Flipping Classic Cars

[Wombat7051]

Hey all
I had some down time on the weekend and was watching a fast n loud marathon and it got me thinking about if it could be done here?
Now I know as with all reality TV it is contrived tripe, however it got me thinking about costs associated with this sort of thing.
Are the costs we face here for things such as engine building, paint and panel, etc too much to allow us to do this?
A lot of their stuff is done in house but when you see things like to cover 2 front seats $500 and a set of front seat covers, for say the HZ are $900 here, then they need to be fitted, are the overheads here too much or are we being ripped off?
Be interested to here everyone's thoughts

[HK1837]

Our Labour cost is too high. Makes it hard.

[Dr Terry]

There are many reasons why the costs associated with car restos is higher in Australia than it is in the USA.

Their market is larger, so if you set up to make something, any costs are amortised much more quickly.

Taxes are are also totally different, but the biggest difference is labour costs. Wages in Australia are quite high compared to those in the US.

I've been in the car industry for over 40 years & today, we have to be careful of anything which is too labour intensive.

Why do you think that we import so much from overseas. Not just China either, even European stuff can be made cheaper than in Aust. If Toyota, Holden & Ford can't manufacture here (even with subsidies) then who can ?

Dr Terry

[Wombat7051]

That was my thoughts, even if we do it in house ourselves it is still far too expensive.
A couple of things that spring to mind. My dad is a panel beater, used to have his own shop, he was saying the other day that if he was to do any work now it would be charged out at $95 / hr.
He says that the associated costs mean that this is a minimum just to make a dollar.
The labour costs here are getting that bad that a guy I work with has flown to the states to buy a mustang. He is then packing it in a container and shipping it straight to Indonesia to have the panel work done.

[RAEME]

It can't work here mate, the average quote to panel and paint a van appears to be $12000 to $18000. And it generally takes about 6 odd months to do it. After trim and tyres, rewire etc most cars would owe $40000 plus. Then try and sell for $20000 to $25000. Shame, like your thinking tho, the thought crossed my mind once.

[HK1837]

I have looked at this many times, but concentrating on collectable premium passenger GMH stuff. Essentially HK-HQ 1837 or HQ XW8, XU1 or L34. Maybe also dabbling in next level down so HK to HZ GTS sedan and coupe, SLR5000 and GTR.

But always been not worth the effort unless on the premium cars, but it simply costs too much. For example, a restorable HK 1837 (GTS327) without its engine is worth $50k. By the time you buy everything and complete it the cost would be $100k or more. You'd be lucky to sell one for more than $110k without its original engine and the supply of such cars to restore just isn't there anymore to be sustainable. When you get into the lesser stuff like SLR5000 the numbers stack up even less. Brad Hanrahan couldn't sell his beatifully restored and unique black LH SLR5000 for $60k and I bet the same car needing resto would fetch close to $30k, same deal with a restored Sandman has to be pretty special to fetch over $25k yet people think they are worth over $10k as a rusty restorer. The $ just don't stack up. You can buy a beatifully restored big block Camaro with all original driveline for $45k, or even a 1970 Z28 for $30's.

The only way I reckon you could do it would be as a non profit Charity or sheltered workshop where the cars were restored by either young people or disabled people under the guidance of retired or otherwise unemployed tradesman, where the people doing the work gain skills and maybe a trade out of it. Would be a worthwhile thing but you'd want to have won the lottery to set yourself up so you didn't have to work and simply did it for fun and for the benefit of those involved.

[Frosty]

a guy I work with has flown to the states to buy a mustang. He is then packing it in a container and shipping it straight to Indonesia to have the panel work done.

I have considered this myself and would like to know more, especially the final results. So where is it going to and do you know approx work costs,time expected to take etc?

[Wombat7051]

I have considered this myself and would like to know more, especially the final results. So where is it going to and do you know approx work costs,time expected to take etc?

He is in the states now frosty. He already has an Elanor and the guy who built that for him is organizing the body work but I will find out.
Good thought though living on a tropical beach doing cars for cash, paying little to no overheads in the Philippines or Thailand

[RAEME]

He is in the states now frosty. He already has an Elanor and the guy who built that for him is organizing the body work but I will find out.
Good thought though living on a tropical beach doing cars for cash, paying little to no overheads in the Philippines or Thailand

Funny you mentioned Elenor. There is a series called "Rides" it's a yank show, anyway they did a story on a company in Texas who build these Elenor copy's. Can't remember the name I'll look it up and let you know. Anyway they looked real good in the series, until you Google their name. Crikey!! Dodgy!! Not the word for it.
Unique performance, that was them. Look it up, interesting read.

[Frosty]

He is in the states now frosty. He already has an Elanor and the guy who built that for him is organizing the body work but I will find out.
Good thought though living on a tropical beach doing cars for cash, paying little to no overheads in the Philippines or Thailand

Now you got me thinking. There's a real business opportunity and I could wear thongs to work. Bali I think