Technical Does it worth it? New floors needed

[genefiat2502]

Good Morning,

I bought a Fiat 124 spider 1978 for $1K at an auction and spent $800 to transport it to my location. I spent already about $2K to get it up and running (it was not frozen), a new distribution and brand new complete brakes system and new tires were installed. It's really cool but....it needs complete floor replacement, body work and repaint (total estimated $5,500 - 1 month work - these are reliable professionals). It needs new carpeting, dashboard, seats cover, minor electric work. Big question...does it worth it? I thought to sell it but other similar cars are mostly in need of something unless I spend $10K and up...Please advise. Thanks a lot! Gene

 

[Slotman]

Hi!, if it's worth it or not is a tough question to answer for someone else...I can tell you cars have been my life long passion and I've owned well over 100, the cars I didn't lose money on I can count on one hand , and I do most all my own work, odds are you will end up upside down and have more invested than you can sell your car for when done...I believe this to be true on any make of car that needs mechanical work, body, paint, interior ect, it's how it goes..if someone is writing checks for the majority of the work rather than doing it themselves it's especially true, doing all you can yourself offsets the cost somewhat but again odds are you won't make a profit if that's your goal, ask yourself what does the car mean to you? Is it something you imagine having fun in on nice days? Is it something you would like to pass on to someone later in life after your hard work bringing it back, if so perhaps it's worth it to you to lose a little money on, and gain experience from doing the work, and bringing something back from the near dead? If your goal is to profit from the restoration you might be disappointed...hope this helps and I'm talking in general terms from my experiences, not specifically about your car...

 

[genefiat2502]

Good point. I would not be able to do welding and body work. So I have to rely on those who can do this kind of works, I can do some minor works. I am not trying to make a dime on this car and I like it very much. I want a car like this. My point is: is it better to sell this one as is and buy a similar one in better conditions at a reasonable price or getting this one fixed? I also like the idea of bringing back a car to life .
Thank you.

 

[rdv]

Hi Gene,
if you fall in love with this car, then it is THIS car! You will find various car on the market: barn finds, restored show winner cars or salvaged cars for a project. So it's on you!
Good luck with your decision and your coming project! ;-)

Cheers Ralf

PS: Can we get the VIN of this or any following car you will get for the worldwide Spider Register?! Thank you!

 

[PuntoHowTo]

It is almost never worth restoring a car, you’ll almost always spend more than the car is worth. The main question is do you want to restore it.

Can you reduce the costs by doing some of the work yourself, and imagine the sense of achievement when it is restored and you’re the one who made it happen.

 

[348azeus]

Having restored several cars through the years I can back up PuntoHowToo, it doesn’t make economic sense. Don’t get attached to a car unless you’ve got deep pockets.
Bodywork is difficult and expensive to do right. The price you’ve been quoted seems way too low I would expect to pay that just for paint and inevitably once they start they will find other things.
Mechanical things on the other hand are relatively cheap and easy to swap out. Sell this one and get yourself one that has good bodywork but has is tired mechanically.

 

[Twink80]

Good Morning,

I bought a Fiat 124 spider 1978 for $1K at an auction and spent $800 to transport it to my location. I spent already about $2K to get it up and running (it was not frozen), a new distribution and brand new complete brakes system and new tires were installed. It's really cool but....it needs complete floor replacement, body work and repaint (total estimated $5,500 - 1 month work - these are reliable professionals). It needs new carpeting, dashboard, seats cover, minor electric work. Big question...does it worth it? I thought to sell it but other similar cars are mostly in need of something unless I spend $10K and up...Please advise. Thanks a lot! Gene

If you don’t have all the skills to restore the car you can learn them. If you don’t have the time or inclination for this my advice would be to buy the best condition most complete car you can afford. Plenty of people have pointed out you don’t often get your money back when restoring cars so buy one that is done! In the UK on ebay there are a couple of Spiders needing a minor work for £8-10k if that helps on prices. Some nice fully restored, jump in and drive around £12k upwards. These prices might help you decide what to spend where