I am looking for opinions about the wisdom of what I have done. I have already done it so it's really just a sanity check and a curiosity about what others opinions are about what I have done. Feel free to call me a dumb ass as I have really thick skin. Other people waist money on drugs or gambling and I have neither of those issue so I felt it was ok to waste money on an old car.
My old car was warn out and I did not like it at all anyway (mini van). It was time for a new car and what I wanted was a Suburban or one of the Suburban like vehicles. Large 4x4 family truckster. I make enough money that I could have bought a brand new $55,000 vehicle which was what it was going to cost but I just could not convince myself to spend that much dang money on a vehicle. So I made an excel spreadsheet that convinced me it was a good idea to fix and old Suburban. So I looked on craigslist. I found a 1997 4x4 suburban with 141,000 miles that ran and had a straight body, good paint with an ok interior and bought it for $2300. My initial budget was 10k to purchase and do the mechanical repairs and after that spend another 5 or 6k on some things like new interior, stereo or other nice things to add to it. I work and don't have the time (or the skill for much of the work) and wanted it completed quickly so I negotiated with a local mechanic shop to do all the work before I bought it.
Making a long story short I have now finished the mechanical side of it (I better have). New transmission, new transfer case, lots of engine work, new AC (expensive), all new suspension (yes everything. Upper and lower ball joints on both sides, inner and outer tie rod ends both sides, shocks), both axle shaft seals, oil cooler lines, tires, brakes, and many other small things that do add up. Well I did blow thru my initial budget of 10k by 4k. Yep, I have 14k in a vehicle that bluebooks for 3k but it runs like a champ and much of it is under warranty. I also spent the money locally as a good bit of it was labor. The transmission AND the transfer case is what killed me. Couldn't one of the two have lasted a year or so?
Ok so you are calling me a dumb ass and I hear you. I am not sure I would do it again but in my defense it is still way cheaper than a new car. If I bought a vehicle for even just $50,000 and drove it for 4 years and sold even if it was in wonderful condition I would be lucky to get $25,000. So I figure if I can finish it for under $20,000 and it runs great for 7 or 8 years I have made money on the deal. And I probably have the only restored 1997 Suburban on planet earth. Also remember that my tag title and tax was like $90 the new car would have been about $1500 ish and my new tags every year are $21.
So tell me what you think and why you agree or disagree with what I have done.
My old car was warn out and I did not like it at all anyway (mini van). It was time for a new car and what I wanted was a Suburban or one of the Suburban like vehicles. Large 4x4 family truckster. I make enough money that I could have bought a brand new $55,000 vehicle which was what it was going to cost but I just could not convince myself to spend that much dang money on a vehicle. So I made an excel spreadsheet that convinced me it was a good idea to fix and old Suburban. So I looked on craigslist. I found a 1997 4x4 suburban with 141,000 miles that ran and had a straight body, good paint with an ok interior and bought it for $2300. My initial budget was 10k to purchase and do the mechanical repairs and after that spend another 5 or 6k on some things like new interior, stereo or other nice things to add to it. I work and don't have the time (or the skill for much of the work) and wanted it completed quickly so I negotiated with a local mechanic shop to do all the work before I bought it.
Making a long story short I have now finished the mechanical side of it (I better have). New transmission, new transfer case, lots of engine work, new AC (expensive), all new suspension (yes everything. Upper and lower ball joints on both sides, inner and outer tie rod ends both sides, shocks), both axle shaft seals, oil cooler lines, tires, brakes, and many other small things that do add up. Well I did blow thru my initial budget of 10k by 4k. Yep, I have 14k in a vehicle that bluebooks for 3k but it runs like a champ and much of it is under warranty. I also spent the money locally as a good bit of it was labor. The transmission AND the transfer case is what killed me. Couldn't one of the two have lasted a year or so?
Ok so you are calling me a dumb ass and I hear you. I am not sure I would do it again but in my defense it is still way cheaper than a new car. If I bought a vehicle for even just $50,000 and drove it for 4 years and sold even if it was in wonderful condition I would be lucky to get $25,000. So I figure if I can finish it for under $20,000 and it runs great for 7 or 8 years I have made money on the deal. And I probably have the only restored 1997 Suburban on planet earth. Also remember that my tag title and tax was like $90 the new car would have been about $1500 ish and my new tags every year are $21.
So tell me what you think and why you agree or disagree with what I have done.
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