Can a kitcar actually improve your household finances? I think so! (over time)

I really believe if you're a bit of a noob and have only ever "dabbled" with cars before then buying a kitcar could improve your confidence and technical ability to such a degree it could save you significant sums of money which over a good few years could possibly outweigh the cost of the car. Obviously convincing SWMBO could be a challenge but any extra ammo to justify the car can only be a good thing right?

In my case I reckon I've spent around £8k on the indy but since then i've done a few jobs on tintops and around the house that I would never have attempted had it not been for the indy.

Savings to date:

Quoted £2200 for repairs to Alfa 147 as result of snapped cambelt, inc water pump etc. I did it (including new tools) for £500. Saving £1700
Tv making a buzzing sound, in the past I would have scrapped and replaced at £500. £1.20 capacitors and a bit of soldering. Saved £499
Various jobs on an old Cinq, i'm guessing around £300 inc parts. Bits from scrappers £25. Saved £275

So my savings so far is around £2500 not including other odd jobs i've done around the house and for family etc. So now SWMBO agrees that really i'm only actually out £5500 and that figure will no doubt come down?

Is this a bit of a backwards way of thinking? SWMBO seems convinced so i'm sticking with it!

Not backwards at all! But equally would apply if you were just tinkering and modifying an existing tin-top. (probably no cheaper to be honest)

LOL I'll have to try that one on SWMBO when I buy my next project - "It will save loads of dosh dear!"

Mind you, she tries the same logic when the January Sales came round so maybe not

sounds like grasping at straws, but I like your way of thinking

I'm afraid anything car related means money - be it buying / owning a tin top from a Lada to a Lambo - they all cost money - a kit car is no different, you just spread the cost over a longer period. (not counting thse of you on the never-never).

Women are far to canny to be swayed by such conniving but I think they may be slightly impressed by your attempts?

I used the 20% VAT increase as an excuse to "Buy those last minute bargains" for the kit car. I didnt get the wheels i was after, but i bought those little bits and pieces that i needed.

I think you're just not thinking big enough or understanding "savings" in the same way she does.

Remember that pair of £50 shoes? They were in fact not an expence but a saving of £30 because they should have been £80. By the same logic the performance of your car would have cost you £50,000 if you'd gone out to buy a german/italian equivalent. So thats £32,000 you've saved!

There if a problem with convincing her of any saving though. She'll want to spend the £32,000!

[Edited on 9/1/11 by adithorp]

quote:

---

Originally posted by MakeEverything
I used the 20% VAT increase as an excuse to "Buy those last minute bargains" for the kit car.

---

You missed a big one, all the time your working on a car your not doing something else that could potentially cost more money, I know alot of people who frequently spend £200+ a week going to the pud or to clubs, and I used to live with a guy who used to go out shopping alot just because he was bored and come back with all kinds of stuff that cost a fortune.

Looking through the classifieds aswell, depreiciation is alot less on kits, I imagine there are alot of people here who could sell there cars for more than it cost them to build.

I've never understood why people fall for the old trick of buying something they don't need and believing they've saved money overall.

Like The thinking

I went with the theory (from Matt_GSXR) that having one big fast family car is expensive.
but having one big (cheaper) family car AND a kit is a saving !

Worked for me !

Sadly I cant argue that the kit would lead me to save money as I already did pretty much all DIY mechanics/home repairs myself.

In fact for me its the other way round, my need and want to fix and make things led to the kitcar purchase.

[Edited on 10/1/11 by loggyboy]

Love the logic and have to say I'd agree with the unerlying theory that having built a car you're better equipped and more likely to tackle household problems that crop up. I'd add that frequenting this forum and being able to draw on it's deep pool of knowledge and experience is another big part of it though.

As a result of building the Indy and with help from LCB I've saved a good deal on fixing SWMBOs tintop, repairing SMBOs tumble dryer and wahsing machine, select and install a new tv aerial, fix computer problems, fix mobile phone problems amongst other things. All things which could have cost a lot more than they did after tackling them myself.

quote:

---

Originally posted by nick205
Love the logic and have to say I'd agree with the unerlying theory that having built a car you're better equipped and more likely to tackle household problems that crop up. I'd add that frequenting this forum and being able to draw on it's deep pool of knowledge and experience is another big part of it though.

As a result of building the Indy and with help from LCB I've saved a good deal on fixing SWMBOs tintop, repairing SMBOs tumble dryer and wahsing machine, select and install a new tv aerial, fix computer problems, fix mobile phone problems amongst other things. All things which could have cost a lot more than they did after tackling them myself.

---

Actually I think it's sound logic, building a kit encompasses all manner of transferable skills that you may not have. I for one have no clue about welding but if I did and the telly died then no doubt I'd have half the tools to at least have a prod and make sure it was dead!

I've done loads of work to my tintop as well as my sister in law's car (£800 quote from the garage and I did the work for £200 of parts to get an MOT for her).

New found confidence to do stuff has also saved me a fortune around the house too.

The biggest advantage to me was that I sold the car not long after finishing for just short of what I reckon I put into it in the first place. Now, if you asked me to save that much money in the bank over 4 years, I just wouldn't have been able to manage it (I'm just not that person). But, apart from the initial cost of the kit and then again for the engine, pretty much everything was bought bit at a time when I could afford it.

So, doing a car is actually a better way of saving money for me.

As said before, it's time I would have also spent going off and doing something else probably more expensive - I'm a restless person at the best of times and I really need something to focus on. So much so that when I sold the Indy when my wife lost her job (killed off the last of the debts between her redundancy and the Indy proceeds), she insisted that I go out and start another project. Hence, buying a part restored Midget for £500 was her idea, not mine (I know I'm very lucky on that front!).