At the moment it looks to me that buying is cheaper than building.

I could get a lovely (well they sound lovely in the advert) Westfield for 3/4's the amount I am spending on my Zetec Dax.

Talking to some of the manufacturers there is no doubt that the sales of the upmarket kits has been hit, for whatever reason. One manufacturer, when I was looking around, felt that the cost and hassle of IVA is really starting to hit home.


My thinking is that over time the supply of decent quality new fast roadsters is going to diminish to the extent where the price of good quality kit cars is going to rise.

Is this just laughable self justification of my yellow and black money pit in the garage?



[Edited on 2/4/12 by emwmarine]

You will very very rarely get your money back on a Kit Car if you are the builder.
Sad but true. Its got nothing to do with the current economic climate. This was true 6 years ago when I built mine.

However the feeling of driving something YOU actually built cannot be described. Its an immensely satifying feeling.

Driving an car that you did not build is the same as driving a Ford Ka. Its just not the same, and is an everyday same day, same car boring experience.
Furthermore, its those odd occasions when say a Porshe Driver, comes over in a filling station and says "Nice car... Did you build it your self?"
(this actually happened to me). Now we all know that Porsche cars are ver nice, but I recon he was just a tiny bit jealous

So the answer is no.. its not profitable.
However, the experience, of building your own, getting it on the road, and then driving it, and spending hours talking about how and what you did during your build, is priceless. You cant put money on that. It will stay with you for the rest of your life. Its almost an education.

So carry on with the build. Do it right, do it well, and be very proud of your achievement. You wont get that experience and feeling if you just go out and buy one.



EDIT:
Finally the depreciation of a well and nicely built kit is less than a std car. They do retain their value somewhat, as long as you look after it.

[Edited on 2/4/2012 by wilkingj]

As above, buying has always been cheaper than building, but balanced against the self-reward.

I've always felt the best compromise is to take on a part built where you gain on the value of parts already purchased and get to put your own stamp on it - it's what I'd look to do if building again.

I agree with all the above.

Mine is almost there now, just the last bits and THE TEST! then hopefully I can experience what the guys are talking about

I have driven mine several times just up and down our driveway which is only about 100yds, but each time I get a stupid grin on my face which takes a while to fade

The self-worth and acheivement has to be felt to be believed, and I haven't even turned a wheel on the public roads yet.....

Build, build, build!
JB

[Edited on 2/4/12 by Daddylonglegs]

as above,
there is nothing in this world which compares to the feeling of driving your home built car, its very emotionall,
you will never forget any part of it, the good times and the bads, we all have them, carry on building, get her finished and have the best feelings you will ever experience.
enjoy.

I bought my car because I realised I couldn't afford the time to build one, and a car of the spec I was considering building came up for sale. Having said that, it's probably spent more time on axle stands than on the road, but I avoided the very serious risk (for me) of not finishing it before I got to play.

I'm not sure i agree, i have built cars in the past and yes rewarding but if you just want to get out there and drive then ready built has to be the way to go.

However the feeling of driving something YOU actually built cannot be described. Its an immensely satifying feeling.

Driving an car that you did not build is the same as driving a Ford Ka. Its just not the same, and is an everyday same day, same car boring experience.



I could never even attempt to build my own car, so you may indeed be correct with your first point. Sadly, perhaps to my financial as well as missed-experience cost I'll never know.

I can categorically assure you (from experience), that driving my car is not the same as driving a Ford Ka. It's about as different as flying a combat sortie in a Lightning vs swanning over UK at 35,000ft in a VC10. Ball-park doesn't even come into it!

Bob.

quote:

---

My thinking is that over time the supply of decent quality new fast roadsters is going to diminish to the extent where the price of good quality kit cars is going to rise.

---

mine is worth more than double what it cost to build but then again i did a scratch build. i spent less on my whole car than what some people spend on a kit alone

Price of iva is putting me of. Ive been to a test and the test itself doesnt bother me. Its just the cost.

Test ~£500
Re test ~£100
Two lots of transporting.
Register it £???
Insurance £200
Road Tax 6 months £140 ish

I built the car bit by bit over the years but finding the above in one go isnt an option.

after a 10 year break from my first build, I did the maths and really did'nt want to shell out for a kit to the spec I wanted and go through the headache of IVA, registration etc.
I picked up a fully registered, and MOT car for decent money, sold off the bits I did'nt want to reduce the outlay. I'm getting the satisfaction of the build from scratch bit minus the admin headaches. In fact the build is more challenging than if I'd bought the kit as I'm chopping the chassis about a bit as part of its rebirth.

If the Porsche driver at the garage asks me, I'll be telling him yeah, "I built it myself", but someone else registered it though


PS.......
Wanna buy a fully MOT'd Striker




[Edited on 2/4/12 by clanger]

If I had my time again I would buy a fully built car thats a tad tired. Strip it back to the chassis - get the chassis properly powder coated and rebuild to my standards. I feel this is the cheapest option of a 'self built' car.