This thread isn't about people, member reviews, etc. It's about the risks one takes when buying used stuff, e9 or otherwise. I was reading the differential post @sfdon about how shops have bake in risk/time/etc. into their pricing model. Over the last couple of years, I've grown to appreciate fabrication costs, and understand the risks of buying used stuff. I always buy used stuff, but I often sell the second half of the parts lot I buy to help pay for the first half. So when those parts don't pan out, the whole endeavor was for naught. I usually just keep the parts for myself and sell the nicer stuff. Some examples over the last 3 years:
Parts:
Parts:
- Purchased a set of Stahl Headers for $200 that needed $300 worth of post-collector work. More expensive to fix than I thought, puts my cheap headers right back at market rate after ceramic coating. Sold my good ones, keepign the bad.
- Purchased a set of Weds Bavarias from Ohio for $400 shipped. Due to the rust belt, the faces were stuck to the barrels. I sold them on CL at a loss. I could have sold to a forum member but I don't want them to endure the pain and disappointment of not getting them unstuck. It wasn't for lack of phone calls to dippers (dip), chrome shops (dip), machine shops (press), powder coaters (heat)
- Purchased a set of driver-quality Marchal 660's for cheap. Found out that chroming them would be like $600. Sigh...
- Purchased countless steering wheels that need restoration. No qualms there but the turnaround time is slow. Still a hobby but I'm not buying anymore wheels from the island of misfit toys. There are a few that I will likely never restore 'properly'.
- Purchased a odometer reset knob for a friend, set screw face is stripped, so I sold him mine instead. Deal with that later.
- Purchased a brass coolant tank to sell. I didn't like the quality of it so I sold mine instead. I bought a few more so I'm still good there, but I still have the "ok" one.
- Purchased a set of BBS Mahle style OZ wheels. Turns out they were 5x108 not 5x120. With a BMW in the driveway, I didn't even think to check.
- Purchased dashboard wood early on that was in worse shape than I realized. Gave it away to a forum member. I would have delt with it had I not acquired a parts car with a nice dash