"Built vs Bought"

[dwphoto]

The age old question of Built vs Bought...

Do you start with a stock vehicle and build it from the ground up or do you buy something already built and go have fun with it and make changes as needed?

What's your take ?

 

[Cleandezert]

oh this could be fun... I have bought a few " finished vehicles" and they are never finished. Seems like I am always buying other peoples problems... But then again, I also like making a truck mine and tinkering is fun.

All that being said. i would never build a ground up vehicle again. way too much work and time.

 

[Turboyota]

If you’re intrinsically motivated and have the time, a purpose built truck with every desired custom feature is the way to go.

 

[the bodj]

Building the vehicle is the part I thoroughly enjoy. I love making new parts, assemblies… I absolutely despise maintenance, which is basically all of owning a pre-built vehicle.

 

[Hi-Desert Motorsports]

a smart person buys a complete chassis that has decent parts and good fab work from someone who has lost interest at a HUGE discount compared to what it would cost to start from scratch. That being said.... I am not one of those smart persons

 

[juberafab]

As a builder I see both sides. I have worked on many vehicles that need so much work to be sound and safe to even use, it would have been better for the owner to start over vs waste money to pay someone to fix the issues. I think it all depends on ur budget and knowledge. If u are buying a vehicle why not have a known reputable fabricator and mechanic asses the vehicle in question. That money could be way worth it. I do think that building a vehicle in stages can be the way to go for newcomers. Another thing to think about that most don't is, has the vehicle had all the bugs worked out. We have all been there, new builds take time to get the issues worked out and a seasoned well built vehicle can be worth it weight in gold and a lot of buyers over look that aspect. Fash is everything now of days. It's easy to make vehicle look good but u can't change the bones with out major surgery. I have seen so many newly built vehicles sold with no miles on the for big $ over a well built seasoned truck that may need some TLC.

 

[Dirtfiend602]

Really depends. I’d buy a project , for example, a pre 87 Bronco that already had a solo or desolate kit on it, anything beyond that I either couldn’t afford or would pick it apart and re do it anyway.

 

[DesertGoat]

if you're going to build it... you really have to enjoy the building process. Because nearly everything else about building a truck is a negative.
Infrastructure requirements are higher (tools, space, time)
the total duration before you go on trips is going to be longer
the total cost to get the finished product is higher

Fortunately I love the process, but i also have another stockish rig to let me continue going on trips. can't wait till the full speed truck is done, though.

 

[WW_RANGER_X]

I think it also depends on your age, motivation and where you're at in life at that current time of trying to decide. Looking back when i was knee deep in building my ranger, i was super motivated. Every night in the garage figuring stuff out. Now, with a family, honey do's, kids stuff, house stuff, prices of everything i'd much rather buy something "complete" if i was financially able to, which is a big reason i sold the ranger to get a Raptor. not as fast or cool, but well rounded and plenty of aftermarket support.

 

[Juan50JuanRum]

Personally my truck has brought me so much knowledge and i see it as an investment into my self and skills learned. Bought the truck bone stock and now its pretty damn built. I had gotten a 240sx for a drift car that had janky work to it and i didnt feel the same connection even though i built it out the rest of the way towards a FD style car, sold it and didnt regret it as much as i didnt have the pride of saying i built the whole things. From here on out id rather just start fresh and do everything how id like it done. have a few fab buddies i would trust doing work but it would be my design.

 

[Fenix Motorsports]

Personally, I'm picky as shit, so I prefer buying stock and building from the ground up, its expensive but its really the only way for me to be 100% sure its done right, especially without blowing the whole car apart, but I do believe that buying a prebuilt truck is a money saver since for the most part if its just jo-shmo selling his truck you can typically get decent parts for pennies on the dollar (figure of speech, its still expensive), the exception being, buying from someone that has a well known high level build like something from MCD1.

 

[85Yota]

I've never bought a built truck besides ex gf got a ranger with extended forged beams and coilovers which required me rebuilding the front end except the beams and doing bumpers etc.

Also a spin off to this thread.

Do you consider that you did the build wheh you bought parts and had a shop do everything for you and you just pay the bill and drive the truck?

I've always worked on my own vehicles so my idea of building it is using your welder and tools to build and install the kit yourself or at least helping with every step of the projects progression from stock to prerunner.

