[thenewbruno]

I'm looking at a first generation car with less than 10,000km on it. It hasn't seen any significant mileage in years. It turns over and runs. What would I realistically be looking at in order to get the car prepped for some real world road use? Let's assume that the car has never seen any significant service. Thanks so much in advance for any insights.

 

[MITengineer]

Both my Diablo and Ferrari sat for years before I acquired them. You'll run into a few things:

1. Startup costs: What it takes to get all the deferred maintenance that you know about taken care of
2. Re-uses costs: Things no inspection reveals but becomes obvious as you add mileage. (e.g. brittle vacuum hoses, etc.)

Both cars required about $10k to get into good service again, and I anticipate another $5k or so to still discover (1998 Diablo that sat since 2016, 1993 512TR that sat was stored since 2013). Both cars were well stored in garages.

 

[SPGlass]

I would agree that 10-15k would be about right for a good car with no serious issues. You could save some if you wanted to do the bare minimum and tackle the rest as things came up but I don't think that would be a good way to experience a Diablo. A car can turn over and run with no obvious issues but still need a $35K+ rebuild. Things add up really fast with a Diablo so just do your due diligence and check everything you can before purchasing it unless you just assume it needs everything like I did. 😁 A compression and leakdown test is the most important thing to do. Good luck!

 

[DiabloClyde]

New Bruno, that the car you are eyeing has seen not much drive time in years is a giant red flag. Count on all rubber, seals, many gaskets, likely fuel line issues, brakes, clutch slave, corrosion in wiring and metal, etc. Not being negative but these issues are just plain unknown until you start driving it. These cars are sooooo much more reliable when driven. I’d suggest going in with a budget for full engine out (presumably doing your own or some of your own work) and if you don’t need that much then you save.

 

[andecorp]

A perfect "looking" Diablo can easily suck up $100k. Ask me how I know...

 

[Toddlambo]

A perfect "looking" Diablo can easily suck up $100k. Ask me how I know...

LOL, I'm already at $35k +with my perfect Diablo as well. And that after putting a whopping 40-50 miles on her. Hopefully, she will be done for a while now.!