Reply to "Socratic question of Pantera restoration."

Jeff,
I have observed several cases where a car has been done and then sold. I have customers that buy these cars and the reasons they have told me the cars were sold are:

Restoration took to long and the owner is not interested in the car any longer. There is another shop in this area that has several cars that have been in process for over 10years. I know the customers of these cars and they are all going to sell if they ever get their cars.

Speculation in the market. The next Coronet coming in was owner restored a few years ago and he sold it when the Hemi boom started. The car has been in magazines but has never had a front end alignment and a lot of things don't work.

Family problems. Divorce is the most common domestic reason I see for selling cars. Sometimes the cost puts a financial strain on the people involved and I know guys that now have no wife and no car. Its better to pull a car out of a shop than to cash in all your IRA's especially if your going to need them soon.

I dont want what I have now that I have it. Years ago we did a Black 68 Mustang Convertible for a customer and when it was done he was so scared of getting the car dirty or wrecking it that he only drove it once after completion. He sold it after 5 years of storage. I also see guys that realize having a concours car is a lot of work to keep them looking their best and tire of the constant upkeep.

Unfortunately there are cars that are slapped together to make a quick buck and ultimately someone has to sort it out. The MGB I talked about previously was a shiney red e-bay car that after purchased and stripped it found out to be made out of filler and rust. Its definately a buyer beware thing.