WHAT YOU MADE FROM WHAT YOU BOUGHT.
The only differense is for they guys that got there toy, baby, misstress etc. long enough ago and restored it before the hobby went nuts and have a car with the right pedagree as one might say. For me I have had mine sense 89 and was done with it the first time in 2 years. So through the years its been maintenance an or what makes you feel good as additional money. Even with all that the only thing that gets you a propfit or close to brake even is the years of ownership and what it cost you. As the saying GOES YOU MAKE MONEY WHEN YOU BUY THE CAR NOT WHEN YOU SELL IT. One other thing remember that an EL Camino is a red head step child of the Chevelle.

I have had my El Camino for nearly 20 years now. It's been my daily driver during all of that time. I bought it because of the utility of the beast. So now I have the best of both worlds, my daily driver and a hobby.

I give it what it needs and it serves me well. Some day it will probably get some significant improvements, but for now it looks good and drives very well. Any future improvements will be guided by a lot of what I have learned on this wonderful site.

Doug

Really a vehicles value is only driven by what people are willing to pay for it. Of course people can be influenced by trends, magazines, Ebay and about anything.
Do you really think a a 69 Hemi Cuda all original is worth what they sell for now? I drove these cars when they were farley new vehicle and they have a lot of tire spinning torque but they road bad, steered like a truck and handled like a grocery cart. They were dangerous vehicles that is why few made it out of warranty period. Remember if you can that insurance rates killed muscle cars back then.
But people don't buy these to drive they buy these as an investment and like the housing market has proved buying them while the markets is up is a bad idea. The bottom can fall out on these cars. This is why I always look at these things as having a true value and an inflated value and it's simply not wise to buy vehicle with an inflated value.
The point is if you hold on to any unique vehicle long enough it will go up in value. The El Camino stays usually in a true value range. Some people try to inflate it but as a rule they stay close. In reality a Chevelle and an El Camino should be close to the same but Chevelle aways run inflated.
Now we all could easily hit pay dirt, all it takes is the right influence. A movie, or magazine articles or some serious buyer pays a lot for one at Berret Jackson and all of a sudden the El Camino value gets inflated.
You simple don't know when the trend could change.
Mike

Very well stated everyone. My 68 is my personal money draining hobby, and my son is getting my 71 as his first vehicle (Big, Heavy, Safe). He wants to go very exotic on his resto but I kep telling him that he wil not recoup 2000.00 for fancy rims, or chameleon paint. I also advised him that although some Elkys pull a premium when sold there is always more
time and effort put into them that you do not see. Keep the resto fun, a learning experience, and a time you can spend doing something you can be proud of. And that is what grinds my gears.

well put everyone i have my 85 money pit and love it
put what ever amount of time and money into your pit just don't think you'll ever get it back a car tends to be the worst investment one can make unless you find that one rare vehicle buried in somebody's barn and they have no idea what it's worth lol .
my self my elky will be my flower car when i die i wish i could take it with me 8)

Boats are a whole in the middle of the water that you pour money into.
Airplanes are black holes in the universe that drain all your resources.

Cars can fit into either above.

Quintondusty You are right with the following added

The amout of money poured in the hole is allows directly proportionate to the size of the boat.

Oh, ya my car is a retirement plan ? I pay myself .50 cents and hour when I work on it, so far that fund is bigger than my 401K. The only problem is the administrator is my wife so the fund is always broke! But this way she encourages me to work on it which requires some new parts and this keeps things even "I think"

I expect to make a profit off my GN, if I ever decide to sell it that is. Prices for those cars have already gone up by about 40% from the time I bought it. Now having said that, I never did buy it with the intention of making any profit, that's just not why I'm into the car scene at all.

I bought it because it was in very good condition at a very good price, and blah blah blah........ :( ok, ok, I bought it cuz I've wanted a GN since my cousin and I saw one ripping up the streets of Lebanon, Oregon back in 1987 or so... :P It was a brief 10 second liason and I was only 15, but it's burned into my brain forever.

I'm gonna get so boned on the Elky though if I ever have to sell that heap... (using the term heap adoringly in this case) :P