Other Cars Non-Corvette Content, Daily Drivers, Winter Beaters, Work Trucks, Tow Vehicles, for sale

$218K To Restore A 1965 Riviera?

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
Old 01-22-2010, 05:56 PM
  #1  
j3studio
Le Mans Master
Support Corvetteforum!
Thread Starter
 
j3studio's Avatar
 
Member Since: May 2003
Location: Philadelphia Burbs
Posts: 8,174
Received 235 Likes on 77 Posts
Cruise-In V Veteran
St. Jude Donor '06

Default $218K To Restore A 1965 Riviera?

I'm wondering - how do you possibly spend 218 thousand dollars to restore a 1965 Buick Riviera. I mean, the car is gorgeous, but...

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/appli...&aid=304&pop=0

j3studio is offline  
Old 01-22-2010, 06:44 PM
  #2  
leadfoot4
Team Owner
 
leadfoot4's Avatar
 
Member Since: May 2001
Location: Western NY
Posts: 82,776
Received 1,343 Likes on 1,094 Posts

Default

I'm sure that most top-flite restoration shops easily charge $125-150 an hour, for labor on the car, searching for parts, upholstery materials, etc. I can see how it could cost over $200K to restore the car, the question, however, is why??
leadfoot4 is offline  
Old 01-22-2010, 08:06 PM
  #3  
Rmorgan&11
Racer
 
Rmorgan&11's Avatar
 
Member Since: Oct 2009
Location: San Antonio TX
Posts: 441
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

My deceased Dad had one back in the day and she was a runner !!
Last I heard his best friend in C.C. Tx ...Dub Rollins gave it to his daughter as a graduation present years ago....
I'd like too see if she's still got it after reading this

but I ain't paying that much to get it back
Rmorgan&11 is offline  
Old 01-23-2010, 11:02 AM
  #4  
Chevy Guy
Team Owner
 
Chevy Guy's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 22,160
Received 64 Likes on 48 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by leadfoot4
I'm sure that most top-flite restoration shops easily charge $125-150 an hour, for labor on the car, searching for parts, upholstery materials, etc. I can see how it could cost over $200K to restore the car, the question, however, is why??
Your local dealer charges 125 an hour. A true top flight resto shop is more around $300 an hour
Chevy Guy is offline  
Old 01-23-2010, 03:03 PM
  #5  
leadfoot4
Team Owner
 
leadfoot4's Avatar
 
Member Since: May 2001
Location: Western NY
Posts: 82,776
Received 1,343 Likes on 1,094 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by Chevy Guy
Your local dealer charges 125 an hour. A true top flight resto shop is more around $300 an hour

Even MORE reason why it would take $200K to restore the Riv......
leadfoot4 is offline  
Old 01-23-2010, 03:52 PM
  #6  
pewter-FRC
Safety Car
 
pewter-FRC's Avatar
 
Member Since: Sep 2009
Location: Pittsburgh PA
Posts: 4,941
Received 27 Likes on 20 Posts

Default

the guy that paid $84,700 is a moron too
pewter-FRC is offline  
Old 01-24-2010, 09:39 AM
  #7  
Chevy Guy
Team Owner
 
Chevy Guy's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 22,160
Received 64 Likes on 48 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by pewter-FRC
the guy that paid $84,700 is a moron too
Anyone that buys a car at BJ is generally less than interested in finding a good deal. It seems that buying a car at BJ, no matter how ridiculously priced is a badge of honor among those with more money than automotive sense.

Last edited by Chevy Guy; 01-24-2010 at 12:00 PM.
Chevy Guy is offline  
Old 01-24-2010, 10:08 AM
  #8  
TimoG
Navigator
 
TimoG's Avatar
 
Member Since: Dec 2009
Location: Ashford, Kent, UK / Las Vegas, NV
Posts: 9
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
Default

Not to mention that there's a good chance that a lot of parts were replaced with NOS with the correct date stamps, rather than cleaning up the exisiting ones or using repro parts like you'd do for a "normal" resto. And that the paint job probably cost more than most people's cars.

Top level restorations get astoundingly expensive very quickly, especially if it's an open wallet one rather than the owner doing most of the work. Which, if you're trying to come up with something that you can take to a major concours, is probably way past the abilities of most seasoned home restorers.
TimoG is offline  
Old 01-28-2010, 04:08 PM
  #9  
ATC399
Le Mans Master
Support Corvetteforum!
 
ATC399's Avatar
 
Member Since: Nov 2005
Posts: 8,010
Received 768 Likes on 395 Posts

Default

what some "car guys" spend THEIR money on go figure... its still a free country...
ATC399 is offline  
Old 01-29-2010, 09:13 AM
  #10  
Chevy Guy
Team Owner
 
Chevy Guy's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2004
Location: NJ
Posts: 22,160
Received 64 Likes on 48 Posts

Default

Originally Posted by troller399
what some "car guys" spend THEIR money on go figure... its still a free country...

Exactly, which gives us the right to laugh at their ridiculous purchases.
Chevy Guy is offline  
Old 02-02-2010, 12:25 PM
  #11  
VITIS
Melting Slicks
 
VITIS's Avatar
 
Member Since: Nov 2003
Location: Purdy MO
Posts: 3,228
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
St. Jude Donor '15-'16,'18,'19-'20

Default

Originally Posted by pewter-FRC
the guy that paid $84,700 is a moron too
$218K > $85K. That's why it makes sense to buy some of these older cars fully restored.
VITIS is offline  
Old 02-02-2010, 11:08 PM
  #12  
sub006
Race Director
 
sub006's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jul 2005
Posts: 13,685
Received 59 Likes on 52 Posts

Default

It's always cheaper to buy a car restored to the degree you desire than buy an original unrestored example of the same car and have the work done professionally. But it's often harder to sell that lump purchase sum to your SO, causing many to sneak a project along piecemeal for months or years.

Even if you do the labor yourself, chances are you'll have at least as much tied up in your project as the already-finished car costs. Of course, doing it youself means YOU get to pick the colors and make other build choices that are already done on the finished car.
sub006 is offline  
Old 02-03-2010, 09:53 PM
  #13  
ZPO
Pro
Support Corvetteforum!
 
ZPO's Avatar
 
Member Since: Jan 2008
Location: Auburn, AL
Posts: 658
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post

Default

Most of the people I know who made a small fortune restoring cars started off with a much larger fortune!!!!
ZPO is offline  

Get notified of new replies

To $218K To Restore A 1965 Riviera?





All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:14 AM.