How much money and effort would you put in to your car? 5 grand?

[calebz]

hah... aftermarket and consumables(stuff that every car needs/goes through) dont count, now how much did ya REAALLY spend on making it go?

 

I bought my car for $375, sat for 9 years before me, it ran and drove with 2 bad axles, a seriously fubar hitachi, no rear brakes and a leak. everything I did to it was optional

 

cant beat 375

 

Aftermarket doesn't count?

 

In that case, I have about -$1000 into mine

 

Thats right. You take the settlement from my valet wrecked wagon, subtract just the 'make it go' and the body of the current wagon, and I'm still a grand ahead..

 

Hmm.. Maybe if I put it to my wife that way, she won;t *************** when I ordrer my new injectors:)

 

PS.. throw in mods and it starts to get a little ugly

[scrap487]

Aftermarket doesn't count?

 

In that case, I have about -$1000 into mine

 

Thats right. You take the settlement from my valet wrecked wagon, subtract just the 'make it go' and the body of the current wagon, and I'm still a grand ahead..

 

Hmm.. Maybe if I put it to my wife that way, she won;t *************** when I ordrer my new injectors:)

 

PS.. throw in mods and it starts to get a little ugly

 

hahahahahaha:clap:

[tizzle]

the RX cost $1,100

--new engine 800

--upgrades, parts replacement(who can keep track?) 1,000?

= $2,900

 

The legacy cost $9,800

+STI transplant, suspension, 3 different sets of wheels/tires, painted cf hood, bumper repairs, etc.

= a lot, but its worth it:)

[Forkspear]

My intake vavle stuck before my rebuilt engine even started up. The follower scratched my brand new delta cam. I took the cam case off and pounded the valve with a hammer until it stopped sticking. That was 35k miles ago.

[jeffast]

a $5000 1987 subaru wagon ladies and gentelman.

next in line behind you i quit keeping track after my repair cost hit 3500

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Well 1st, let me say this. If you put a lift and tires on that pretty wagon, after a couple wheelin trips your going to destroy your $5000 Subaru.

 

Now, let me tally up what ive gotten into my RX:

 

 

Car: $1000

Rims: $80

Tires: $280 (Mount & Ballanced)

Exhaust: $300 (No idea WHY you'd pay $600... ive never paid more than $300 for a COMPLETE exhaust.)

Suspension: $60

Intercooler: $40

Pipe for I/C: $30

New(er) Turbo: $80

Stereo: $200

Amps: $150

Subs: $150

then my motor blew up... so now...

 

Block #1: $80 Woops, that block is bad

Block #2: $80

Head work: $335 (polished ports, valve grind, new guides, whole shabang)

Clutch Kit: $150

SOA Gasket Kit: $200

 

 

Not about to add all that up, im affraid to see how much I've dumped into it. All I can say is Junkyards are your friend. Find a Factory Service Manual, and learn how to read & understand it.

Unless you enjoy paying other people to work on your car. Thats cool to, just dont come crying to us "WAhhh i spent $5000 on my subaru"

 

-Brian

[yodannyc]

Well 1st, let me say this. If you put a lift and tires on that pretty wagon, after a couple wheelin trips your going to destroy your $5000 Subaru.

 

Now, let me tally up what ive gotten into my RX:

 

 

Car: $1000

Rims: $80

Tires: $280 (Mount & Ballanced)

Exhaust: $300 (No idea WHY you'd pay $600... ive never paid more than $300 for a COMPLETE exhaust.)

Suspension: $60

Intercooler: $40

Pipe for I/C: $30

New(er) Turbo: $80

Stereo: $200

Amps: $150

Subs: $150

then my motor blew up... so now...

 

Block #1: $80 Woops, that block is bad

Block #2: $80

Head work: $335 (polished ports, valve grind, new guides, whole shabang)

Clutch Kit: $150

SOA Gasket Kit: $200

 

 

Not about to add all that up, im affraid to see how much I've dumped into it. All I can say is Junkyards are your friend. Find a Factory Service Manual, and learn how to read & understand it.

Unless you enjoy paying other people to work on your car. Thats cool to, just dont come crying to us "WAhhh i spent $5000 on my subaru"

 

-Brian

Wow your kinda of an rump roast. i am not cryin, its not like i care. i am just updating ppl as to whats going on with my subaru. its obvious that junkyards are your friends and i am just learning about cars. So sometimes i need help and therefore i ask, but rarely do i receive and so i end up taking it to someone. however i have been getting more confident with the wrench. I am in construction, give me a nail bag and a hammer and ill build you a house, give me a wrench and a car i dont know what to do. but i am learning. As for the lift i still want it and thats up to me to ruin the car or not. i only want a small lift just for rallying on soft dirt trails. i might not even get a lift but adjust the struts and get a little bit bigger tires. as for the exhaust i got the top of the line magnaflow on it. could be one reason why it was spendy another could be i just got ripped off and didnt know any better at the time. ohh well, learn from your mistakes. so anyways dont be a rump roast, theres no reason to be.

