built vs bought....

FastDriver said:

This thread inspired me, now that I'm on break for a week, to fix up my BMW. Changed the belts and oil yesterday, and a ball joint today.... getting that ball joint out and the new one back in was hell...LOL Thanks, guys!

Kidding aside, I probably did save myself $150-$200 cause the labor rates they charge over here are pretty bad. If I can get one tomorrow, I'm going to figure out which Wheel speed sensor is acting up and replace it. The only thing left that I'd want to do after that is replace the front quarter panels since they're beat up from the signs that keep getting in the way.

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My guess is might you have really bad wheel bearing allowing that sensor to touch off on something.. could have something to do with the handling boo boo you've got going on..

Seems like I saw that once, is it making noise?

Hmm... a wheel bearing, huh? A mechanic at the auto-hobby on base said the same thing, and I feel bad cause in my mind I kind of blew him off. Wouldn't have guessed that could cause an ABS issue. I'm not getting any funny high speed repetitive vibrations that I'm used to when a wheel bearing is going out. Though I haven't done it before, replacing a WSS looks like a cinch. So, I'll figure out what the computer is seeing and probably replace that side's WSS before I go pulling apart the hubs. Probably going to do this tomorrow (Monday), and I'll report back.

I forgot to report back. It was the WSS. Replaced it on schedule and it fixed the problem. Cost was like $10 at the local (Germany) junk yard. What a fun thread this was.

building myself is what i prefer. thats what i have always done in the past with my mopars.

thing is usually its a lot cheaper to buy one finished and personalize it to your liking, especially in this economy.

I have Automotive OCD....I hate the way shops route lines and crap. Ive seen shops zip tie coolers and fuel lines. When building a performance vehicle this is unacceptable. Ever since i started doing my own work i no longer have vacuum issues, burnt spark plug wires, etc. Its hard guessing what someone else did....and most of the time if you don't show up with a receipt they wont remember either.

I used to be more of a built than bought guy, thinking it'd be cool to buy someone's turn key built motor car. Now that I've had my fair share of mustangs and a hundred other cars I just about lose my mind when I find something that's been modified differently than I would like. While the idea of driving a factory 500hp car down the road with my heated seats on, and my AC blasting...there's just not as much pride in it because I didn't build it, some sweaty dude named Frank built it and 20,000 others

It just seems I'm destined to pis s somebody off here.

A build thread is just that: An opportunity to share accomplishments, and ideas w/ the community so that they may appreciate, comment and learn from the accomplishments of the builder.
Taking a wad of money and a laundry list to a shop is NOT a build thread,...I don't have a word for it, but it's damn sure not the same.
Most people build their own cars because they want to, because they can, and because they cannot afford, nor do they want some other guys labor and ideas to be credited for the end result.
Puffing up at a show or cruise in w/ a car that you bought or paid someone else to build has always been strange to me. Broken down in it's simplest form,....seems just like bragging to me, only w/o the sweat equity to back it up.
What can the average garage builder take away from a series of pictures posted from a shop build? In other words.........How many things have I learned from Chip Foose?.........

1. I'll never have his skill or creativity.
2. I have no where near the equipment to build/fab the stuff even if I did.

I can understand just not having the time or skill to build a car.....But I don't think anybody needs to see the pics of what your "mechanic" did for you either.

MadMike, I agree 100%. Sadly its the lambo , Ferrari and new GT500 owners that get all the attention at the local cruise spots. They're cool cars, but their owners did nothing more than write a big check or go into massive debt

Well don't read my threads then, Mike.