I have a 1992 Mitsubishi 3000GT SL4 (non Turbo), with 190k+ miles on it. I’m thinking of doing some major work to it to make it like new (will cost about $10K for engine, transmission, paint). I’m worried about the insurance, though.
The Blue Book on this car is pretty much worthless, would only be $2k in excellent condition with 100 miles.
If I were to get into the smallest fender bender, the insurance company would most likely total it.
But it’s so unique! I hardly ever see others on the road. And they look so amazing, and are incredibly fun to drive, even if they’re not the fastest car on the road!
After I getting it running well, I could see myself showing it one day. Chrome everything that can be chromed, powdercoat the rest, strategic LEDs, etc.
So tell me I’m dumb for wanting to drop $10K to make it like new.
I’m not going to use a pejorative term like “dumb”, but I think that your $10k would be much better-spent on buying a newer car that would be more reliable, would perform better, and which would be a lot safer than your 27 year old Mitsu.
Because it is over 25 years it qulifies as a “classic” and can be insured thru haggerty and some others as well at declared value HOWEVER there are some restrictions you can not use the car as your regular transportation .commercially and must have another vehicle that has regular insurance and its not expensive SO RESTORE AND ENJOY
@Brian_Jewhurst has good advice. Insure it a classic car at declared value. There is Hagerty but also Grundy that insure classics like this.
I would also say your budget of $10k won’t be enough to make it like new so don’t try and do everything at once. If you try, the project will get stalled and you will find you have run out of skill and money and have a pile of parts rather than a car. Too many projects end up that way.
Take on a bite at a time so you can keep driving the car. It helps the motivation. Mechanicals first - suspension and steering, brakes. Engine, trans and diffs next. You will find you have spent your 10k and more at this point. Paint and interior last. Paint is very expensive. Allow for that.
This is one of those things that only you can decide to do . As said declared value insurance will have restrictions . Frankly I would be more impressed by this vehicle being a survivor or restored to as close to original factory condition as possible rather than modified .
I’m familiar with the term agreed value for car insurance. They will send someone to inspect the car and issue a policy based on an agreed value between you and them. I have two cars insured this way through my normal carrier. Can’t hurt to call and ask. If not several mentioned already. Hagerty is top notch.
Even if you spent $30,000 to restore it,its value will remain very low. Like other posters suggested,why not spend your money on a newer, safer vehicule.
mojodragon42_160328:
If the money you’re going to spend on this car is money you can part with, and if your heart is in restoring a car, then by all means go for it.
If you’re looking for a daily driver or dependable transportation, then as others have noted, I would spend the money on a newer vehicle.
It will likely cost more than $10,000 before you’re happy with it.
If that’s what you would enjoy and you can afford doing it why not? People spend that on vacations and have nothing but memories and T-shirts to show for it.
I’ve priced a rebuilt engine at $3k, dealer will swap them out for $2k, will also do the transmission repair at price of parts (if done during engine replace, because of overlapping labor costs), so basically new engine and transmission will cost about 7k total. Then a 3k paint job, and it’s almost like new. Will still need to do a lot to restore the dash, upholstery, etc, but it’ll be much better after $10k.
Not a good idea to install a rebuilt engine into a 190K chassis without new ball joints, bushings, tie rod ends, steering gear, shocks, struts springs and more.
Also not a good idea to ignore the 190K transmission and the rear differential.
And a 27 year old car with this many miles is likely to need almost anything else that moves or is in contact with sun.
If someone has given you a $3K quote on a paint job, be sure and look at similar work they’ve done for that price. $3K to me seems pretty low for a proper paint job.
I would budget more for this project if I were to do it myself and I can do nearly all my own work.
I am familiar with the Mitsubishi 3000GT, and you are right that this was a great car, which was once very common, but now is rare. It might not be considered a “classic” today, but someday it might. Good for you, for wanting to preserve this quality car, and keep it on the road!
I would stick with the necessary mechanical repairs only, and try to keep the car as “stock” as possible. I would not spend big bucks on cosmetics, such as paint, chrome trim, etc, which defeat the original look, anyways.
If you go into this with your eyes wide open, why not? Look how much people spend on golf and skiing and there’s not financial return on those things.
Your insurance agent should be able to help you with a policy or direct you to a number of organizations that can. See if there’s a local Mitsubishi club around.
Just remember a rule of thumb that applies to any customized or restored car, from a Model T up to current day tuners: If you keep track of what you spend on a car, you can expect to recover half the cost of the parts and none of the cost of the labor when you sell it.
Some cars and motorcycles are transportation machines and a few are hobbies that look like transportation machines. Look, stamp collectors have lots of stamps, but they don’t use them for postage. So car collectors and restores have cars, but they don’t use them for commuting. The factors that help you make decisions are completely different.