 

[Hi-Desert Motorsports]

I've never bought a built truck besides ex gf got a ranger with extended forged beams and coilovers which required me rebuilding the front end except the beams and doing bumpers etc.

Also a spin off to this thread.

Do you consider that you did the build wheh you bought parts and had a shop do everything for you and you just pay the bill and drive the truck?

I've always worked on my own vehicles so my idea of building it is using your welder and tools to build and install the kit yourself or at least helping with every step of the projects progression from stock to prerunner.

For the spin off, I think it depends on how you go about having a shop do it. If you go to a shop and say "heres a blank check build me truk" then you didnt build squat and probably have no idea what was all done. But if you are involved with the process with a shop from design to parts used, and how you want things to turn out, I feel like to a degree you had a hand in "building" that truck even if it wasnt your own two hands coping the tubes. Im sure some will disagree with this though

 

[Turboyota]

Building the vehicle means BUILDING the vehicle. If you didn’t cut the plates, bend the tubes, grind the fucking seam sealer off of the pinch welds, and spend countless hours grinding/sanding the stock frame, you didn’t build it.

I’ll take this a fucking step further: if you didn’t build the suspension from scratch and just bought something from Threat, TT Motorsports, BTF, Total Chaos etc, and all you did was sling a couple hundred feet of tube? Thats better than nothing, but buying a pre-cut centermount kit from DIY Offroad and building it from scratch and designing the steering geometry yourself are different fucking sports.

 

[85Yota]

I love when Hot Rod old guys say they built their cars, aka paid a hot rod shop to build the car to what they wanted, color, interior, wheels tires stance motor etc.

 

[HarrisConcepts]

Unfortunately I am stuck on the build it track, i do thoroughly enjoy the thought, layout, construction and finished product, with that being said it is a double edge sword, everything I have built i look back and see flaws and mistakes that many may never notice. Buying something or have a shop build it, you can blame it on them. (Kidding) i have friends that buy projects are ready started, and it seems like even the shitboxes are astronomically overpriced, idk maybe start from scratch with 2nd hand parts… both routes have pros and cons i guess

 

[Fenix Motorsports]

Unfortunately I am stuck on the build it track, i do thoroughly enjoy the thought, layout, construction and finished product, with that being said it is a double edge sword, everything I have built i look back and see flaws and mistakes that many may never notice. Buying something or have a shop build it, you can blame it on them. (Kidding) i have friends that buy projects are ready started, and it seems like even the shitboxes are astronomically overpriced, idk maybe start from scratch with 2nd hand parts… both routes have pros and cons i guess

Most shit-boxes are definitely overpriced, although every once in awhile I come across something reasonably priced, I think the issue is people try to turn a profit on their half-assed builds thinking the work is done and parts are bought, but in reality most of it needs to be cut off and redone to work properly and be safe, at least from what I've seen.

 

[FlyByRacing]

After doing it both ways several times now I'd rather start with a 100% stock truck and build from there. I enjoy the whole process of designing new stuff and then watching it take shape. Also gives me good knowledge of every inch of the truck, what needs to be addressed mechanically as the trucks being built. I've had pretty decent luck with buying other people's built/projects but I generally end up cutting most of the stuff off and building it to what I want. But probably the biggest thing is I hate redoing other people's wiring

 

[Fenix Motorsports]

After doing it both ways several times now I'd rather start with a 100% stock truck and build from there. I enjoy the whole process of designing new stuff and then watching it take shape. Also gives me good knowledge of every inch of the truck, what needs to be addressed mechanically as the trucks being built. I've had pretty decent luck with buying other people's built/projects but I generally end up cutting most of the stuff off and building it to what I want. But probably the biggest thing is I hate redoing other people's wiring

I agree, I mainly don't like finding the little surprises that make you question how many braincells people have, like trying to use exhaust clamps and a spring to turn a regular gas shock into a makeshift coil-over, additionally, yes, dealing with other peoples wiring is a nightmare, my buddy has a cable duct taped to his windshield going to a rats-nest of wire in the engine bay for a light bar on his tacoma, every time I see it I cringe.

 

[2012SVTSC]

I have learned for me, all my ground up builds just end up turning into some type of race car that's actually not legal for any race classes nor useful for street, I end up going to far.

Now I am more interested in lightly modifying vehicles and less full building. So at this time I would be in the buy then mod camp.