"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
12/09/2013 at 12:16 • Filed to: Alfa Romeo
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"Chairman Kaga" (mike-mckinnon)
12/09/2013 at 12:16 • Filed to: Alfa Romeo | 1
| 13 |
After three long years of hammering, welding, swearing, bleeding, ciphering, and puzzling my way through a "good from far, far from good" DIY restoration, the car is legal and on the road.
Now I'm wondering if I should keep it.
When I bought the car in 2009, I was not married. Had no kids. Had some disposable income and just wanted a relatively cheap project car with some personality and pedigree. Now, I barely have time to take a crap in the morning. The notion of spending a Saturday in the garage to adjust valves is laughable, much less any sort of project that would possibly require major surgery. It's not that I can't afford to have someone else do it (although convincing the wife it's a good idea to spend $1,200 on my stupid car when we could put that money into the kids' college savings is a fight I do not want to have), but that negates one of the main reasons I have the car. Driving it is only 50% of the equation. For now and for the foreseeable future, the other 50%, learning how to really work on cars and keeping a persnickety Italian GT car happy, just isn't feasible.
I wonder if I should sell or trade it for something newer and Japanese. I have to admit, my heart has been a little more than achey for a DC2 Integra GSR. To this day I miss mine badly. I'd also love to get a Miata. Something relatively simple and ubiquitous but great to drive and fun, and that would cost less than what I could reasonably get for the Alfa (so I could invest in a few immediate upgrades), which is more or less in the $8,000 range. The market on these suckers has really started to climb over the past couple of years. Mine's a solid 6. Everything it needs is relatively minor on the spectrum of Alfa afflictions.
I think I'm mostly just anxious about a catastrophic problem, not exactly unheard of in a 30 year old Italian car, that would result in the car being bricked in the garage. I love this car and I love driving it, but dammit does it make me anxious.
505Turbeaux
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:20 |
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the age old problem. It looks like you have a lot of blood sweat and tears in that thing already, that you cannot monetize. Best solution...stick it out there with a ridiculously high price on it so you can feel better about enjoying it while it is "on sale". The wife says oh it's for sale, so no stress there, and if someone bites, awesome, sell it. I wish I had never sold my silver one long ago, but I got over it, with a red one :)
Agrajag
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:24 |
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What 505 said.
duurtlang
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:25 |
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It hurts, but I guess it's best to let it go. Or store it until you've got more time, but that'll mean you won't have the funds for a replacement. If it requires a lot of time you don't have, is it really worth it? Plus, the anxiousness is something I personally would try to avoid. So be on the look out for a replacement, take your time, and trade it. Maybe fix a few things that'll increase its selling potential. Buy another Alfa when you've got more time on your hands.
CalzoneGolem
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:28 |
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I want to echo 505 but also add that you are interested in trades to the add. This could provide hours of entertainment.
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505Turbeaux
> CalzoneGolem
12/09/2013 at 12:30 |
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this too...
BJ
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:32 |
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Since your blood, sweat, and tears don't have market value the only way to get a real return on investment is to own and drive this car. It's not an entirely impractical alternative for family transportation.
Sit down and talk to your wife, explain that you're passionate about this car and that you wish to keep it. This means that, occasionally, you'll need to spend a Saturday afternoon in the garage with it. She probably loves you (she had your children, right?) and she'll at least try to understand.
But be prepared, if it starts to take too much of your time or energy, to sell the car and move on.
FlipperB
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:39 |
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I bought my "fun car" when my kids were 3yrs and 6mos, respectively. Going for drives, while often nerve-wracking, was a rare but rejuvenating escape. As the older kid got more interested in the car, it's become more of a family thing. He gets regular rides (in a booster seat, of course) and occasionally helps me with a small project.
I look at your Alfa, and I see a fun family car with character, and a great long-term family project. It's got a back seat, right? The coolest kid in preschool is the one who gets picked up in an old Alfa.
My other #protip: It's easier to justify the continuing expenses if you don't spend much on other vices. I've limited my concert-going, bar-crawling activities to a minimum of a couple times per year.
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Chairman Kaga
> FlipperB
12/09/2013 at 12:47 |
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Yeah, I have NO other expenses right now. I retired from playing in bands this year because I mean come on, out until 3 am on a Wednesday to play a gig for 5 drunks, then up at 5:30 for an 18 hour day? Ummm. No. I don't gamble or play fantasy sports or collect highland whisky. I also am about to get a 25% raise come Jan. 1 I also think life will get a little less hectic as the baby gets a little older and more self-sufficient.