[Rollie715]

I've built up many different vehicles over the years and it is almost always the same story. Given time, more money is spent then the vehicle is worth. Typically we start out with a vehicle of little or moderate worth, and then just because we already have it we decide to fix it up and start spending thousands but only increasing the cars worth by hundreds. It is definitely not a money making investment. And then when we decide it's time to move on, we sell the car for a third of what we spent, buy another one and repeat the cycle again.

 

What this has taught me, although you would not guess I've learned anything as you observe me repeat the same pattern again, is that you are money ahead to make the original purchase by buying the most complete car you can afford that approaches the vehicle you plan to build. The challenge with that is we don't have a pile of money sitting there waiting to spend, but for some reason we can continually spend a little at a time and it all adds up to more.

 

If we can somehow beat this system and get more bang for the buck, that's my goal. And Oh yeah, we are having a lot of fun doing it.

 

Just my thougnts

Rollie

[TheSubaruJunkie]

Sorry Man, didnt mean to sound like an rump roast. Just trying to set some things straight.

 

-Brian

[operose]

My intake vavle stuck before my rebuilt engine even started up. The follower scratched my brand new delta cam. I took the cam case off and pounded the valve with a hammer until it stopped sticking. That was 35k miles ago.

 

best. repair. eVAR!!!!!

[rallyruss]

my wagon is now well over the 5000$ mark. I purchased it for 500$ go figure.

 

of course its almost as fast as my wifes WRX now but has 245,000 miles on it.

dont remeber all the prices but stuff done to the car.

 

rebuilt motor

new 2 row rad.

all hoses belts tune up parts and fluids(a couple of times now)

15" pugs and tires(after 14 pugs and tires)

superpro bushings

multiple strut combinations

brakes and axles

tint

material for fabed bumper, stress bar and roof rack

TD04 turbo and WRX intercooler with silicone hoses

custom parts to fab exhaust and up pipe(twice)

XT alt.

rebuilt p.s. pump and XT steering rack

sterio equipmet

turbo traction wagon seats

walbro fuel pump

turbo timer/boost gauge

boost control

oil cooler/lines

optima batt

rebuilt distributor

electric cooling fan

oem fuel sender

all new bearings

 

 

and the biggest thing

the TIME it took me to keep messing with this stupid car.

 

any one want to buy it now that I have dumped all my free time and cash into it?

if you dont buy It it will just end up with an RX transmission and more mods soon.

[bgd73]

Wow. You folks rack up the bills. As a disabled mechanic and 17 cars, 16 years and home car schooling, I'd rather collect cans to fix *any* car with the magical tech manual handy for difficult info (by the way,thanks for the pdf files for 1989 subaru I got here at USMB-- I spent 60 bucks printing, hard binding and laminated pages to put my greasy paws all over it ).

I got my 2wd loyale for free and did about 5000 dollars in mechanical work at the cost of my time, and gathered parts that didn't need to be new from junked loyales/dl/gl (like glass). My Loyale was literally on the back of the junk yard hauler before I caught the driver to bring it back from eternal death. Patience and thought that your broke can get the same quest done and even better, because it is *yours*(mostly).

The closest I came to 5000 dollars on a vehicle was a baby blue monte carlo SS in mint condition that had a calm top end of over 150mph by the time I was done "nickel and diming".(seriously--- no exxageration). It is a shame what frozen trees and 60mph can do to bend a "rubber ball" of a bouncing chevy car almost IN HALF . I wrecked it to have the epiphany (religiously) to never ever fall for American manic depressive automobiles ever never again.

5000 on a subaru with the boxer is most worth it if I could. The simple math and durability is worth a million. Ironically enough, I hit a big 'ol deer with a subaru wagon at same speeds (65 mph) and did literally no damage.

Again priceless.....

[mcbrat]

I just made a list of all the stuff I've done to my 82 Brat....

 

looks like I've spent over $7600 on everything!!!!!!!!!!!!

[NoahDL88]

If i added everything up i think I'd be in over 10K, and thats on an 88DL that i bought for 500 bucks, really don't have much to show for it either, the fun add on bits cost the least of everything else, compared to the 2 parts cars and the 6 nights in the motels because of timing belt failures.

[Seahag1978]

If I ever added the dollars and translated into cruises or dream vacations... the vacation may last 10-14 days at most... I GET to drive my dream vacations 365 days a year! Depending on my mood! Red, Yellow or SPEED!

 

Money is not a factor!

[Phizinza]

I just made a list of all the stuff I've done to my 82 Brat....

 

looks like I've spent over $7600 on everything!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yeah... But have you taken a look at it recently?? ITS WICKED! lol

 

I've spent maybe $5000AUD ($3800USD) on my Brumby (Brat.) But prices are all different over here. Plus I do ALL the work myself. I just don't trust mechanics. They always seem to rip people off and don't seem to do a good job. As in, telling people they have bent valves in a EA82 after timing belt gave up. Or, checking a friends exhaust for leaks and not finding any. Then getting the car home and it turned out the exhuast was lose at the heads and only held on by 1 bolt.

