The thing I keep learning about myself is I get way more excited about a basketcase project car than I do a completely turnkey, ready-to-go example. Case in point: this week, I was offered first bite at two desirable enthusiast vehicles: a 1979 Porsche 928, gray-market car that supposedly runs and drives well. And a 1990 Audi Coupe Quattro that is partially disassembled and full of mold.
The Porsche is $7,500 and about 20 minutes away; the Audi is - well, I'm guessing a $3,000 sale price and in New Jersey. It will need to be picked up and transported to RI.
While the price difference is one thing, I'm also just turned off by the prospect of basically paying more for the 928 and seeing no way to improve it myself. It won't look any better; it won't' be any faster; and honestly, it's going to be more expensive to fix when it does break (which it will).
The Audi needs lots of cosmetic love but it has no rust. The interior, yeah, it's gross - but it needs a new headliner anyway, so just rip out the moldy stuff. The real risk with the Audi is that it has some electrical faults due to a water leak, which is what caused the mold. It's a potentially big-ass can of worms that will cause the Audi to surpass the Porsche, quickly, in terms of cost.
But it will be better when I'm done with it. It will go from being a hunk of moldy, early 90s sport compact metal with zero factory parts support to a driver that loves to let its five-cylinder engine sing (possibly). And given the risks I've taken on some cars, the rough projects that actually still ran usually ended up being mild success stories - so I feel like I'm ahead of the curve with a car like this Audi.
We'll see where I end up, but no matter what I do, it won't make any sense.