So I'm watching Wheeler Dealers...

... and I'm wondering what cars would fit in that are available here? The episodes I'm watching are from Veloctiy's "Best of the Earlier Years" that they ran this weekend. Only two episodes so far, Saab 900 and Lancia Delta Integrale. My guess is that these episodes are from early 2000s (wikipedia confirms 2003 and 2005 respectively), which makes the cars about 20 years old.

Anyway, it got me thinking, what cars are around here that'd be worthwhile/fun to do this with... pick up cheap, fix the easy stuff, sell for a very slim profit.

Stuff that jumps out to me is the same stuff they've done... Miatas, MR2s (1st & 2nd gen), Saab 900 actually, maybe some Hondas (Si, Integra).

Well, I did a SAAB C-900 Turbo...

Well done... I'd like to try this, but I probably need to wait until I successfully move and have stuff like a residence and a garage.

Not that I want to make money; the appeal for me is resurrecting a car and breathing a little new life into it.

I honestly think you could do Fox Body Mustangs or 3rd gen F-Bodies. If you can pull the Wheeler Dealer tricks by finding a cheap one in reasonable shape that doesn't need a metric crap ton of work, the general public has an attachment to these cars and will pay a descent price for them.

I think it's too hard to find certain cars that appeal to people that you could sell again. Mike has had that problem before, especially with the amount of the same cars for sale.

With that said, unmolested popular Japanese cars of the mid-80's to late 90's could be a good flip.

80's Corvette

ebonyandivory wrote: 80's Corvette

wheeler dealer did one. a really sad one too.

Not long ago, I tweeted Edd that they needed to do an EG6 Civic hatch (5th gen/B16A-powered SiRII).

He never tweeted me back.

They did a AW11 MR2, C4 Corvette, 944 turbo, various classic muscle cars, Lotus Elan....

The MR2 episode made me want to buy one because they made the car look ridiculously simple.

As far as fixing a car for a profit? I wouldn't mess around with that but you could probably do well with a VW Corrado, Alfa GTV6, or Milano Verde. There seems to be wide price gaps between a good one and one in need of fixing for those cars. Probably because the parts are hard to find or expensive.

I wonder how a Triumph TR8 would do? There is that wedge shop that seems to have lots of parts for that car.

I don't know that I'm looking for flip for a proft. Simply buying, fixing a few simple things, enjoy for a few months up to a year, then sell on at negligible cost would be enough for me.

2.5RS, Corrado SLC, MKII GTI, Mazda 323 gtx, E30 M3, NA miata, Isuzu Impulse, Suzuki Swift Gt, Suzuki Samurai, C10 flareside, Fiero, Celica all-trac, Syclone/Typhoon

any car that's a "cracking" good time to drive when up to spec

Remember they dont count Eds labor costs. If tgey did they would be loosing on most every car.

From this:MGB GT - 1974 Model - $985 (Decatur)

To this: MGB-GT 1972 A Classic Beauty - $7900 (Athens, Ga.)

If we're going with classic roadsters would a Fiat 124 Spider work? I like them more than a regular MGB. Not a MGB GT nothing touches that.

I see 80s examples for cheap all the time.

I would love a MGB GT with working overdrive to take to work.

kanaric wrote: If we're going with classic roadsters would a Fiat 124 Spider work? I like them more than a regular MGB. Not a MGB GT nothing touches that. I see 80s examples for cheap all the time. I would love a MGB GT with working overdrive to take to work.

You need to check the prices of nice or really nice ones vs. the questionable ones.

If I were doing the same for an Alfa, I would check alfabb.com to see asking prices of the cars I'm interested in, and then keep a close eye on what I can find locally for not much money.

I've seen pre'74 Spiders go for very cheap money, and I know that done well, they can get very nice coin for them.

FWIW, it does help when you have a car that you are very familiar with, and have good sources of stuff.

dean1484 wrote: Remember they dont count Eds labor costs. If tgey did they would be loosing on most every car.

I don't count my labor costs either. My costs are what I bought the car for and what the parts cost to fix it. I don't count my labor because that is what I like to do, fix up cars that are on the verge of going downhill fast, but with a little time and money can be resurrected and have lots of life left in it. I have never taken on a project with the sole purpose being to make a profit, especially off of my labor.

Brian wrote:

ebonyandivory wrote: 80's Corvette

wheeler dealer did one. a really sad one too.

Sorry, shouldve been more specific. I had up to '82 in mind when I wrote that. I seem to remember the Vette they did.

E30 BMW

Any Datsun Z car or PL510, 610. Just make sure you check for rust! I'd also suggest the Datsun Roadsters but they are unobtanium nowadays.

Another fun ride, if you can find one that's not all chopped up or rusted through, is a Fiat X-19.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I honestly think you could do Fox Body Mustangs or 3rd gen F-Bodies. If you can pull the Wheeler Dealer tricks by finding a cheap one in reasonable shape that doesn't need a metric crap ton of work,

Good luck there, I don't think that exists anymore. The Fox body would be easier to find, but 3rd gen F-Body's in decent shape tend to be way overpriced with no way to recoup your costs.

Rupert wrote: Another fun ride, if you can find one that's not all chopped up or rusted through, is a Fiat X-19.

That would be my pick, too, as well as a Conquest. In the US, though, I think the best resale opportunities will be older trucks, Willy's wagons and Suburbans/Int'l Harvester items.

t25torx wrote:

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: I honestly think you could do Fox Body Mustangs or 3rd gen F-Bodies. If you can pull the Wheeler Dealer tricks by finding a cheap one in reasonable shape that doesn't need a metric crap ton of work,

Good luck there, I don't think that exists anymore. The Fox body would be easier to find, but 3rd gen F-Body's in decent shape tend to be way overpriced with no way to recoup your costs.

I think it depends on where you live. I still see cheap, descent F-Bodies and Fox-Bodies that need minor work every once in a while. I have seen similar stuff like what Mike brings to Edd.

dean1484 wrote: Remember they dont count Eds labor costs. If tgey did they would be loosing on most every car.

On the E39 M5, they didn't even count the cost of the new tires. After that, I stopped watching the show.

Jeep wranglers... High mileage Diesel Trucks... Toyota pickups...

The problem is that most of the cars previously mentioned are hard to come by and have a small following. If you are doing it to enjoy cool cars and make a little money that is one thing but to flip and make extra money you want to get things that appeal to a broad market.

I need to take my own advise, I have a bunch of oddball stuff right now and it isn't selling. The last car I sold was a 2003 Dodge Ram . Meanwhile my E34 540i 6-Speed, SC300 with a 1JZ twin turbo swap, 5-speed Forester, 5-Speed 2001 Camaro, and 1973 Dodge Dart sit unnoticed...

My Dodge Ram was a decent Wheeler Dealer project.

1996 Ram Cummins Diesel 4x4 with 215k on the clock, bought for $3500 from a local farmer.

Got a fresh body matched bed and front fenders for $500 or so from a local guy who was parting out a truck, got an interior from a junkyard for $200, new carpet for $100, recovered the headliner myself, had it painted, bed installed, fenders installed and rust fixed for $1700, installed a set of 33" Baja Claws on 07 Ram chrome wheels that I bought from a friend for $800 with the stickers still on the tires, rebuilt the front suspension, brakes, new shocks for around $600, installed a MBRP 4" exhaust originally meant for a Ford Superduty I got for $200, $100 levelling kit, $60 add-a-leafs, drove it for 45k miles, sold it for $6800.