Maybe theres good mechanics out there. I just haven't seen one.

 

$2800 for the car,

$450 for the bumper,

$200 for the rollbar,

$80 in head gaskets, glues, bolts, exhuast gaskest (trust me, I had some bad luck)

$700 in tires,

$20 for intrior extras,

total $4280 + 18 months insurance and rego = $5180

 

And I am adding some new features that will add up to around $600.

[dave valiant]

I have an 87 wagon that with the original purchase price included I have around 3 grand into. I will probably spend more when I can afford it. That isn't including the Pugs and tires. But I have to say that 3 thousand for a rust free car with a new engine and clutch, that will probably last me at least another 5 years is well worth it.

[aaronchatham]

82 gl wagon 4wd $500 five years ago

brakes, bearings all around $350

assorted mounts, kyb all around, axel, bushings, $650

tires $200

parts car $150 (lucky find in south texas, same color)

paint $600 (did it myself) materials and assorted crap

exhaust all the way back from heads $500

haven't even cracked into the motor, but that's next probably

looking at top end rebuild, radiator, and carb

this project has been so much fun especially at the

beach pulling chevys out of the sand. this car will go

anywhere, really anywhere. anyway looking at $3000+ now

with motor work, lift, wheels and tires, about $6000

what does it matter if your having fun? with subaru there's,

pretty good value. what would you spend on a pontiac that wasn't

so cool?

[Tom63050]

i always try to keep in mind what the car would be worth if i had to get out of it (i hate loosing money:mad: ) usually a gl 4wd wagon will bring $1500 tops with 200k, BUT since you sound like you plan on keeping this car, and you are already into it for over 4k, then you might as well finish the project.just my 2 cents,

Jon

According to Click and Clack on the radio, it's always cheaper to fix your car pretty much forever, than to buy a new one. Keep in mind depreciation costs! Why buy a new $18,000 car only to have it be worth $2K ten years later? Buy an old car that was well-engineered and has a reputation for reliability (Toyota, Honda, Subaru come to mind), and repair as needed. Even with a reman motor and tranny installed by a shop, new brakes, exhaust, tires, etc., you might be looking at $4-5K. If it lasts ten years , you might have $6K in it (not counting normal future items like tires or a tuneup that would happen with any car). So $6K sounds a whole lot better than paying $18K, and then losing $16K in depreciation. Not to mention the full-coverage insurance you'll need for the several years it takes you to pay off that new car; that'll add a few thousand too.

 

I know Subarubrat has TWENTY FIVE THOUSAND in his Brat. He's got a really good-paying job, and is slightly (but amusingly) nuts.

[samo]

'93 Loyale - $2500

14" Pug alloys - $100

Hankook snow tires - $400

15" Pug steels - $150

Pirelli rally tires (used) - $25

Driving lights - $150

Roof rack - $150

Stickers - $150

Horrible Kenwood CD player - $300

Eclipse speakers - $150

D/R transmission (awaiting installation) - $150

Rear disc conversion (awaiting installation) - $100

Misc. repairs - $600

 

That comes to $4925.

[86ruguy]

i bought my 86 gl wagon d/r 4x4 for $400.00, because of lack of my own time....CLUTCH $600.00, PUG 15'S AND NEW TIRES $500.00, HATCH SUPPORTS $85.00, STEREO (good one with sub woofer) $300.00, T-BELTS $250.00(with tow home), NEW DRIVER'S SEAT $50.00 @ WRECKING YARD, LIGHTS ON BUMPER $200.00, REPLACEMENT COMPOSITE HEAD LIGHTS(2) $100.00

 

 

TOTAL....$2485.00

 

 

AND WELL WORTH EVERY PENNY!!!!!!

[Hank Roberts]

I'm going to show this to my wife. She thinks I've been crazy the whole past year.

 

I think so too. But ..... I AM NOT ALONE. Hahahahahahah.....

[DaveT]

92 Loyale $150.00

Tbelts, water pump.

Gasket set to stop oil leaks.

Exhaust

2 fenders (originals rotted, remainder of body not bad yet)

 

All other parts (not many) came from my stash of parts from 3 parts cars.

 

The question is how much are you going to spend VS how long will it last?

I will replace / repair anything until the body rot gets too far gone. I really do not enjoy body work.

 

I always figure $1K over purchase price of a used car for misc repairs. The newest car I ever buy is 2 years old, and those are only really for my wife. She has a thing about "new & shiny".

 

Dave

[Jibs]

HAHA Does EVERYONE have a list of $$ spent on their soobs? So far I've spent about 4600$ on my Brat like this:

[jeep5.9litre]

When I bought my 88 GL Hatch about 3 years ago, I spent $63 dollars on the purchase of the car, only because thats how much money I had in my wallet at the time. I drove it home and put a bumper on it that I paid $40 bucks for and installed it myself. I sold it last year with alot of dings and rust for $150 to the original owner. It may be starting all over again because Im considering purchasing a 1984 GL Hatch next month, but this one is in pristine condition.