Cost of polishing a diamond

[blease]

The opinion of experienced forum members here to potential new owners is generally pay 5-6K for an excellent car rather than 2-3k for a car with a lot of potential trouble. I chose to test this hypothesis mainly because I did not want a concours car as it was bought only as a track day project, but also I wanted the pleasure of polishing up a shabby car. I reason that I would rather do the work or get the work done myself on an old car because at least I would know for sure what I was dealing with.
So...........

I bought an '89 S2 with no log book or service history and 185,000 miles on the clock. It had been through 7 owners, with the seller only having 9 months of ownership and no real use of the car. So I had to go on my own knowledge. I had genned up on what to look for (this forum, TIPEC and Rennlist are a mine of information) and deliberately driven cars from the top and bottom of the price range. So when I found 'my' car, I was reasonably confident that, although near the lower end of the price range, it generally OK given that I would be spending money on it to make it fit for my purpose.
The car was mine for 2K. I did some work myself where possible

Essential expenditure to get the car safe and reliable (all costs inclusive):
Belts/idlers/camchain + slippers = £430
Filters and sundry service items = £86
Clutch master cylinder = £80
Promax Ignition tune up (leads, cap, rotor plugs) = £184
Koni Sport shock absorbers = £582
Battery £63
Labour = £350

TOTAL = £1775
So, for under £4k I have a car that I know will go well and reliably.

Other costs to 'personalise' the car for track work include:
Race Seats and harnesses £195 (off fleabay, self fitted).
Spax front lowering springs £126
Toyo T1R tyres £324

So now, for £4420 I have a track day ready car where I KNOW that all the essential bits are new so I can have full confidence in it.

Probable costs in near future.
Sill outer panel cosmetic repairs (inners are OK on direct inspection)
Clutch. I have no idea how old the current one is. It seems to be working just fine at the moment.

I am not really worried about these potential hidden costs as I know they are far less than the cost of depreciation on a new(er) vehicle so I will put money aside in lieu.
I enjoy fiddling with the other 'faults' a car like this carries with it. So far, I have restored to life the courtesy light, the rear window defrost, the handbrake light, the windscreen washers, the sticky headlamp, the leaky waterpump hose, the minging carpets. Having a tussle with the rear hatch operating mechanism (WHY has the key operated microswitch decided to cash in its chips?....fuse is OK!).
Key element is I am having fun and have really got to know a cheap performance car that is built by hand so can be repaired...by hand.

 

[simkin911]

Interesting post and well done with the work. I suppose the main thing is that you're an informed buyer and don't appear to be likely to sell in the near future so any work you do is for yourself.

I sold my s2 2 years ago and went without one until a couple of months ago when I bought my old car back. It has higher miles than many advertised and was at the lower end of the budget BUT I pretty much knew what I was buying and it had been looked after when "gone". My point is that I think some buyers (not necessarily those on this forum) can confuse excellent cars to mean those with low miles, few owners and little need for recent expenditure!

A cheaper, high mileage car that has gone through all the consumables inc clutch, gearbox rebuild etc.. may well be (economically) a much better prospect than a low mileage car with a potential big birthday around the corner. A well purchased £3k car may be cheaper in the the long run that a £5k one. All depends what you want though.

 

[zcacogp]

I think that you have just proved the notion that it is better to buy a good car than a cheap one.

You sound like you now have a good, robust and reliable car. Well done - it's a good place to be. However, in getting there, you have doubled the original purchase price of the car. For £4k in the current market you could have bought a good S2 with a fair amount of that work already done, and saved yourself both the hassle and risk of buying a lesser example. It also wouldn't be 'shabby', and would have a full service history (useful if/when you come to sell it on.) I doubt whether my S2 is worth any more than £4k at the moment (and £3.2k is probably much more realistic) and yet has had all the work you describe already done, as well as a clutch 12k miles ago, and is a very good (although not concourse) example.

Horses for courses, and it sounds like you are pleased with the machine you have built. Bravo! As far as the clutch goes, at 180k+ miles it is very unlikely to be on the original unit and hopefully the replacement was done fairly recently, so will have a lot of life left in it.


Oli.

 

[blease]

Well Oli, thats sort of my point. Even if I had bought a 4k car, I would probably have had to have done belts etc etc. Very few people sell when all the work is freshly done. So, from my perspective I have arrived at a 4k car but I know the exact provenance of the work rather than taking someones version of it. But yes, my particular horse was happy to run down a track day course with me doing some of the work. Someone else may well want a 'minter'.

 

[zcacogp]

OK, understood. I'd suggest that you do find cars for sale with work recently done (if the adverts are to be believed), if nothing else because cars which need work doing are much harder to sell. But you are always at the mercy of the vagueries of the market, and it sounds like you did well.

Enjoy your 'horse'. S2's make fine old nags ... []


Oli.