Agreed on the Autograph cars in every respect, they seem to have hung around for a very long time and the reason is really clear and takes us back to the comments about people spending £X on their car with modifications, only to then not be able to sell the car for even what a standard one is worth. Car modification is a personal thing, the guy at Autograph probably puts a lot of himself into his cars and he probably really enjoys doing it and thought he could make a business at it and everyone else would like them as much as he does. The other thing is, even if the average buyer was to see a modified car for sale, modified in exactly how he would like to modify one, he would probably still not want it, because part of the joy of a modified car can be the modification experience. Getting to know the car in standard form, researching modifications (including getting involved in here), feeling or seeing the difference the modifications make, standing back and feeling a sense of satisfaction that the car is becoming truely yours. Unfortunately, this means it is very rare for someone to be happy to buy a modified car. Not to mention that most modified cars are not finished correctly or built as a package, which makes them a bit loose around the edges. Modifying cars sends me nuts at times for this very reason, they don't get finished correctly because the customer does not want to pay for the polishing of the integration of parts, and this lack of polishing off the package of the car as a whole, makes them a bit of a monster at times. We have just completed a car for a customer where he loves his 924S and wanted to make it a great car.. So, in a few stages we have built his car to have a 968 Engine, which has been installed completely plug and play into the original loom (only the engine loom was modified to fit the 924S loom with a bit of cunning) which is so it could be converted back to standard without a trace. The fuel hose locations were retained, but with some custom adapters to get them in the right place but also looking right. The brakes were upgraded to 968 items all round but allowing the original cable driven speedo to still work and the suspension converted to our own remanufacture of GAZ coil overs.. The last stage was the engine install, which we performed running up to Christmas, but since Christmas, because he was off skiing and we had some quiet patches in the diary, we spent about 20 man hours a week for the last 3 weeks tweaking it, playing with the install, remaking some adapters with the benefit of hindsight as well as sorting out all kinds of niggles in the rest of the car. We did the polishing because we had some spare time, the guy is a good customer and it will make it a better car.. But if we had charged for this time, we would have made a loss on the work, a big loss... But that polishing is what is missing from many modified cars and one of the reasons that people steer clear of them, not because they have thought through their reasons, but you say modified and many people think "rough round the edges" The singer 911's are a different proposition in peoples psychology. If nothing else, because they charge so much, people instantly think "finished and polished package", which I am sure Singer are more than aware of, as all of their videos and marketing material makes a big deal about the detail they go to, which is not just to try and sell the cars on the basis of the detail, it is there to paint the picture that these are something set apart from modified cars. But also, a lot goes into a making a Singer because they really do go into detail. To make a Singer style packaged 944, properly, would cost every bit as much as making a Singer 911, for a company to break even they would probably need to charge somewhere in the region of £100,000 to break even and to sell any of the cars, they would need to be exclusive enough to not sell very many so owners could be elitist, but by the time you get into a £100k car, to be elitist the car needs to sell for £250k because people who pay £100k are not in the elite tax bracket, but the people who pay £250k on a car, could afford £500k on a car.. But I don't think anyone will pay that kind of money for a 944.. I know someone who has spent £48k on his 944 turbo, I know another who has spent £60k on his 968.. So who knows.. one day maybe. But someone who says he has spent £10k, but really has spent about £4k, and half of that was on maintenance, and there was still lots of maintenance needed, even though he had decided to spend £2k on whizz bang go faster bits against good judgement and advice, will not get the money back when he sells the car... Instead he will get £7k, for a car which if it was standard and not covered in stone chips that would cost £500 to rectify, would have sold for £10k due to the mileage, maybe £14k upwards if it was under or around the 100k mile mark... I also think that in my opinion, a standard car is easier to sell and as mentioned worth more, especially now in the current market. For the last two years I have been testing a whole host of new products we have been developing for the last 10 years for the 944 market, but 944 modification as a market place has fallen off a cliff in the last year or two.. We used to be fitting a dual port wastegate every couple of weeks between 6 and 10 years ago, now it is just a handful, so our MAF/Map kits, dash illumination kits, suspension kits, even though tested, are in limbo, probably not worth spending the time to market.. Because every day we are modifying Boxsters/Cayman/996/997/991 models, which is not surprising seeing as there are probably 250 944 turbos in use in the UK, the owners who want a modified one probably already have a modified one, and yet there are thousands of Boxsters and late 911s where the owners want them modified. A real shame, but a true sign of the times. One last thing... Ferrari 246 Dino, I always wanted one since the 1980's, lovely looking car, gutless as a cheap petrol strimmer, reliable as a 80's fiat, but even still, I always wanted one... Poor man's Ferrari.... I almost bought one in 1996 for £12,000 from a ferrari dealer when you could buy one needing restoration for £4k or a good one via a private sale for £8k... Ferrari purists would spit at you if you had changed the Dino badge for a Ferrari one, they all said "not a feal Ferrari" they all said "thats not a Ferrari, thats a Fiat, its not even made in the Ferrari factory" Does this sound a bit like a 944? Within 10 years of 1996 they were worth £80k... Now it seems £200k to £250k is more like it... Oddly enough, as prices increased, Ferrari purists and owners have learned to love them and will never be heard to say they are not a real Ferrari.. Odd that
] J
