Is this project doable?

[theo]

I asked this question as part of my introductory post (http://v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=131324) and have gotten some great feedback, but figured that this would be a more appropriate place to post.

Basically, what I'm trying to figure out is a) if this car is a reasonably doable project and b) what a fair price would be for it considering it's condition, completeness, and the fact that it is 1000 miles away from me and all I have for info about the car are some pictures and the word of the current and previous owners of the car.


Pictures:


http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1447.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1447.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1465.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1465.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1466.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1466.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1504.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1504.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1505.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1505.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1506.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1506.jpg)
(http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1466.jpg)
http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1507.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1507.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1508.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1508.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1509.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1509.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1510.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1510.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1511.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1511.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1512.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1512.jpg)
[/URL] (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1510.jpg)
http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1513.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1513.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1514.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1514.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1515.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1515.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1516.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1516.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1503.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1503.jpg)
(http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1514.jpg)[URL="http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1516.jpg"]

[flynbuick]

Buying one already restored will generaaly be cheaper in the long run.

[theo]

Rest of the pictures:

http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1518.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1518.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1519-1.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1519-1.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1520.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1520.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1521.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1521.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1522.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1522.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1523.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1523.jpg)

(http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1519-1.jpg)[/URL][URL="http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1523.jpg"] (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1522.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1524.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1524.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1525.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1525.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1526.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1526.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1464.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1464.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1473.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1473.jpg)http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1455.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1455.jpg)

http://www.theo.ws/buick/th_100_1456.jpg (http://www.theo.ws/buick/100_1456.jpg)

[Stage1 Jeff]

that would make a cool project :)

[red68skylarkcon]

I agree with flynbuick, but nothing feels better than knowing you restored it yourself.

[thefenderbender]

She looks alot better than my first project when I brought her home!

[Nailhead58]

I've got a '58 Special 2-door sedan I'd trade even up for it -- no questions asked!:grin:

[ss4825]

I will say this. When you do one yourself you know exactly what is under the paint.

But I agree with Jim it is cheaper to buy them already done.

[skylark]

You don't want to go through the trouble. Give it to me and I'll build it. I'll take one for the team.:Brow:

[theo]

So, the consensus seems to be that it's doable, but it'll take some money and time to make it decent.

Now, the question is, what would be a reasonable price to pay for this car in it's current condition (keeping in mind it'll cost me an extra $850 in shipping to get it to me)?

Thanks for all the responses so far!

[65specialconver]

stop thinking,go for it:TU:

[AMCer]

Q: "Is this project doable?"
A: Yes, ANYTHING is repairable if you have the time, energy and/OR money.

That car is in pretty good shape. It's a hell of a lot better shape than my Buick was when I got her.



Q: "...what [would] a fair price would be for it..."?
A: Depends...

If the drive train and brakes are workable and it is as it appears (you can hide alot of rust with camera angles), I'd be willing to pay about $2-3K for it.

If the drive train doesn't work, I'd give about $1K for it.

Since you are going to have to pay to have it transported, I'd take a few hundred dollars off of the offer (probably about 1/2 the transport costs).

Keep in mind that these prices are MY OPINION ONLY. They are what I'd be willing to pay and are not necessarily the going rate.


Depending on where you are located and where it's located, you can pay as little as $400 to transport it (IF THE BRAKES WORK AND IT RUNS) and up to as much a $2K to transport it. If I had to ballpark a figure, count on about $750-800 to transport it.

BEFORE YOU BUY IT, arrange the transport. You will screw yourself if you buy it and can't get it moved. To transport it, the wheels will have to be put back on so it will roll.

If the engine or brakes don't work, alot of transporters won't touch it. The ones that will will charge about $150+ in non-operational fees.

[AMCer]

SOMETHING else you should know/consider...

1) Payment: Having personally bought a vehicle from the internet, sight unseen, You may want to negotiate using either an escrow company or partial payments (1/3 down, 1/3 upon car delivery and (this is the important one) 1/3 upon signed title delivery.
I bought mine and it was far rustier than I was lead to believe AND it took a full year of constant nagging to get the title sent to me.


2) Transporting: Try to STAY AWAY FROM A BROKER! Brokers are transport middlemen who take your money and (quite often) screw you. Hire a transport company directly!
A broker will quote you a price, take your money and then post the job on the transporter's network and whoever is 'going that way' will pick up your car. They may use several different transporters to get it to you and the various transporters may drop your car off in storage lots until someone else who is 'going that way' will pick it up and continue on with it. Any one of then may leave your car in a storage lot racking up bills or decide that they are not going to deliver your car until you pay them a bit more. The broker washes his hands of it and leaves you to deal with (READ: pay more) the problem. If you sue the broker or transporter, they bankrupt the company on paper, rename it and continue business under a new company (name).

I'm not trying to scare you, just tell you what could happen. All of my transports have gone off well.

I have used "All In 1 Transport" (http://www.allin1transport.com/) for 3 of my 4 car moves and they have done me good. PLEASE NOTE: the car transport business is somewhat shady so I am NOT guaranteeing your satisfaction or that you won't get ripped off.

[Junkman]

Looks like a really nice restorable '57 I'd go for it if the price were somewhat reasonable,like up to 2,000 or so. But remember,whatever you figure it's going to cost to redo-double that amount! Good luck!