Superlite Coupe - SLC - for sale - Virginia

Several prominent builders have quoted me 95K for new basic build. Add another 10K for more glamorous interior. Frankly I could not do it for that. But someone can. In the end they are only worth what someone is willing to pay. I know y'all are proud of the cars and the effort and rightful so but 85K is about right.:shrug:

The problem with generalizations like this is that they are just generalizations, and so not very useful when looking at a specific car.

Just as with normal cars, the cost for the "same" car can vary widely in terms of initial cost. Someone mentioned Porsche above, and that's a good case: you can buy a Cayenne for around $58K new, or easily blow it up to over $100K with options. Or start with the Cayenne Turbo S and with a few too many clicks on the options list it can get to $200K. An intelligent buyer looking at two Cayennes, one a stripper, and one loaded up with options would surely value the stripper car much less, or the loaded Turbo S much more.

The same thing applies to SLCs. They are all 1-of-1 cars that happen to begin with the same base. Then people put in wildly different drivetrains, very different interior treatments, no paint or $20K paint jobs, brake and wheel packages, no or major body modifications, wildly varying build quality, etc.

That's why it makes as much sense to say "any 2015 Cayenne is worth about $50K used" as it does to say "$85K is about right for an SLC". Neither statement has very much information value, because the cars are so different that each car must be valued on its own.

As Bill mentioned above, there are reasons why any expensive used car will be harder to sell. In the case of an SLC, you need to find a buyer with $80-140K in cash or readily convertable assets, which already makes the buyer pool very small. Then you need to find one who feels comfy with the idea of maintaining a one-off car, which makes the pool much smaller still. Then you have to find that buyer who loves your car.

It's a hard thing, and like all sales, if you wait to find the perfect buyer, you'll get a fair price. In a hurry?-- you'll end up taking much less than you would have gotten had you waited.

I don't know what a fair price is for any one car, but the market for that car is what a willing buyer and seller agree upon. For another car, that's an interesting number, but because of the extreme variability of these cars, it's just one data point, and not necessarily indicative of the market value of the next car.
 

HCF - John

Gearbox / Brake Systems
Several prominent builders have quoted me 95K for new basic build. Add another 10K for more glamorous interior. Frankly I could not do it for that. But someone can. In the end they are only worth what someone is willing to pay. I know y'all are proud of the cars and the effort and rightful so but 85K is about right.:shrug:

Hi Eric,
No commentary on what the right price is for Mike's car. It's nice and very well built.

That said, I've been pricing out a basic build and your quotes at $95k are very high.
Best,
John
 

PeteB

GT40s Supporter
Hi Eric,
No commentary on what the right price is for Mike's car. It's nice and very well built.

That said, I've been pricing out a basic build and your quotes at $95k are very high.
Best,
John

You must be missing something.
 
Hi Eric,
No commentary on what the right price is for Mike's car. It's nice and very well built.

That said, I've been pricing out a basic build and your quotes at $95k are very high.
Best,
John

anybody can make any number work on paper. Show me your number once you pony up real cash. Most of us are 100k+.
 
Funny thing is, I had the intention of doing a "basic build" when planning..... next thing you know I'm buying custom designed/built coolant tanks, went for the premium choice trans-axle, then added the LSD, my intended LS3 motor morphed into a LS376 (480hp) version (almost pulled the trigger on a LS7 - but didn't want the valve/valve guide issues that a few have been inflicted with). Oh, I can get traction control - well then let's add a RaceLogic TC system, didn't like my original seats - well those all carbon fiber Tillet's look nice.... and the list goes on. I didn't mention the dozens of new tools I bought, garage car lift - oh that's right, never mind they don't go with the car.

What's a basic build I guess I'm saying.
 
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HCF - John

Gearbox / Brake Systems
Funny thing is, I had the intention of doing a "basic build" when planning..... next thing you know I'm buying custom designed/built coolant tanks, went for the premium choice trans-axle, then added the LSD, my intended LS3 motor morphed into a LS376 (480hp) version (almost pulled the trigger on a LS7 - but didn't want the valve/valve guide issues that a few have been inflicted with). Oh, I can get traction control - well then let's add a RaceLogic TC system, didn't like my original seats - well those all carbon fiber Tillet's look nice.... and the list goes on. I didn't mention the dozens of new tools I bought, garage car lift - oh that's right, never mind they don't go with the car.

What's a basic build I guess I'm saying.

Not as optioned as yours, Mike!
 
Not as optioned as yours, Mike!

I know John and I do not mind this discourse on my thread.

It's New Years Eve and I'm on forum.... Jeez I got no life. I have at least cracked open a really cold Fat Tire beer though. It is true -"youth is wasted on the young".
 
I would ask Eric McClellan, if he's willing to share. His build was pretty much by the book, including an LS376 and Porsche transaxle, stock interior, no paint, etc.
 

HCF - John

Gearbox / Brake Systems
I know John and I do not mind this discourse on my thread.

It's New Years Eve and I'm on forum.... Jeez I got no life. I have at least cracked open a really cold Fat Tire beer though. It is true -"youth is wasted on the young".

Thanks Mike!
Forums are addictive... I hope my hour later time zone makes my log on a little less sad. Happy New Year!

Wait until you start building. You will find out what you were missing in your estimates. In my experience of actually building a pretty basic SLC, $95K is very reasonable.

Remember, the estimate was prepared by someone who has done over a dozen. But, OK!

I would ask Eric McClellan, if he's willing to share. His build was pretty much by the book, including an LS376 and Porsche transaxle, stock interior, no paint, etc.

