How to start a project?
Posted by West_Mouse_1600@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 10 comments
I’ve read a couple of peoples posts about this prior however, I never found one where people were asking more elaborate questions. I have been wanting to start a project car for about a year now, I have very little mechanical experience (I’ve changed my tires and my oil but that’s about it) and I’ve been saving up to buy a used car from the late 90s-early 00s, but I have been having some trouble with finding an actual car to start. (Just some info I have about $2000 that I’m hoping to keep to use towards the car alone and an additional 1000 for any simple repairs that might be needed to actually get the car running in a broke college student so I can save more if that’s what’s best but it’ll take time) I was hoping to not spend any more than 2k on a car itself, I have been looking for the obvious picks like the Civic, Miata and Integra as they all come highly recommended as a starting point, however I’d be ok with something underpowered car too like a Corolla or an accord just for basic day to day stuff, where my problem arises, is that every listing I’m seeing at the current moment seems abnormally high (getting results on fb marketplace like an unmodded 00 Corolla going for 4000 with the seller not wanting to budge) now my main questions at this point are
- Is my budget realistic
- What should I expect to spend on any of the cars I listed
- Is it just a waiting game at this point? hoping that a good listing shows up?
- (Not the most important question but still) what are some tips/pitfalls to avoid when starting a project car like I said mechanically this will be my first step so anything helps
Holiday_Physics_2866@reddit
woah 2k
itsmanashjyoti@reddit
The results speak for themselves.
Minuuven@reddit
You should watch pole barn garage, and visegrip garage on youtube
Klo187@reddit
I bought a shitbox, I want it to be a daily. The gap between those two points is full of missteps, poor financial decisions, a ton of time swearing at the car.
Helps that I’m already a mechanic and have been wrenching since 16.
I started originally with a clapped out old motorbike. I somehow got that to run despite my inaptitude and the socket set I got.
Then I moved to my first car, a Subaru brumby, I couldn’t possibly make it worse, so I worked at it, little by little, engine swaps and transmission swaps, eventually it was back on the road.
Then I got a job as an actual mechanic and have been working on various shitboxes ever since. Being a flat broke apprentice for a few years makes you really good at keeping the cheapest vehicle running the longest.
juwyro@reddit
Your budget was realistic 5 years ago. Save up some more money and buy the best example you can find.
Also if you're this cash poor you should just save your money.
West_Mouse_1600@reddit (OP)
I get what you’re saying, and it seems to be the consensus I still save up for my necessities as well as emergency savings, 3000 is just how much I’ve saved through cutting unnecessary spendings like Netflix. I’ll probably save for a little longer while just looking through listings to see if I can find anything of value
JokerGenetics2121@reddit
If ur credit is good or at least not bad. You should put that 2k down on something reliable with low mileage. And finance it thru your bank or wherever they are selling it. Unless you’re a mechanic, anything under 10k is going to be a gamble. And it only takes one thing breaking. And tows and shop waiting time and rental cars will eat ya up quick.
DeepSeaDynamo@reddit
As for no3. Be ready to go, the good deals don't last long, so search often, or have alerts, and be ready to jump on it cause you gotta get there before someone else buys it out from under you
bestguessautotech@reddit
As an example, I looked for a good project car for about a year and a half.
For someone just starting out with this kind of thing, I would recommend only getting a complete car, no missing components. It can be very difficult for the inexperienced to know what isn’t there.
I don’t have the market knowledge on those cars for 1 & 2, but $2000 should be more than enough to buy a non-running project. If you want it to be running, that is a bit more tough.
Ok-Communication1149@reddit
$5k is the new thousand dollar car (reference the song). I say get the best example you can afford because anything 20+ years old is a project car in perpetuity unless you drop new car costs into a quality restoration.
Watch out for rust and vehicles with hard to find parts. Do as much research as you can before pulling the trigger.