When do you stop?

1610 Views 27 Replies 11 Participants Last post by D4KGP, 2 mo ago

coffeebreakbios

Discussion Starter · 2 mo ago

You buy a car that you want to restore to it's former glory, spend a fortune on parts,, plus time,, to get it through the dreaded MOT.
Then all of the old original components start to pack in one by one.

My TF 135 (Babs) was bought as a pandemic project, she had been laid up for over 4 years, luckily in a dry lockup.

After 2 years and too many parts to list here, she finally has an MOT.

The thing is, the car has now cost you double the true value of the car, and you are still improving and replacing parts.

I'm lucky, as yet I've no rust problems, but this could easily rear it's ugly head.

When would you consider saying enough is enough, call it quits and get rid of the money pit?
Or do you love the car enough to carry on restoring it regardless of costs?
I'd love to hear your comments
Ray

1 - 20 of 28 Posts

trevtherevs

· #2 · 2 mo ago

They are like a good woman they cost a fortune, break your heart and finally leave you pennyless. But hey, what else would we spend our money on.

Reactions: 1

Daffers 05

· #3 · 2 mo ago

Depends on the individual I guess, I must admit the costs incurred of restoring two Mg's can be absolutely of the chart for some people but I do the work as and when it's required, plus it's a great way of spending time in the garage doing what I enjoy.

I could say I get as much enjoyment working on the car as I do driving it.

Reactions: 3

Man in the Car

· #4 · 2 mo ago

When do you stop?

When you own a 20ish year old car, you don't.

You either buy it simply to use until something breaks and then scrap it without spending much on it, or you buy it to love it and care for it and the amount of time an money you spend on it is part of being an 'enthusiast'.

If you get to the point of even thinking "enough is enough" having already spent on it much more than it is actually worth, you probably made the wrong decision to acquire it in the first place

Reactions: 2

coffeebreakbios

Discussion Starter · #5 · 2 mo ago

Man in the Car said:
When you own a 20ish year old car, you don't.

You either buy it simply to use until something breaks and then scrap it without spending much on it, or you buy it to love it and care for it and the amount of time an money you spend on it is part of being an 'enthusiast'.

If you get to the point of even thinking "enough is enough" having already spent on it much more than it is actually worth, you probably made the wrong decision to acquire it in the first place

Yip. but don't get me wrong.
This car was bought as a project to stop me from going insane during lockdown.

I really enjoyed resurecting it from the dead.

But it ends up changing everything, then you buy hard to get spares (just in case you need them in the future) but in reality these spares never break down on you and just fill your garage space.

After a couple of years you finally get your MOT, tax and insurance, exiting times, you can drive it.
Then the wheel bearings go, cv joints, clutch swivel siezes and anything that moves decides to pack in.
The car ends up back in the garage for repairs and you cant use it.

Then it dawns on you just how much it has cost, you could have bought a really nice TF for half the price you have paid out.
You think ,, well it should be worth quite a bit more than your original purchase now that all of that work has been done.
Nope youre lucky to make a couple of hundred if youre lucky.
I'll just keep it and enjoy it as long as I can keep it alive, it will never be more than a project
Ray

See less See more

Reactions: 1

D4KGP

· #6 · 2 mo ago

coffeebreakbios said:
Yip. but don't get me wrong.
This car was bought as a project to stop me from going insane during lockdown.

I really enjoyed resurecting it from the dead.

But it ends up changing everything, then you buy hard to get spares (just in case you need them in the future) but in reality these spares never break down on you and just fill your garage space.

After a couple of years you finally get your MOT, tax and insurance, exiting times, you can drive it.
Then the wheel bearings go, cv joints, clutch swivel siezes and anything that moves decides to pack in.
The car ends up back in the garage for repairs and you cant use it.

Then it dawns on you just how much it has cost, you could have bought a really nice TF for half the price you have paid out.
You think ,, well it should be worth quite a bit more than your original purchase now that all of that work has been done.
Nope youre lucky to make a couple of hundred if youre lucky.
I'll just keep it and enjoy it as long as I can keep it alive, it will never be more than a project
Ray

That's how it is with these car's. Love it or leave it.

