Whether you’ve been a car buff for years or recently picked up the hobby, there’s something you may already know – and that’s the fact that car restoration can get pricey. Depending on what you’re working with and what you’re looking to do – there are costs involved with restoring a vehicle and we always like to be realistic with our clients.
In our last post, we talked about the reasons why – even though this is an expensive hobby, for many of us the benefits to driving a fully restored beauty far outweigh anything. In this post, we’re covering the important things you should take into consideration before you dive into a car restoration project to decide if you’re really ready to go all out.
There’s Always Surprises
We always tell our customers that sometimes, there are parts that could end up not fitting a car – even though it’s made for that car. From modifications to aging and wear and tear, we may have to work harder to get an OEM piece to fit on these vehicles. Cars have had different life and experiences so it’s not comparing apples to apples when doing the same car restoration. While it is always our goal to give you an accurate estimate – it’s truly impossible to nail it down to the dollar with surprises and changes like these that can come up along the way.
Costs Can Vary Widely
In Connecticut, the average starting cost on restoration is $100,000. The average muscle car is worth about $30,00 – $50,00 so when you put that much additional cost on top of the purchase price for the vehicle, it’s a huge commitment for many to make. Depending on what you’re wanting to do, resto-mods can even reach up to $60,000 in the parts alone. So things can add up pretty quickly.
It’s a Very Expensive Hobby
While we love cars very much and find all the reasons to get a car restoration done, we are always honest in saying that this is a very expensive hobby and you should plan accordingly. We always tell customers to be prepared for a 10-20% increase on estimates due to any surprises.
If you’re worried about the costs for your dream car renovation it’s really a discussion to be had with your shop. Asking why a project is taking longer or why increases in prices are happening is a must. Sometimes extra time is needed to complete a part of the project, then you have to factor in the surprises that can pop up in the car itself – all of that adds labor time and more parts to purchase. You have to be financially prepared or the car will never get done.
