280z investment question

[msc247]

I have a 1978 280, I purchased it for $3200 from cali, and it has 110000mi. on it and it had a rebuilt engine within 500 miles before I purchased it. So far I painted it put new seats and complete stereo. My question is how much is too much to invest in these cars? I want to know where is the breaking point of putting too much money and not getting anything in return?

Thanks guys

[MikeW]

I hate to break it to you but generally you put money into cars and get enjoyment in return. If you're treating the car as an investment to somehow earn money when you sell it I'd suggest a savings account or CD instead. Many people spends lots of money restoring cars and then selling them for a fraction of the restoration cost. A $10000 paint job won't add that much to the sales price. Unless your crystal ball indicates that there's going to be a huge increase in value for a 280Z I'd be cautious.

[Arne]

On average, I generally seem to lose about $1000 per year of ownership on my project cars. This has been consistent on several cars over the past 15 years or more. I figure it's a cheap hobby at that price.

FWIW.

[slobound76]

If you're a true Z owner then your Z is your baby and any money you invest in it is for your enjoyment, I have done loads to my 77 280Z, its not gaining me anything for resale value but I dont plan to sell it, its my baby and its one of many in the town i live in

[=Enigma=]

Unless it's a series 1 240Z (70-71), you're not very likely to make any money on it unless you buy it extremely cheap, invest a few dollars to get it running, and turn around and sell it. The same might also be true of the series 1 depending on what it takes to get it going and the condition it's in when you start. Even then it's a crap shoot unless you know your Z's very well and find a rippin' deal. I suggest you either get out of it now, or keep it any enjoy it.

[red_dog007]

Like what kind of things need to be done? What kind of things do you want to do?

The price can go from very little, not easily $10,000+.

For me, in my 240z I have already put $250 into the motor. Now I am saving up $2,000 for new struts, springs, brakes, tires, ignition, and a few other small things.

Then $2,000 for a brand new interior, how ever much a paint job is going to cost, $1,000+ for a sound system and a bunch of other little small things for the interior/exterior like louvers, air dams, spoiler, exhaust, ect. ect.

Then after I get my car looking like it just came off the lot, I got more money to go into a

stroker motor, rear disc mod, 5-speed, R200 diff mod, rims maybe, triple carbs and a few other mods.

So for me, a LOT of money is going into this car. I probably won't get it done till I am near my 30's. But just to get it back to stock it is going to be pretty close to $5k - paint.

[DeesZ]

I agree with what's been said so far..... Your investment dividend will be in "enjoyment", not cash. If enjoying it isn't your cup of tea, and cash value is, I'd suggest selling it and investing the money in a fashion that will match your level of investment risk. Somehow when you get into enjoying these cars they take on a character that encourages you to spend money on them that you know you will never see again.... (kinda like that woman of your dreams, isn't it? But you know what, with a collective 15+ years of Z ownership, I've never had an argument or been to divorce court with one of them..... unlike the human element I liken them to.... actually not a bad investment when you think about it in that light.)

[Ramses]

I agree with all of the posts here. I purchased my '73 over 5 years ago. I have over 10k into her and I am still not done. I just recently went through a divorce and tried to sell her and the largest offer I got was $5400.00. I have decided to keep her (because I love these cars) and finish what I have started. I still need a storage place, but I am working on that. I would make a suggestion...do not get into these cars unless you love them. You wont make any money on them unless you hold onto them for years and years and years.

Good luck

[hls30.com]

As with everytning else in life to make money with something you have to buy low and sell high, your situation sounds like a bought fair, enjoyed and hope to sell high.

The '72 Z shiney side down in my garage was bought for $200, I have put $700 worth of floors, seat brackets, and frame rails in it. I have $6,000 worth of parts and refinishing for it. Even buying the car cheep, and the parts cheep (with everything for the interior of my car except the wiring, carpet, and underpad being NOS), I would expect to get far more for the parts than I would for the car-although I would expect to come out monetarliy ahead selling the car too. Notice I made no mention of labor...I am doing most everything to the the car myself. If not for that even with the low dollars I have in the car and collected parts, I would be taking a loss if I sold it.

I didn't put the Money, time or effort into my car to sell it, I am building what I want to own, drive, and enjoy.

If you absolutely want to make money on a car, you have to treat it like a car lot, get it in cheep, clean it up cosmeticly, and sell it high and fast.

The apr of buying a car to hold as an investment does not work out well. There are several threads here discussing that.

Enjoyment isn't a part of a purely financial equation. You seem to want a financial vehicle, but remember a car can't be made for being the best at every driving situation. A track car on the street is enjoyable only for short trips, the same track car in a rally probably would see the finish only if it was towed there, and the same track car in top fuel simply would have been transportation (one of the short trips in the first example) to the event.

Buy a true financial investment(even with the accompanying disclaimers) to make money(a car can qualify-as outlined above), and buy a Z as an investment in enjoyment that could appreciate financially, and be pleasantly suprised when and if it does!

Will

[mriz]

The financial breaking point in purchasing most cars is the price you paid. The best thing you can do is enjoy the Z and not look at the parts receipts or add them to what you paid. To justify my Z to myself financially I just read Will's post and I'm driving a bargain.

[WingZr0]

If you want to make money on a car buy a MOPAR

~Z~

[msc247]

I appreciate the replies, I guess my post was a little misunderstood. After reading it I see how selfish I looked. I agree with everyones replies I thought about it more as I was driving to the store and saw all these small, new , little cars like the KIA's and Scion's. Those cars cost about 13-20 grand and don't have nearly the performance or fun factor as the old style Z cars.