Knowing what you know now, would you do it again ?

David

David

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I'm nearing the end of the restoration. All in, I'll probably come in around $60k. I wonder if I would have started on the project knowing in the end I'd spend the equivalent of a new Merc or Rover only to have a car I can't drive in the rain, has limited parts availability, and is frankly not very safe to drive (lack of air bags, decorative bumpers, etc.). Even in this town where I've driven next to Veryon's, Lusso's, Merc SLR's and even a Pagani, the coupe always stands out. Still, I don't know if I'd do it again.
 
MMercury said:
Touché

Some decisions are wiser than others. Buyer's remorse is unavoidable. Consider some other choices: marriage, cosmetic surgery, career, neru jackets, showroom condition Yugo, harvest green kitchen cabinets . . . . ?

Do we view each choice just individually and through an accountant's lens? Some few might argue $60K worth of therapy is preferred over $60K worth of MSFT as a penny stock. (insert all emoticons here!)
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the rolls and this one, difficult to express better, +1

but there is a question, did you pay for all that restoration process, ordering someone to do the work, or did you do it by yourself, at least part of it

answering your question:

i admit that i will not start again all this process, but i have found it very interesting doing the most part of it by myself, and that has included searching for information, studying, asking and receiving information from many, many people, some of them living in the other side of the world

so i found that not only the summit has been interesting but the path has been also fantastic

and most of the joy has been that now i can be here cmunicating with you and others

regards
 
I think I would

My 73 has nicer lines than a modern BMW. The amount I have spent (mostly to pay others) is a lot but less than any modern car I would want.
As far as snob appeal, I rarely see an E9 in New Hampshire.
From what I read, the new BMWs are not as durable..
I am happy and would do it again
 
Reload this Page Knowing what you know now, would you do it again ?

The only thing I would do again is perhaps taking more time for research. Perhaps I would try to by someone else's restoration...but well sorted cars simply aren't sold very often....
 
Fortunately I owned one 25 years ago, I knew what I was getting into when I sourced my current one and researched/bought accordingly, a year later, no regrets.
 
knowing what I know now... I would do it again, BUT, sooner. Like many people here it took me a while to find the right one for me. I passed on a couple that look good in retrospect. It wasn't too long ago that CSLs in good condition were -dare I say- affordable. (by the way, anybody here end up with the polaris CSL from Charles in GA?)

Stan said:
As far as snob appeal, I rarely see an E9 in New Hampshire.
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Stan, drive to the White Mtns. region more often so both of us can say we've seen one on the road!
 
Charles in GA? haven't seen a CSL for sale here in Georgia in a few years. i have heard there was one ... but nobody i know is aware of who or where. anybody know any details?
 
Hi rsporsche,
I was going to PM you to avoid hijacking the thread, but if anybody had anything to add I am curious who got the car. IIRC, Charles Can't-remember-his-last-name was selling a CSL around 2005. I think he was somewhere around metro Atlanta. I was arranging for a PPI when I got the call that it was sold.
This is, I think, the same motivation that makes people look up ex-girl/boy friends on the internet. What ever happened to ___?
 
Stan, drive to the White Mtns. region more often so both of us can say we've seen one on the road![/QUOTE]

Next year! Mario has my coupe down to the bare metal. By spring she should be painted and all put back together.
 
No regrets here. As the late Jack Kerouac(sp) said in On the Road, "Forget loss forever."
If someone gave me a new BMW I would sell it. If someone gave me a coupe I would treasure it.
 
David, from an accountant’s point of view spending 60K on an old car that’s worth maybe 30K or 40K doesn’t make any sense at all but I doubt that accountants have fun with old cars. Owning a fortyish year old BMW coupe is probably not the correct choice for everyone so I hope you do get enough enjoyment from the car that you don’t question your choice anymore.

The one thing I can tell you for sure after being in the collision & sheet metal trades for 40 years is “auto restoration work always takes longer & costs more than initially planed”. It’s even happening to me on my own coupe so don’t feel bad. ~ John Buchtenkirch
 
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