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Saw an episode in which they buy a Honda S2000. Engine didn't have any power, steering felt wrong, and washer pump wasn't working. Guy said he had the engine overhauled and still no power. In American dollars they bought the car for about $6,120. Engine error code showed bad O2 sensor. Real engine problem was a piece of gasket sealant got into the oil filter of the oil pump for the VTEC system. Removed the sealant, replaced oil seals, and engine works fine. Washer problem was an aftermarket headlight washer pump leaked out all the fluid and didn't work anymore. Replaced with original Honda headlight washer pump. Steering problem was more serious. The under body guard was no longer there and so the electric power steering motor had corrosion and needed to be replaced. Found a reconditioned motor instead of spending a small fortune for a new one. Took rims to a shop to recondition them instead of replacing. Reconditioned headlight lenses. Purchased used factory stereo head unit off eBay so dash controls could control stereo again.
Repairs parts and rim reconditioning was about $1,912 for a total spent of $8,032. They advertised the car at $10,327. Had several people on the phone offer to pay the asking price. However, the original owner called saying he'd like to buy it back at more than the asking price. He bought it back for $10,710. I wonder how much labor Ed China would have charged in labor for the work he did to the car and if it would have brought the price up close to what the original owner paid to get his car back?
Love the part where they sourced the original factory radio so that it would work with the dash controls. I remember the flip down (in slow mode) panel of that unit and less than stellar performance. Definitely a case where OEM is inferior but I still prefer it. Actually I liked that they kept the car stock, they obviously saw that its value in the future was this and not something tarted up. Also that is a great color that is almost never seen in these parts. I just noticed on that show they never seem to mention the year of the car. For S2K owners they would want to know this to differentiate engine version amongst other things, but I guess there is a reason they do this on WD.
Yeah that's a problem with that show. They don't factor their time into the investment at all.
actually they do. its in the profit margin they get when selling the car. also ed constantly mentions roughly how much one would have to pay a pro to do the work.
actually they do. its in the profit margin they get when selling the car. also ed constantly mentions roughly how much one would have to pay a pro to do the work.
But I never hear Ed say it took X hours of his time to prep Y car. In this case he didn't say how much time he spent on the steering rack of the S2000, nor did he mention how much it would have cost at a shop. If he did itemize every fix then you could figure out how much each hour of his time was worth. In the case of that Lexus LS 400 it probably would have been less than minimum wage.
But I never hear Ed say it took X hours of his time to prep Y car. In this case he didn't say how much time he spent on the steering rack of the S2000, nor did he mention how much it would have cost at a shop. If he did itemize every fix then you could figure out how much each hour of his time was worth. In the case of that Lexus LS 400 it probably would have been less than minimum wage.
You definitely don't get the point of the show. The point is showing that if you were to pick up a car, fix it yourself, you could sell it on for a profit. If you were to take the same car, pay a shop to do it, then sell it, you wouldn't turn a profit. People talk about this all the time on this forum. The cost saving of doing an oil change yourself versus paying a shop to do it.
You definitely don't get the point of the show. The point is showing that if you were to pick up a car, fix it yourself, you could sell it on for a profit. If you were to take the same car, pay a shop to do it, then sell it, you wouldn't turn a profit. People talk about this all the time on this forum. The cost saving of doing an oil change yourself versus paying a shop to do it.
Of course but obviously they want to get more return for each hour of time invested which is why Mike is so picky with his car buying choices. That Lexus LS400 I mentioned was considered not a great flip since they go so little return on their investment of money and time. And the show is totally unrealistic in that 90% of their audience does not have either the time, money, tools or expertise to pull off what they do on TV.
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