Funds raised so far: A$845.00
Who is Barry White?
I did a simple search and found that in a short span of 8 months, this faithful car that I bought for less than AS$3,000 served me well and was involved in so many of our experiences throughout our short adventure in Perth so far. It took us to many memorable exploration trips when Jen was still pregnant with Albany, ferried us to each hospital appointment for maternity check ups, took me to work and allowed me to start earning my keep to provide for my family, led us to meeting new friends one by one and shielded me from harm in my car accident.
These are some memories from good old Barry White, hard as nails.
Beginning
First pump
Broke even
One of the trips
I learnt my first servicing
Battery flat
Helped in moving house
Barry White furnished my home
More furnishing
Protected me from serious injury
Back to its final resting place
First Sales
2nd Sales
De-registering
The heart
Seeya Mate
Roof rack sold
I am indignant in sending Barry White to the scrapyard and getting A$75.00 for it. I want to bring back Barry White in another form but I need money for it. Barry White said, "Why not sell my working parts to raise funds?"
Huh? Can I do that? First, I am no mechanic. I know nuts about dealing with cars. That actually meant that I don't even know the names of most of the components of the car. How am I going to sell them, I don't have a single clue. I'm visualising this kind of headline on my advertisement, "Selling that elbow thing below the engine. Toyota model." Second, I am no marketeer, I don't know how to price my items. I am not even clever enough to figure out how to sell stuff online. It may seem simple to some, especially those who did it before. It's just cooking. People who do cooking regularly will find doing it like second nature but those who try it the first time will genuinely sweat over it.
Barry White blinked and continued, "If you send me to the junk, you learn nothing. Why not learn something from it? At worst, you ended up with no money but you learn some skills in various."
Here's the plan:
1) Strip parts of Barry White that may be of value
2) Try to sell them
3) Hire a tow to remove the remaining carcass and pray for a positive balance sheet
4) If enough funds, proceed to Barry White II project
5) If not, be a laughing stock and remind others the folly of my idea
The wife might be annoyed with the mess that this project would create. Detractors would give me that usual, "Save your efforts, not worth it." This is not the first stupid idea I came out with. The older friends will attest to that. Each time I let every idea rest because I felt discouraged by the lack of encouragement. We'll see where this leads to, I'll give myself time to think this over. The time to consider whether to go ahead or scrap the plan (and Barry White) begins now. Meanwhile, I'll need as much informational help as I need.
hey Nix
ReplyDeleteNot an expert but a some info that may detract against this idea:
For parts, how old is the car? While things like the engine, suspension, are definitely worth $$$, if they need overhauling themselves they are not likely to sell.
What is the time required to strip, sell them? What is the ROI? If it is a learning project, then fine, you come out ahead no matter what you do, as you are learning about the nuts and bolts about cars. From a purely financial perspective, not sure.
It is a 1995 model. The vehicle is off road now. I can't drive it or risk heavy penalties if I am caught but I don't think there is any restriction leaving it in my garage after it is de-registered (eventually)
DeleteIf you are referring to ROI of time spent vs money receive, you may be right - I may be better off finding part time work on weekends or whatever. But I reckon it is a better idea to do a bit of learning (and maybe earning a bit of cash) instead of being taxed further.
how many clicks you did on Barry White before he gave up on you? How did the car died? Repairable?
ReplyDeletewhy not go and parts from the wreckers and try to fix it up yourself?. i.e if there is no major mechanical damage to the drive shafts, steering and suspension.
ReplyDeleteI'm confident restoring it but getting it past the pits is another thing. i've got a yellow ticket
DeleteFirstly, sorry to read about your accident and the damage to your car.I have gone through your earlier post and saw the picture of the damaged Barry White. Since you could still drive something like 30 km back home it should still be in a reasonably good mechcanical condition.What I would suggest is to fix up the car. The front bumper and front fenders would require some panel beating, puttying and spray painting job which can be done by you. Noted that you have removed your cooling fan so that you could drive home. Probably its mounting support had been forced in by the impact and needs to be pulled out before refitting the fan. The radiator could also be damaged and possibly leaking which may require replacement.
ReplyDeleteI have a long experience in car repair and maintenance and would be most gald to help you in all technical expects of restoring your car if you decide to do so. Feel free to ask.
Yes, your offer is much appreciated. If you would leave me your email I'll send my questions over. Thank you for helping
DeleteHi, my email: leesoonchye@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteemail: leesoonchye@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteYour operation to rescue Barry (White) already shows you breaking out of the (ex-)Singaporean mind trap.
ReplyDeleteFor a start, you already had the great potential to do so, much more so than many of us kiasee folks here.
Kudos to the spirit, whatever the outcome! :-)