It used to be, if you wanted a fast car and you were on a budget, you built a car yourself. Bought a good roller, did engine, transmission, rearend, paint, interior, wheels, tires and had something respectable.
Has that era ended? Other than the love of working on a hobby, how can people financially justify building a project car (for example a Fox Mustang or Iroc Camaro) vs buying a 4-5 year old 5.0 or SS Camaro.
Low KBB private party on a 2011 5.0 is in the mid/high teens now. Finance that at 3%, you could have a finished, 400+ horsepower, 6 speed manual, EFI, good fuel economy, painted, finished interior, etc car that could be easily daily driven. You could finance that for like $250 a month. When I had my last Camaro, which I never finished, I was probably spending $400-$500 a month the entire time I owned that car. Saving up for paint, rebuilding motor, fixing what broke, etc.
This came up on another forum, basically I am going back and forth with someone who is saying for $XX,XXX I could build a much better car than that. I am starting to think, could you really? You could get your tune that perfect, with all brand new or nearly brand new parts, and an interior, and painted with 19 or 20" wheels/tires? Pass emissions if you live in a state/county that requires it? All the cool track apps new cars have? Reliable enough to drive it across the country? I added the parts up in my first project Camaro, let's put it this way, when I sold them on ebay, I used that for a down payment on current my house lol.
Thoughts? Right now, you can buy a Challenger Scat Pack for under $40k off the showroom floor. It has almost 500 hp, an 8 speed transmission, launch control, brand new everything. Never thought we would see a day like this.
Has that era ended? Other than the love of working on a hobby, how can people financially justify building a project car (for example a Fox Mustang or Iroc Camaro) vs buying a 4-5 year old 5.0 or SS Camaro.
Low KBB private party on a 2011 5.0 is in the mid/high teens now. Finance that at 3%, you could have a finished, 400+ horsepower, 6 speed manual, EFI, good fuel economy, painted, finished interior, etc car that could be easily daily driven. You could finance that for like $250 a month. When I had my last Camaro, which I never finished, I was probably spending $400-$500 a month the entire time I owned that car. Saving up for paint, rebuilding motor, fixing what broke, etc.
This came up on another forum, basically I am going back and forth with someone who is saying for $XX,XXX I could build a much better car than that. I am starting to think, could you really? You could get your tune that perfect, with all brand new or nearly brand new parts, and an interior, and painted with 19 or 20" wheels/tires? Pass emissions if you live in a state/county that requires it? All the cool track apps new cars have? Reliable enough to drive it across the country? I added the parts up in my first project Camaro, let's put it this way, when I sold them on ebay, I used that for a down payment on current my house lol.
Thoughts? Right now, you can buy a Challenger Scat Pack for under $40k off the showroom floor. It has almost 500 hp, an 8 speed transmission, launch control, brand new everything. Never thought we would see a day like this.
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