Cost of Conplete Restortation

A

Arnold Hite

Guest
Siobhan,

Your question is difficult to answer. My advise is to not buy
either of the two project cars you are considering. Project cars only
make sense to people who enjoy the work or who have already restored an
amphi. If you have no interest in doing the work yourself then a
project car will end up costing you more than an already restored car.
Buy yourself a restored car, or at least a car that is in good shape.
It will be cheaper for you. Then over the years, as things break and
rust out, you will slowly gain the mechanical skills you need to take on
a full restoration. Good luck on you search.

Arnold Hite
Johns Island, SC

>________________________________________________________________________
>________________________________________________________________________
>
>Message: 1
> Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:01:07 +0000
> From: jkelly2511@comcast.net
>Subject: Re: Digest Number 1806
>
>Hello Amphicar Fans,
>
>Just want to say hello and let you know this is my first post (hope I did it
correctly!) I'm considering purchasing an Amphicar (my family loves cars and
these are so cool.) Can someone out there please tell me what would the
approximate cost of a restoration on an Amphi needing a complete restoration be?
Can you tell me what the cost is for an Amphi that just consists of a good metal
but nothing else (no motor or tranny installed, no lines installed, no seats
installed" in other words, just the shell of metal but all the parts come with
it? These are both available and we would have to decide between the two. Just
trying to decide which car is my better bet. I'm asking for the price for
someone else to do it as I am not a mechanic or body man. Any approximate
figures would be appreciated.
>
>Thanks,
>Siobhan
>
>
>
>
 
M

Mike Israel

Guest
Siobhan,

Welcome to the list.

It is really hard to say what it will cost to restore
an Amphi or any other vehicle, especially unseen.
Many restoration shops will not even quote a price up
front as there are too many variables and surprises.

In a nutshell, the answer is that it will cost you a
lot of money to restore an Amphicar or any other car.
"A lot" is a relative term but I know of several
persons who have spent $30k to restore an already
solid and complete car to top condition.

Doing the work yourself would save a lot of money but
you indicate you would outsorce it. You are looking
at hundreds of hours of labor when all is said and
done. It adds up fast.

Do not underestimate the cost of parts and materials.
If the Amphi you are looking at will need a lot of
parts, your costs can add up very fast. This is not
confirmed, but I understand that Gordon Imports just
took a big price increase in the past month or so.
Due to the rarity of the NOS parts, and the
reporoduction costs of new ones, they are much higher
than you would expect to pay on a vintage mainstream
car like a Mustang. For example, a perfectly stamped
full Mustang quarter panel from yearOne will run you
less than $200. Similar Amphicar pieces are twice
that amount for a panel that is much rougher and will
minimally require an additional $200 in labor just to
do the final metal shaping so that they will fit
properly.

If the restoration were something you can tackle on
your own then perhaps a different story. You would
still need to buy the "project cars" you describe at a
great price. Lately it seems that owners of rusted
hulks are looking at what the car "could" be worth
restored and pricing way too high. Yes, it could be
worth $40,000 when finished but if the hulk costs $10k
and requires another $38k in work and parts ....

In 9 out of 10 cases, the most cost efective approach
is to purchase an already restored vehicle. The
season is coming to an end so this is the time to buy.
In my opinion, prices seems to be a bit soft this
year. There are some nice cars out there at
amphicar.com for rather reasonable prices.



>________________________________________________________________________
> >
> >Message: 1
> > Date: Thu, 25 Aug 2005 17:01:07 +0000
> > From: jkelly2511@comcast.net
> >Subject: Re: Digest Number 1806
> >
> >Hello Amphicar Fans,
> >
> >Just want to say hello and let you know this is my
> first post (hope I did it correctly!) I'm
> considering purchasing an Amphicar (my family loves
> cars and these are so cool.) Can someone out there
> please tell me what would the approximate cost of a
> restoration on an Amphi needing a complete
> restoration be? Can you tell me what the cost is
> for an Amphi that just consists of a good metal but
> nothing else (no motor or tranny installed, no lines
> installed, no seats installed" in other words, just
> the shell of metal but all the parts come with it?
> These are both available and we would have to decide
> between the two. Just trying to decide which car is
> my better bet. I'm asking for the price for someone
> else to do it as I am not a mechanic or body man.
> Any approximate figures would be appreciated.
> >
> >Thanks,
> >Siobhan
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
 
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