A Matter of Time, Money, and Opportunity
By Tyler R. Dec 21, 2020
Like most of us who have a love for vehicles; I tend to spend my free time on the internet, looking at cars and trucks for sale. Sometimes, it’s just a hobby, but other times I’m seriously looking for my next financial mistake…erm…investment. In today’s age of online marketplaces, it’s easy enough for anyone to list a vehicle and have that listing be seen by hundreds, if not thousands of potential buyers. What I have found over the years is that, finding your next project boils down to time, money, and opportunity.
Time: having the time to spare in order to go get your potential project.
Money: having the funds in order to make a serious offer on that project.
Opportunity: having the above two in time before the project is sold.
These are just the biggest factors that come into play when finding your next project. However, there is the proverbial “X” factor of the seller. About 5 months prior to the writing of this article; I had the time, money, and opportunity lined up on a 1996 Mitsubishi 3000GT. I even had a friend with a truck and trailer to help me go get it. But the seller never responded to four day’s worth of messages (morning, noon, and evening). Even my friend had messaged them with the same pattern just to try and illicit a response, but we came up dry. You can imagine my disappointment. Fret not, because no matter how many times this has happened to me; or how many times the three factors haven’t been aligned. I have always been able to find something else of equal interest to me only to start the process all over again. This also brings into question what one should be looking for when it comes to a new project. Especially for someone like myself, going into a new project on a vehicle I knew nothing about with the 3000GT. After the failed attempt at buying the one. I decided that I needed to know more about the car before I bought one like it. Should the time, money, and opportunity come together again. So, to the internet I went!
Social media is great nowadays for this type of research. There is almost always a large group of people who are in these groups or pages; that are passionate and knowledgeable about a particular vehicle or era of vehicles. I myself am a part of OBS Revolution and Bronco Revolution. These groups relate to the 1993 Ford Bronco which is sitting in my home shop right now. These types of groups are an almost invaluable resource for knowledge, discussion, culture, and parts when it comes to our vehicles. By joining one of these groups, I was able to learn about the different generations, common issues, and average prices of 3000GTs. I am a major advocate of setting up what I call a “racecar fund” even though I am terrible at organizing it myself. Put some cash aside every payday or set up a special savings account on an auto withdrawal. I have found that this is the best way to mitigate the money side of the equation.
Even if the perfect one may pass while you are saving, there is always another car, waiting to be rescued. It all just comes down to a matter of time, money and opportunity.