Reactions: 1

coffeebreakbios

Discussion Starter · #7 · 2 mo ago

I love the drive on the TFs, especially after having a SAWS remap done that brought a new lease of life to the car.
I suppose it's like any other sports cars, the engines are a bit of a bitch to work on.
It's the only project that I've done that the wife likes,,, so I suppose Babs will have to stay.

Reactions: 1

Bluestuff

· #8 · 2 mo ago

I can sympathise with the OP,
i am at that point were i have spent more than it is worth and still have many tasks to complete.
So in deed where does it end .
The finished car is just not worth any were near the total expense.
I don't even get the satisfaction of working on it any more .

Daffers 05

· #9 · 2 mo ago

If the enjoyment is no longer present when working on the car then I would say you're at the point to look at calling it a day.

But would hope you could sell the car on to someone who could possibly pick up from where you've left it.

D4KGP

· #10 · 2 mo ago

Bluestuff said:
I can sympathise with the OP,
i am at that point were i have spent more than it is worth and still have many tasks to complete.
So in deed where does it end .
The finished car is just not worth any were near the total expense.
I don't even get the satisfaction of working on it any more .

Hi, you said on the 8th March that you thought you had bought the wrong car and that there was always something going wrong/ needing repair/replacement. So as I said then maybe you should let it go and let someone else love it. But the other day you were asking about window switches! So are you fed up with the car or ?????? Regards D4KGP.

Daffers 05

· #11 · 2 mo ago

Is it not a case of a love / hate relationship.

D4KGP

· #12 · 2 mo ago

Daffers 05 said:
Is it not a case of a love / hate relationship.

No one has suggested that it is! Regards D4KGP.

Daffers 05

· #13 · 2 mo ago

Most confusing comment, I would have thought most people get to a stage where they have invested what them is a lot of money and feel as the title states when to stop.

Man in the Car

· #14 · 2 mo ago

Not really - if you are an enthusiast, and the car is your hobby and the/one of the main interests in your life, the economics don't really come into it (unless you get to the point where you physically do not have the money to spend on it - in those cases, most enthusiasts end up leaving it parked up rather than get rid).

I have to say that my experience of Rover/MG cars is that once sorted out properly, they are actually very reliable and cost very little in the way of repairs compared with some other marques (even some marques which are often held up as beacons of reliability). The downside is that past years of neglect, lack of proper maintenance or a catalogue of DIY bodging by people who 'think' they know about car maintenance and modification can mean that for a newly acquired car, it is a fairly long and expensive road to undo all these bad effects and get it back into a serviceable and reliable state.

Reactions: 2

Daffers 05

· #15 · 2 mo ago

I agree in what your saying and so should it be a case of ( where do I begin) rather than ( When to stop).

D4KGP

· #16 · 2 mo ago

Daffers 05 said:
Most confusing comment, I would have thought most people get to a stage where they have invested what them is a lot of money and feel as the title states when to stop.

My reply at #10 was in response to Bluestuff ref #8, to get the full picture follow his posts. I don't understand your comment "most confusing comment." I agree fully with what Man in the Car has said, I love working on and driving my F. Regards D4KGP.

Daffers 05

· #17 · 2 mo ago

Not going to argue with you over comments made, I replied in regards to the original point of view.

D4KGP

· #18 · 2 mo ago

Daffers 05 said:
Not going to argue with you over comments made, I replied in regards to the original point of view.

No one is arguing! We are just giving our opinions/advice and trying to be helpful in whatever way we can. Regards D4KGP.

Daffers 05

· #19 · 2 mo ago

Exactly what I was doing as you advised follow the posts.

Reactions: 1

coffeebreakbios

Discussion Starter · #20 · 2 mo ago

I suppose that in my case, it's stubbornness, Im not going to let the car defeat me.
As said in Star treck, One small step for mankind.
Each repair should be one step towards a nice running, complete car, but when you have completed the said one step, two more steps appear.
I have a strange feeling that my car is demonic, it's just as stubborn as I am 😇

Reactions: 1

1 - 20 of 28 Posts

Top