Can you make money selling your Rat Rod

[jimisbell]

It's similar in Australia.
and why spoil a great hobby by trying to make a business out of it

Years ago I tried to make my auto hobby into a business. I imported Bentleys from England and did minimal restoration, just enough to make them "drivers" and resold them to guys like myself that could not afford a fully restored Rolls or Bentley. I was very successful....as far as money goes. But I began to realize that a Dr or a Lawyer that could afford a fully restored car didnt care what it cost and was not interested in my Bentleys that I was selling for $2500 to $5000. And I found out that the guy that works very hard to scrape up $2500 doesnt let go of it easily. Its like pulling hens teeth to get that money away from someone that has worked hard for it.

AND, I started hating every a$$ hole that would come to my lot and kick the tires of my beautiful Bently Coupe and say "What do you want for this piece of junk." It got to the place I didnt want to carry a gun for fear I would use it on the jerk.

So after a very successful first year I closed the business and am once again very happy playing around with cars.

I am thinking of closing my FFL Gunsmith business for the same reason. It makes money, but I did it for love of guns, not to make money. I have learned a lot so after two years I may give up my license.

 

[Undercover Customs]

Years ago I tried to make my auto hobby into a business. I imported Bentleys from England and did minimal restoration, just enough to make them "drivers" and resold them to guys like myself that could not afford a fully restored Rolls or Bentley. I was very successful....as far as money goes. But I began to realize that a Dr or a Lawyer that could afford a fully restored car didnt care what it cost and was not interested in my Bentleys that I was selling for $2500 to $5000. And I found out that the guy that works very hard to scrape up $2500 doesnt let go of it easily. Its like pulling hens teeth to get that money away from someone that has worked hard for it.

AND, I started hating every a$$ hole that would come to my lot and kick the tires of my beautiful Bently Coupe and say "What do you want for this piece of junk." It got to the place I didnt want to carry a gun for fear I would use it on the jerk.

So after a very successful first year I closed the business and am once again very happy playing around with cars.

I am thinking of closing my FFL Gunsmith business for the same reason. It makes money, but I did it for love of guns, not to make money. I have learned a lot so after two years I may give up my license.

This totally makes sense but defies what you read in several articles/publications about doing what you love to do and you'll be successful. In any business, dealing with people is the hardest part of it. All it takes is one pain in the arse customer to taint your vision on the whole thing..

 

[jimisbell]

being a salesman is not my strong point. I am an engineer and I tell it like it is, measure it and write down the results, no mater which way the tree falls. Most people want a salesman that sugar coats it. I dont. What you see is what you get, no BS.

As to doing what you like to be happy, I looked for the job that paid the best and figured that after I got enough money I could do what I liked. It worked for me.

 

[Sam_Fear]

I'd rather talk to an engineer over a salesman anyday!!!

"Do what you love and you'll be successful" - I don't think male prostitute is gonna pan out for me. [ddd

 

[MercuryMac]

I chose to do what I liked doing [driving] and the money worked out nicely, in the end. I'm a trucker and farmer so I got in a lot of seat time. Maybe the secret to financial success is not cheating yourself by selling yourself short[like a farmer does, and quite a few hotrod builders].
Back to the original question, I know you can't sell your creation for what you've got into it, but please don't think you made money on the sale if you got enough money to cover the parts and that's all.

 

[RustyNCA]

Well, I have watched one of my closest friends build and double his money on all the rat rods he has built. He seems to build one a year for the fun and challenge of the build, then drives it till he get a good offer from someone that really wants the car.

He seems to do better on the rat rods than the "finished" cars, but my experience with him anyway, is he always does okay with them.

But the key with him.... he doesn't do it strictly to make a profit, he does it as a hobby and to challenge himself. He enjoys the car for a bit then gets the itch to build something new, so the word trickles out there and he sells and moves on....

Here are a few of his builds...

 

[jfg455]

A good friend of mine used to build street rods and sell them. He would be driving one while building one. He would buy peoples left over or abandoned street rod projects, motors and trans etc. He is a body shop manager so all the paint work and assembly is done by him. Only the upholstery is farmed out. His rule is never have more than $22K-$25K in the car and sell it for $30-$35K. This worked well for him up until 4 years ago when the economy dropped. Now he is stuck with a 32 coupe SBC no fenders and a 33 coupe BBC no fenders. Both glass bodied and finished.