Is "Built Not Bought" ruining the hobby?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by jawn

The common denominator is that stupid people are ruining hobby.

Weird. I heard the same thing being said at the dragstrip back in 1975.


I can't repeat what was said when the Japanese cars started showing up on the streets in numbers back then.

[pushrod]

I used to be very stubborn about doing everything myself. It must have been some desire to be seen as "independent" (as seen by me, didn't care about others).

I had a car project where I _did_ do everything myself, and it was a failure partly for that very reason. Everything took too long, or required buying very expensive one-time use tools. If I had been smart about what to do myself and what to open the wallet for, I'd be enjoying that car, instead of it being in a pile at a junkyard.

I don't see how car modding differs from anything else that takes time and money (aka everything). There is a balance to be had, and the smart ones are the ones that have found the balance that works for them.

Got lots of time and no money? Do most things yourself.

Rolling in cash but don't have any time to spare? Open your wallet.

Want to learn how to work on cars by getting your hands dirty? Go ahead, just don't get upset when someone else gets their car on the road by some other means.

[soulreapersteve]

Originally Posted by e1_griego

IG builds^^

Builds for likes, not for purpose.

This...

I see it on the "enthusiasts" facebook page.

Guy posts picture of his car with a gaudy (IMO!!!) build, then asks like for a like. Or adds a ridiculous filter for more attention.

[justatroll]

I am a car guy from before there was any kind of engine "ECU".

Rebuilt my first engine on a 72 Buick Skylark when I was 18 with nothing but the haynes manual and my brother's tools. Rebuilt VW engines on the floor of my apartment living room more than twice.

Even recently built an entire vintage race car myself including welding to fix the chassis, body work, fiberglass, & carbon fiber, complete engine build and trans rebuild.

However - I PAY to have the oil changed in my BRZ.
WHY?
Cuz I dont wanna "VOID" my warranty....

Actually it is because I want it to go in Subaru's record that THEY did the oil changes.
I want ZERO pushback if I ever have an engine problem.
So in the case of changing my oil (on a car under warranty), there are extenuating circumstances.
Did the same with my last toyota while it was still under warranty.

I rebuilt the transmission in my Suburban UNTIL the core finally gave out.
Then I paid (week before xmas) $3000 to have it completely rebuilt by Amaco.
WHY because of their warranty.
If I breakdown on the way to a race, my hagerty ins. will make sure I still make the event while Amaco will fix the trans while I enjoy the weekend.

Pick your fights when it comes to car maintenance.

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by soulreapersteve

This...

I see it on the "enthusiasts" facebook page.

Guy posts picture of his car with a gaudy (IMO!!!) build, then asks like for a like. Or adds a ridiculous filter for more attention.

Yeah I see that too. I say post pics of hot girls/cute animals or somthing instead of ruining a car for likes

[MokSpeed]

Everything is bought not built. Unless you hand made the car itself and all corresponding parts installed on the vehicle. Even then all the supplies and tools cost money. The whole concept is stupid. One way or another you earned the build because you had to purchase it in one form or fashion. I don't understand why people cannot just enjoy their cars without raining on another person's parade.

[e1_griego]

Locally I have not come across any angst of bought vs built, to be honest.

Let's be honest, the real problem is vaping haha.

[TylerLieberman]

"built not bought"
"real car enthusiast"
"killing the car scene"
"killing the game"
"you're the problem"

^Just a few quotes I see around the internet daily that make me cringe.

I mean, unless you started with a bare shell and fabbed up a bunch of pieces, did you really "build" anything? Buying an FRS at a dealership then buying some off the shelf coilovers, arms, exhaust, wheels, and whatever else isn't really much of a "build". All that shit was purchased from somewhere. All you did was bolt it on. Whatever.

Some people don't care to spend the time installing stuff. Some people don't know how. Doesn't matter to me. I think one should always be wanting to learn, but I'm not going to pass judgement just because they don't want to do it themselves.

All the cars I've owned in the past, I've worked on myself. Every part was installed by me, aside from paint work, cause I suck at painting for some reason. Now with my current car, I don't care to spend hours on end messing with it in the garage. If I have something quick and easy to do, I'll do it myself. But for other things that require more time or getting messy, I have a friend with a shop who does it for me now. It gives him business and it allows me to spend that time with family.

Like I just recently had him flush the brake fluid on the car. Could have easily done it myself, but I didn't care to spend the time doing it.

Neither way is "wrong". You have to individually determine the value of your time vs money.

[RichardsFRS]

Lets call the buyer a designer lol, the builder the engineer

I've had many cars and done many things, some were big to me, some small. I really don't have time for one of my cars to be offline, both my wife and I have to get to work. So if I take it apart it has to be back on the road Monday, if not I'm renting. I have a garge but not all the tools to do the job. I weigh the cost of buying the tools vs letting someone do it. If its small I'll do it, if its big someone else does it.

If I had another garage space as I've said before, the mustang would still be with and I'd be building the hell out of it, mostly that would be a learning experience but I'd have time to learn and digest it and not have to worry about being on the road monday.

[e1_griego]

Again, comes down the education, knowledge and purpose to me.

And I tend to gravitate towards folks that 1) know how their cars + mods work, 2) are interested in constantly learning new things or techniques and 3) use their cars in some sort of competitive or performance environment.

I personally don't see the point of spending $20k + mods and to ruin the functionality of a car to hardpark or go to car shows, but that's just me. For a toyobaru, I don't see the point of throwing garbage shocks on for moar lowarrrr when the raison d'etre is good handling.

I'm a bit 'get-off-my-lawn' about it, but so it goes. Maybe I'm the problem.

[go_a_way1]

Originally Posted by e1_griego

Locally I have not come across any angst of bought vs built, to be honest.

Let's be honest, the real problem is vaping haha.

THIS x1000!!

[Toyarzee]

Interesting thread and valid opinions. Mine is such that any true car enthusiast knows his/her way around their car to a competent extent, and can also drive it. I could give two shits about how that car came to be, cause you could crash it tomorrow and have to start all over which happens more frequently than I'd like to admit. That's not to say that I don't have an extended appreciation for a specific build that took talent and ingenuity to create, that is more or less a successful and clean build.

I don't do all the work on my own car for bragging rights or to save money. I do it because I have trust issues and feel I can either do a better job or will appreciate the work and my ride that much more.

Necessary? No, but it's sterile and I like the taste.

[mav1178]

The reason why some people build cars, and others buy built cars, is because everyone's perception of money and value is different.

What you value as a good bargain (work on your own cars, enjoyment) is not what others value as a good bargain (have someone else work on your car, do other things with your free time).

To each their own. No need to disrespect or put down someone just because they don't work on their own cars.

-alex

[TruRace]

I would absolutely have someone "build" my car if I could afford it. Unfortunately I can't (or am too cheap) so I do the wrenching myself. I've done plenty of work on all of my cars over the years and quite frankly I'm a little tired of it. After working 9-5 the last thing I want to do is be under a hood/car for the rest of the evening. On the weekends I usually doing things or just trying to chill. I don't particularly enjoy spending an entire Saturday working on my car.

With that being said, it is kind of silly to bring a car to a shop bolt on your exhaust or header. Simple things like that I think people should knock out themselves. It's pretty basic. The stuff I'm referring too are like clutches/flywheel, turbo kit installs, motor swaps/builds etc. Installs such as those which are very labor intensive I would not mind at all if a shop did that for me. But Im not hating on the guys that take their car to a shop to get their exhaust bolted on. Some people just don't have the means to do it.