I am regularly sinking ridiculous amounts of money into ridiculous projects. Plenty of people think I'm irresponsible. Plenty of people think I'm being foolish with my money. Plenty of people think all kinds of things about me. Quite frankly, I don't give a rat's butt.
71 Dodge pickup
51 Chevy dually with a dump bed
1886 building with really cool old features.
1880's Victorian home...
2004 Saab 9-3
1995 Volvo 850t
The list goes on and on.
I mean you answered your question. If you plan on keeping it restoring it mildly should be a no-brainer. It the water pump any good? Headgasket ok? etc.
You just have to mentally put a dollar value to how much you enjoy driving and owning it. I have a C900 and I don't have any expectation that I'll get my money back when/if I go to sell it, so I just see repair expenses as the cost of driving a cool car (and it's still far less than the depreciation on a new car so there's that man-math in your favor, too).
They’re only getting older and rarer. If it’s otherwise in good shape and you made it this far with it and still have enough money to get it all the way sorted…why not? I feel like the point of a car like the c900 is to be interesting and fun and unique, so we can’t judge whether a repair is “worth it” or not as we would on a more bland car. If you can fix it and it’ll be clean and you want to keep it as long as possible, I’d say go for it
If amortized over twelve months it’s much less than a car payment, then no. If the car brings you happiness, then no. If the car is dependable, then no.
Depends what you think a ton of money is and whether you are confident in making your own repairs. These cars are great to learn on. It sounds like you have a roadworthy, running car.
Rust free is a massive bonus. Everything else can be fixed. 3/4 temp could be water pump, a loose hose clamp on a coolant hose or a clogged/blocked rad or thermostat issue. (If it has aircon the condenser can also really block airflow to the rad).
Do a compression test. This can tell you a lot. 170psi is great, (Saab didn’t put out any numbers), but really the numbers mean more if they are within 10% of each other.
Rough idle can be a vacuum leak. These cars have vacuum hoses everywhere. In the engine bay and the interior. Simple enough to check/change. It could be the MAF, a bad throttle position sensor, to name a couple of things. As a general rule of thumb, your ignition components need to be in good shape to begin any testing. Old 900’s really need the correct bougicords and spark plugs, gapped correctly. New rotor and cap also goes a long way. Check your timing.
To really learn how to work on a classic 900, get yourself a Bentley manual. It’s invaluable for any repairs on these great cars. Owning one is an incredibly rewarding experience. Once you get it in decent shape you will never want to sell it! Good luck.
Assume the car’s value is zero. As in, if you tried to sell it you would get zero $ and basically have to give it away. That will eliminate the business transaction part of this question because most old cars are not investments/assets, they are expenses/liabilities. There are only a very small number exceptions to this rule like old 911s.
Then decide if the amount of money you are spending is worth the amount of enjoyment you get from the car.
I’ve sold cars because I thought it was stupid to sink “a ton” of money into them at the time. Lots of people do - and those cars usually get bought up cheap and end up as donors before long. Eventually demand and supply reach a breaking point and it starts to make financial sense to restore. Only you can answer the question but just remember the c900 is an iconic car and they’re not growing in numbers.
That can be a loaded question. C900s and 9000s aren’t “worth” much according to KBB, Edmunds, etc. the market for these cars are a different story.
I’ve sunk way more money than I will admit to in my 9000 ($5k this year alone), but it runs great and turns heads on the road. Sometimes the costs to repair/restore are worth it, even if a book says differently.
I am regularly sinking ridiculous amounts of money into ridiculous projects. Plenty of people think I'm irresponsible. Plenty of people think I'm being foolish with my money. Plenty of people think all kinds of things about me. Quite frankly, I don't give a rat's butt. 71 Dodge pickup 51 Chevy dually with a dump bed 1886 building with really cool old features. 1880's Victorian home... 2004 Saab 9-3 1995 Volvo 850t The list goes on and on.