That would be an interesting datapoint!

Happy New Year, everyone - 2016 is going to be a good one
 
Remember, the estimate was prepared by someone who has done over a dozen. But, OK!

Your wrestling alligators is over - it sounds like you've received a written quote from Allan that fits your budget/desires and you wouldn't have to settle for a car that wasn't exactly how you want it. If the build is spec'd just the way you want it, the labor costs are acceptable, and the time element for completion fits your wants -- you should move forward & order a new kit. I believe Fran takes 16 weeks from deposit check (give or take) and then rest is waiting and sending Ben Franklin's to Allan. I'm serious -- commission Allan for your build

Let us know how you specified the build, gear-box, door lifters, seats, interior tub or not, race/street tail, engine choice, painted or not etc. - exciting times for sure.
 
That would be an interesting datapoint!

Eric's car would not in my opinion be a good market survey candidate (unless we are going to create another category for must sell/duress sales - they are the anomaly, not the norm). It was traded for two other cars who's value was ?? (please no debates on porsche's & viper values) and posted to sell quickly for "family reasons" i.e. it was a duress sale. Besides the more powerful LS engine-525hp (over the stock LS3) & digital gauge cluster IIRC - it was a fairly basic level track-car type build.
 

Kelly

Lifetime Supporter
One thing to add to this discussion is the difference between builders and owners. When you build a car, you not only apply what you know but you learn more and add to your experience by doing the deed. There’s a real value to that. You also have the pride and satisfaction of knowing you built it and the security of knowing exactly how it was built which is especially important for track cars. How many people do you trust with your life?

Letting go of a car you built is just a harder thing to do than one didn’t so if you’re the type that likes to experience different cars you may be less inclined to build....but if you really love building, maybe not so.

What do you desire more; the build experience or driving the car? Clearly it can be both but for me, though I’ve restored and modified a number of cars and really enjoy the build, the learning curve for a ground up build means a very large number of invested hours that for the near future I just don’t have.

So when Allan’s #50 came available I bought it because it was equipped ~90%+ of the way I would have built the car. It also had many features that I’ll certainly enjoy but probably wouldn’t have taken the time to install myself….bonus.

Over time, I can certainly tweak the build to address the other 10%. When it comes to the economics of a build, someone who has built a number of them has a huge advantage time wise because that experience and having developed sources of supply takes the place of learning curve and that means a more economical build time. If you’ve built a lot of them, I suspect the reduction in build time is dramatic and could be as much as ~10x?

I’m sure someone will look at Mike’s car in the same way I looked at Allan’s and a sale will occur in the near future. It looks to be a great car.

Best,
Kelly
 

HCF - John

Gearbox / Brake Systems
Eric's car would not in my opinion be a good market survey candidate (unless we are going to create another category for must sell/duress sales - they are the anomaly, not the norm). It was traded for two other cars who's value was ?? (please no debates on porsche's & viper values) and posted to sell quickly for "family reasons" i.e. it was a duress sale. Besides the more powerful LS engine-525hp (over the stock LS3) & digital gauge cluster IIRC - it was a fairly basic level track-car type build.

I don't think Eric's car would be a good comp for yours - but a good datapoint for a "basic build" undertaken at home. My guess is he had less than 75 in it.
 

HCF - John

Gearbox / Brake Systems
Your wrestling alligators is over - it sounds like you've received a written quote from Allan that fits your budget/desires and you wouldn't have to settle for a car that wasn't exactly how you want it. If the build is spec'd just the way you want it, the labor costs are acceptable, and the time element for completion fits your wants -- you should move forward & order a new kit. I believe Fran takes 16 weeks from deposit check (give or take) and then rest is waiting and sending Ben Franklin's to Allan. I'm serious -- commission Allan for your build

Let us know how you specified the build, gear-box, door lifters, seats, interior tub or not, race/street tail, engine choice, painted or not etc. - exciting times for sure.

I'll definitely share plans broadly once I nail them all down!
 
I don't think Eric's car would be a good comp for yours - but a good datapoint for a "basic build" undertaken at home. My guess is he had less than 75 in it.

That's my estimate as well. And I was referring to his build as a basic, by the book, build.
 
I’m , new on this forum. Made a few friends. Talked to some great people on here. I’m planning a build of and slc I have over 3000 pages of products. 800 pages of research. I have looked for a used one to purchase. They are hard to find. Mostly have come across track versions. I want a street car. A true one off that can not be replicated. I started my budget a 150 k. Which I quickly realized it wasn’t enough. With the kind of money I’m going to invest into the slc. I can buy a used Murcialargo. Or dam near the 1st edition of the aventador. So why the slc. It’s unique. I can make it into something no one has. I know it’s a loss. But I’m not building this car for an investment. It’s for pleasure and a marketing tool for my new business. No one builds this car with the expectation there going to make a profit on resale. People build for the challenge. Other for looks. Some for the track. But all connect to pleasure.its an amazing car in every way. Looks. Engineering , performance. So most are correct. To some it might be too cheap for what they are reselling for. If your one those people. Remember there’s an ass for every seat. Hold out long enough you will find that ass for your seat. Then there are the others who have enjoyed the car. Want to move on. And sell it for what the market will bear. Remember these cars don’t have a pedigree. I wish they did. Tho. As for me I hope to find a used one then redo it. But think I’m going to go the new route. If my numbers are right. I’ll have probably invested about 220 k. Good thing is. This car will make me money. And 100 percent right off. Well that’s my 2 cents. Pleasure being on this forum.
 
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