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Is it worth it?

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Old Jan 27, 2011 | 02:01 PM
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I have a 93 Trans Am, the car looks pretty good but definitely needs some paint. It's high KM with a used/rebuilt engine, and I have been fixing everything on it. I'm tryint to think if I should keep going until it's like new and then look at making more powerful, or just get it till it's running nice, and get rid of it.

I find with used cars there is always something that needs fixing, and while I do have 3 other cars, this one makes a good project car. I don't want to sell it an buy another one that I have to fix up, but i'm just thinking if it's worth it to keep fixing this one up.

I know you guys are some dedicated guys and have a lot of skills with working on these cars, but for me it gets tiring, and it is a pretty old car. I don't know if it's worth putting 10k into a 3k car..
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Old Jan 27, 2011 | 07:50 PM
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The real question is: do you intend to sell your Trans Am?

If you do not, then spend the money on it and have fun while you can, however, if you intend to sell, you should think of it as an obvious money sink that will never recoup what you put into it.

I will never sell my 95 m6 LS1 hardtop (formerly an A4 LT), so putting money into does not bother me; it is my hobby.

If i had intended to sell it, I would have done so long ago and could have bought a firehawk with what I have spent.
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Old Jan 28, 2011 | 08:55 AM
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Good response Beo. If you plan on selling in a year or two, very bad move. You are throwing your $$ away. If no plans to sell, enjoy it for years and years. Putting $10,000 into an old car that you keep for a long time is nothing. In 5 years time it is just $2,000 per year. Buy a new car and see what kind of depreciation you will see in 5 years. It will be much more than $2,000 per year.
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Old Jan 28, 2011 | 09:54 AM
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I guess that is true. One of my other cars i dump a lot of money into, however it's a bit more special and may be worth something one day.

I am not planning to sell, but you know if something comes up and you have to, you don't want to be sitting with a worthless car full of good parts.
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Old Jan 28, 2011 | 10:24 AM
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I plan to keep my car and possibly past in on to the son I don't even have yet upon graduation. That's why ihave qualms bout spending the coin. 20 years down the line it will be cool to look at the how the car
Has either changed or stayed the same.
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Old Jan 28, 2011 | 05:55 PM
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Originally Posted by sempire
I guess that is true. One of my other cars i dump a lot of money into, however it's a bit more special and may be worth something one day.

I am not planning to sell, but you know if something comes up and you have to, you don't want to be sitting with a worthless car full of good parts.
That is a good point but who knows what tomorrow will bring for you or the rest of us? Not everything can be planned out and if worse comes to worse, well, it isn't like you lost 6 figures. It is not an insurmountable loss that you can't make up in time. We are all sitting on cars that may have no value if there is a world crisis tomorrow and gas goes up to $10 a gallon. Who knows what havoc Iran can cause with their nuclear capability in the next year or two. Any low-life country for that matter. Can't worry about it. I would never tell anyone to go buy a new ZR1 tomorrow and say "don't worry about it" but you get the point. Enjoy the ride!
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