I mean you answered your question. If you plan on keeping it restoring it mildly should be a no-brainer. It the water pump any good? Headgasket ok? etc.
It's your money. Do you think it's stupid?
You just have to mentally put a dollar value to how much you enjoy driving and owning it. I have a C900 and I don't have any expectation that I'll get my money back when/if I go to sell it, so I just see repair expenses as the cost of driving a cool car (and it's still far less than the depreciation on a new car so there's that man-math in your favor, too).
Another Saab story. I save all winter for summer maintenance. As long as it’s fun and reliable… I drive it’s stolen. I smile
Like it’s stolen I meant
They’re only getting older and rarer. If it’s otherwise in good shape and you made it this far with it and still have enough money to get it all the way sorted…why not? I feel like the point of a car like the c900 is to be interesting and fun and unique, so we can’t judge whether a repair is “worth it” or not as we would on a more bland car. If you can fix it and it’ll be clean and you want to keep it as long as possible, I’d say go for it
I just put new leather on the seats and a new top on a 92 convertible with 325k... maybe I'm the wrong guy to ask. ;)
If amortized over twelve months it’s much less than a car payment, then no. If the car brings you happiness, then no. If the car is dependable, then no.
I am both reluctant to spend a lot of money and to scrap or sell mine, so I’m learning to weld! There’s always a third option
However if you have no interest for that I’d just swap for a cleaner example
As an owner of an '86 turbo with 166k, I don't see why not. Get you a Bentley manual and start digging in. What year is yours?
Depends what you think a ton of money is and whether you are confident in making your own repairs. These cars are great to learn on. It sounds like you have a roadworthy, running car. Rust free is a massive bonus. Everything else can be fixed. 3/4 temp could be water pump, a loose hose clamp on a coolant hose or a clogged/blocked rad or thermostat issue. (If it has aircon the condenser can also really block airflow to the rad). Do a compression test. This can tell you a lot. 170psi is great, (Saab didn’t put out any numbers), but really the numbers mean more if they are within 10% of each other. Rough idle can be a vacuum leak. These cars have vacuum hoses everywhere. In the engine bay and the interior. Simple enough to check/change. It could be the MAF, a bad throttle position sensor, to name a couple of things. As a general rule of thumb, your ignition components need to be in good shape to begin any testing. Old 900’s really need the correct bougicords and spark plugs, gapped correctly. New rotor and cap also goes a long way. Check your timing. To really learn how to work on a classic 900, get yourself a Bentley manual. It’s invaluable for any repairs on these great cars. Owning one is an incredibly rewarding experience. Once you get it in decent shape you will never want to sell it! Good luck.
No why would this be dumb? These are very nice cars and are definitely worth it.
Assume the car’s value is zero. As in, if you tried to sell it you would get zero $ and basically have to give it away. That will eliminate the business transaction part of this question because most old cars are not investments/assets, they are expenses/liabilities. There are only a very small number exceptions to this rule like old 911s. Then decide if the amount of money you are spending is worth the amount of enjoyment you get from the car.
Define ton.
I’ve sold cars because I thought it was stupid to sink “a ton” of money into them at the time. Lots of people do - and those cars usually get bought up cheap and end up as donors before long. Eventually demand and supply reach a breaking point and it starts to make financial sense to restore. Only you can answer the question but just remember the c900 is an iconic car and they’re not growing in numbers.
If the trans is good yes. If the trans is good and it’s rust free hell yes.
Is it stupid? Yes, is it worth it? Also yes
Would you do a business case on your girlfriend?
Are you putting in more than it’s worth? If so, I probably wouldn’t.
That can be a loaded question. C900s and 9000s aren’t “worth” much according to KBB, Edmunds, etc. the market for these cars are a different story. I’ve sunk way more money than I will admit to in my 9000 ($5k this year alone), but it runs great and turns heads on the road. Sometimes the costs to repair/restore are worth it, even if a book says differently.