What's it feel like ...
Discussion
... to sell a car you've built yourself?
My Dax Tojeiro is the first kit car I've built and as much as I've loved building and driving it, I am starting to get the odd little thought creeping in of selling it to fund some new project (as yet undecided what).
I think I'm still some way from actually doing it, but just wondered about other people's experiences and whether they've regretted parting with a cherished project or is it just a case of move on and don't look back?
Chris
My Dax Tojeiro is the first kit car I've built and as much as I've loved building and driving it, I am starting to get the odd little thought creeping in of selling it to fund some new project (as yet undecided what).
I think I'm still some way from actually doing it, but just wondered about other people's experiences and whether they've regretted parting with a cherished project or is it just a case of move on and don't look back?
Chris
Hmmmm, interesting question. Over the last 33 (that long???) I've owned a load of cars,some I have just owned a long time and kept going, sometimes modifying along the way, some I have rebuilt myself sometimes virtually from the ground up and and one kit, a Caterham.
In the older days, I used to have a lot of misgivings about selling any "baby". I had to be driven away, in tears, (well almost, big lump in throat, couldn't speak) by a friend when I delivered my Clan to its new owner in Kendal back in 84. Later on, started doing up a few cars to sell and the feeling was "well thats away, next".
When I built the Caterham in 1990, I was going to sell at a profit to fund a better one, however when it was finished I couldn't bear to part with it. 12 years on in 2002, having done 22k miles in it, I found it totally superseded by the TVR i had bought a year earlier and I simply wasn't using it anymore. Had been also been Hillclimbing it, but was frightened of damaging a £10k car so sold it. Only thought was "well thats away, can now pay off the loan on the TVR and start saving the payments instead"
No second thoughts whatsoever, everybody was amazed at how cold I was to it all.
If you're thinking of selling, just think about the future and what you plan to do next. Don't look back.
Despite this, still wonder what happened to some of my old cars.... how they are now.....scrapped probably most of them.... the old MGs, the mini's the metro's, Cortina, the BMW2002, the Elan and Lotus 7 Twin Cam....
In the older days, I used to have a lot of misgivings about selling any "baby". I had to be driven away, in tears, (well almost, big lump in throat, couldn't speak) by a friend when I delivered my Clan to its new owner in Kendal back in 84. Later on, started doing up a few cars to sell and the feeling was "well thats away, next".
When I built the Caterham in 1990, I was going to sell at a profit to fund a better one, however when it was finished I couldn't bear to part with it. 12 years on in 2002, having done 22k miles in it, I found it totally superseded by the TVR i had bought a year earlier and I simply wasn't using it anymore. Had been also been Hillclimbing it, but was frightened of damaging a £10k car so sold it. Only thought was "well thats away, can now pay off the loan on the TVR and start saving the payments instead"
No second thoughts whatsoever, everybody was amazed at how cold I was to it all.
If you're thinking of selling, just think about the future and what you plan to do next. Don't look back.
Despite this, still wonder what happened to some of my old cars.... how they are now.....scrapped probably most of them.... the old MGs, the mini's the metro's, Cortina, the BMW2002, the Elan and Lotus 7 Twin Cam....
I sold my kit car after a year to fund an everyday car and have kind of regretted it ever since. If however I had sold it to fund a new project I don't think the regret would have been so bad.
I do wonder where it is from time to time, but decided to take the plunge and by myslef a Dutton to replace it!
I do wonder where it is from time to time, but decided to take the plunge and by myslef a Dutton to replace it!
I started and then ran Pilgrim Cars for 20 years. So I could never get too sentimental about any of the cars I built. Like a farmer not getting sentimental about stock.
Tell you what though, in that time I was astonished at the number of customers who 'phoned to say "got it on the road" and a week later to say "know anybody who wants to buy it?"
At first i found this worrying until I found out why. Seems some folk build for the pleasure of building and others for the joy of motoring. Everyone to their own I say and when you think about it those in the former camp have given a great deal of pleasure to those in the later camp who couldn't build their own.
Here's a suggestion. Don't sell it, but put it up for adoption. I haven't driven a Cobra since i sold Pilgrim and I'd take ever such good care of her.
Tell you what though, in that time I was astonished at the number of customers who 'phoned to say "got it on the road" and a week later to say "know anybody who wants to buy it?"
At first i found this worrying until I found out why. Seems some folk build for the pleasure of building and others for the joy of motoring. Everyone to their own I say and when you think about it those in the former camp have given a great deal of pleasure to those in the later camp who couldn't build their own.
Here's a suggestion. Don't sell it, but put it up for adoption. I haven't driven a Cobra since i sold Pilgrim and I'd take ever such good care of her.
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