Quick quezzie for the experts..

Evening gents, I have a question for you.

I had a series 2a several years back and sold it in 2013 for just shy of 4k. It was rebuilt in 2010 with a new galv chassis and 200tdi engine. Just looking through fleabay, seen one in very similar nick although a bit more traditional, exactly the same year going for over 7k!

My question is, would it be possible to buy a project series for a couple of grand, restore it over the summer months and sell it on for a tidy wee profit come September time? I'm not too worried about man hours as I'm currently looking at a summer with nae work and a job lined up starting in sept. Should say I have access to a fully equipped workshop.

Anything is possible with time and skill .... making money on it, is not guaranteed, just very likely ...

Its all down to the margin. How much you pay, spend on the upgrade and what you need to make a turn. Provenance is important. Do you do the same as your previous or make it a period refurb? It's a wide market.

I'd say it's almpst impossible to predict how much a rebuild will cost until you break down the original vehicle. Yes, it can be done, but it's a risk. I know the bloke who sold me my Defender made a profit on it - he and a mate have done a few, buying ex working Landies with shot chassis and rebuilding with galvanised. It's a sideline though, not a living.

If you look at the numbers, the smart thing to do is let someone else buy it and pay you to do the work.

if you are looking at it as something to occupy your time it would probably be fun and you may get a return, if you are looking at it to provide you with an income during a period of no work I would say your time would be better spent elsewhere.

resto's are more often a labour of love.

how much return do you want? to illustrate the principle, say 12 weeks employed work at £400 net wage would give you £4,800 if you make a lot less than that on doing the car up and selling it then someone else has got your time for free.

and if you work at my speed it will be a lot longer than 12 weeks.

as said resto's also often take a lot longer than you think and cost more than you estimate, what happens come September when its still half finished?

Definitely can be done but be wary of the...
Time it takes...
And the sums involved...
If like me you buy one little money 400 pounds ten or so years ago...
Took 3 years of very pleasurable work in my spare time....
My now beautiful Landy has been professionally valued at...
10 thousand pounds....not bragging just saying its definitely possible to turn a near wreck into
Something to be...
Very very proud of

Thanks for the replies. Might be too much of a risk then at this point in time for myself as I don't have a lot of surplus cash. Still, can't help but feel a series2a kept clean and original for a few years would be a cracking investment; surely they're only going to increase in value? I suppose the only things certain in this world are death and taxes haha

Burny said:

Thanks for the replies. Might be too much of a risk then at this point in time for myself as I don't have a lot of surplus cash. Still, can't help but feel a series2a kept clean and original for a few years would be a cracking investment; surely they're only going to increase in value? I suppose the only things certain in this world are death and taxes haha

Click to expand...

if you are keeping it then it is more worthwhile, but you can't guarantee they will keep going up, cars are like any form of investment there are good and bad times, the bottom can fall out of the market just like it can in say housing. Gold has kept pace with inflation on average for hundreds of years but there have been periods where it has nosedived or rocketed.

in theory you could sell one at the peak of the market and buy it back in a trough and be quids in, you could easily have to sell it because you have no choice when people are giving them away.

Local chap does about 7 a year. Not complete resto jobs but he drops the body off, sorts the chassis and rebuilds em finishing with a lick of paint. Makes a few quid anorl.