Weighing options...
banjo cat ghost of oppo past
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 12:50 |
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First thought: DON'T GIVE UP FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!
Without more people like you, my hanging on to my 93 GSX project car (I painted British Racing Green) for six years while driving it for 3ish will have been for nothing..
I just tell myself if I never finish it as the scary fast roadcar I remember, it will just evolve into a rally car; more or less what it last competed in.
But I have an attachment with that car, which I believe is the more significant difference than me not having the wife, kids or a well planned future.
I dunno what your attachment is, but I won't blame you for wanting to go out and have fun already it's not like you're completely giving up on cars and have some great ones from your past/ ideas. If I knew I could trade my GSX and get a mint Audi Coupe Quattro like I once had, I would do that. Of course its not boosted to within an inch of its life like the Mitsubishi, but that car was just...just fucking great.
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Chairman Kaga
> 505Turbeaux
12/09/2013 at 12:50 |
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You know, a couple of years ago I was under pressure to get rid of it. So I ran an ad continuously with an unreasonable asking price. Anytime the debate became contentious, I could say "Well, I'm trying to sell it but there's just no market right now," and that would usually be that. My wife has come to accept the beast that lives in the garage, especially now that it's not an eyesore. Honestly, a lot of my motivation was to prove to her that I could and would finish the thing out.
Turk
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 13:17 |
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So I mostly understand, because I go through similar things with my GTO ('04). It's not italian, but I certainly haven't driven it like a grandmother the last 6.5 years (ie since I've owned it). It occasionally needs attention... and with a 9 month old baby I don't have any to spare. We have a second (more baby friendly) vehicle that's also nearly 10 years old and I like to think I can continue to maintain myself.
As others have mentioned, I'm often reminded that babies become kids and gain a little more self-sufficiency, and eventually some even get interested in dad's hobbies - a family-effort project car could be a great thing sometime down the line, and the history you have with the car will make it more worthwhile to continue to spend the energy later.
For my part: solution will probably be to get rid of my GTO (I've been teetering on this one for a while though so who knows). I've decided occasional 2-wheel track days and occasional 2-wheel out-in-the-country rides with my dad or buddies are a better gearhead outlet in the near- to mid-term, and a truck (that may be not special, may be not fun, but at least I won't be emotional about not spending time or energy to try to keep it nice) will be a better fit, especially if it's easier to fit a baby seat in. Bikes are also easier to work on in general, you can steal 10-15 minutes of time from other activities to do some little fiddly job and walk away again til next time (this only works on cars if you have infinite space in your shop).
For you though - you haven't mentioned bikes so that part may not apply. Your driveway photos show a pretty nice looking alfa sitting next to two other cars so it looks like you've got some other transportation maybe? If so, and the alfa is occasionally a bricked eyesore sitting in your garage, sometimes for months on end, is that really so bad? is your replacement fun car really going to be that much better at not sucking up time and energy?
I guess the trick then, is if you really think miata (or whatever) parts are going to be that much cheaper, and I know how you feel about spending cash there even with other expenses minimized... the diaper bills make you feel guilty no matter how much you limit yourself on other things.
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Chairman Kaga
> Turk
12/09/2013 at 13:39 |
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Bikes are not an option.
I also have to consider a Miata or Integra would consume less expensive parts with less frequency.
I dunno. I'm going to wait until January before making a decision.
BiTurbo228 - Dr Frankenstein of Spitfires
> Chairman Kaga
12/09/2013 at 15:13 |
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What would you rather? The feeling of 'I should never have sold that' a decade or so down the line, or the perceived embarrassment and fear of breaking the thing and having it stand while you find time to fix it?
If you sell it now and prices skyrocket you'll be kicking yourself, but if you don't sell it now and the market crashes you'll be kicking yourself as well, so there's no real financial incentive to either.
Personally, I'd daily it for a year. If it can survive that without any major problems, then it's earnt its chops as a dependable car and you can reduce the worry levels.
If it does break down, you can fix that issue and then sell it straight on. You'll be a little out of pocket which will suck a bit, but you'll have had nearly a year's-worth of driving to make your mind up.
Plus, you'll probably be happier about selling it if it completely craps out and you have to fix it.