Is "bought not built" as acceptable as "built not bought?"
Some might say that building up a slow car is superior to buying a fast car, but is it always true? Or are there also instances in which it’s better to have something that’s “bought not built?”
This seems to link back to itself, I'm not seeing anything other than the same paragraphe when clicking the link, no more story?
I will always believe that hotroders hold building it yourself to a high degree. I'm in that camp, but I can totally see the appeal of buying that performance immediately. Most important, do what makes you happy. Its your car, not their's.
In reply to Adrian_Thompson (Forum Supporter) :
It's just the question, something I was pondering the other day and wanted to ask the rest of the class.
Man, if you can afford it and/or dont want to spend the time, go for it.
Im not going to knock someone for working hard on their car to make it better...but Im not going to look down on someone who worked hard at their job (and dont flame me for that comment) and earned enough to buy a fast car from the factory or a known builder.
In my own humble opinion, anyone with a large wallet can buy a car as fast as the wallet will allow. A talented person can build a fast car without spending as much. As to which is better, it is like beauty, in the eye or mind of the beholder.
OK, 20 years ago, make that 10 years ago, hell 5 years ago I would have said built over bought 10 times out of 10. But now I'm old enough to be honest with myself. I realize I'm never really going to actually do some of the minor upgrades to some of my cars I think about, let alone actually take on one of the many cool build ideas I have. I can read, plot, plan, dream, watch YouTube all I want, but I've finally accepted that my skill, patience, endurance, commitment, and most importantly time are all insufficient to do these things. From here on out I'll be writing checks for most of the work needed on my vehicles, and I'll be buying my performance stock. So for me, the correct answer is bought is better than built, because built will never happen. That doesn't mean building isn't the right answer for many,
Whatever floats your boat or fits your lifestyle. If you work a demanding job that doesn't leave time for a project but does make a cool car financially viable, good on you. We're all auto enthusiasts here. No need for gatekeeping.
Bought is fine. But some people who buy something have entirely the wrong attitude about it. Your nearly stock fast car that has a couple of cheap mods bolted on by a shop (that you only know are "stage 2" and not anything about the mods) is not a "sick build".
I feel 'building' a slower car into a faster car has better merit than 'buying' a faster car to a point.
Starting with something slower and making tweaks along the way also makes you (the driver) better at driving the car as things happen in stages, and usually the weak points get addressed in each upgrade (there are still those who just throw more power at every problem tho). You end up having a well rounded car that you have intimate knowledge of the precise amount of brake pedal travel before ABS kicks in / lock-up happens, or the amount of throttle you can get away with without wheel-spin in the wet (assuming traction control is turned off on track / doesn't exist). Building a car usually builds the driver as well.
Buying something already fast is an option as well since so many cars exist now that have ridiculous potential in factory form that there are few 'weak points' to be sorted out that you can just keep turning laps to get comfortable and finding those same precise moments.
Do you extract more joy from building they car to your specifics or just driving the car?
I think it is. I build cars because I enjoy the process and it's often the only way I can get what I want for the money I'm willing to spend however, the last three times I wanted a pickup truck I just wrote a check. I seriously considered building something but I ultimately decided that I didn't really want to spend my time doing that.
Not everyone has the desire or skills to build something and that OK too. Why do it if it's not fun? I've often made my living in one way or another from people who wanted race cars, hot rods or restorations but didn't want to do the work.
Did I wander into FerrariChat by accident?
Slow, fast... doesn't really matter to me. Speed isn't really the thing I respect. There's always someone faster.
I'm not going to deride anyone who has the means to write a check for a spectacular, expensive car. They likely worked hard for the money, and without those folks, we wouldn't have the supercars that are out there to drool over.
But the guy who built their car also worked hard for the money. They put in the hours after the work week, trying to balance their car time with their family time on the evenings and weekends. Instead of paying for a job, they bought the tool and went out of their comfort zone to learn a new skill... welding, wiring, paint... whatever it was. Probably more than once. And they stayed with it for years, because it takes longer when you're doing it in your 'spare' time. And that, to me deserves just a little more respect.
It depends.
"Built not bought" is not an excuse to build something unsafe. If you can't weld, stay away from those control arms.
On the other hand, "built" parts can get away with lower fit and finish expectations. If I had bought a complete, turn key cooling fan and radiator solution for my Dart build, for example, it had better not look like the fans are zip tied to a cookie sheet that has been made into a shroud with pliers and hammers. For a homemade solution, well, that's exactly what I have on there.
If you just want to drive a race car or have somebody put together a good looking custom car for you to cruise in, go for it. The automotive arts need their patrons just like any others. Does anybody look down on George Poteet for the various projects he's commissioned? But it's Troy Trepnier and the others who get the credit for building the cars.
And for magazine features, I want to see examples of how to do the building. They buying part is easy enough to understand on its own, if harder to do.
If we accept cars as an extension of our ego, you can see that both instances scratch the same itch.
If I buy an expensive car ,that tells the world that I am talented, valued at my job and have succeeded on some level; so I can have stuff others cant.
If I build a nice car it tells the world that I have skills beyond the norm and that I can build things that others cant.
"Do what you are good at to get what you want" is the name of the game.
As long as you don't pass it off as your own work, I don't see any issue with being proud of a cool car that you didn't build. Just be aware I'm going to ask all the technical nerdy questions anyway and get disappointed when you don't know/bluster up an answer.
SOMEONE built the car. Isn't that the cool part?
When it comes to making cars faster, I don't think it matters all that much. Results on the track matter more than whose hands touched the bolts.
When it comes to 'show' cars (the stuff that winds up at car shows vying for $10 trophies) I find the 'built' cars and their people usually annoying. Also, WTH is with people buying cars at the dealer and putting them in a car show a week later?
My answer is yes, having done both. Built has given me an understanding of 'how' things work. Bought has given me an understanding of 'why' things work. I value both equally.
I'm pretty agnostic, as long as no one gets too obnoxious about how their way is better. Even though I enjoy some wrenching, if I had more money, I'd either do more buying a complete and ready car, or buying nicer parts for what I have rather than scrounging junkyards.
I remember a thread years ago on corvette forum that devolved hilariously when someone started insulting everyone for not building their own cars when no one could send him CNC files for porting LS heads. I think it got as far as responders insulting him for not mining ore in his backyard to smelt into aluminum and cast his own cylinder heads.
depends on what you enjoy more, building or driving. and where's the line between built and bought? buy a complete turn-key LS-swapped RX7? buy an LS swap kit and bolt the car together? buy materials and cut / weld my own mounts and headers? buy a foundry and melt my own steel?
I think there's plenty of room for both, as I get older and have less and less time the appeal of "bought" only gets stronger.
I think as long as you're down to earth and don't claim "built" status when you didn't do anything there is nothing wrong with buying something ready to go.
That said I take great satisfaction in DIY work and little personal touches so even if I do just cave and buy something that's "done" in the future I would probably still tweak it a bit.
I'm going to say it depends on what you enjoy.
If you enjoy the build phase, then built is better than bought.
If the build phase is just a means to an end that get you to driving, which is the part you really enjoy, the bought is better than built.
Some of it come down to being realistic about what you have the skills, time, and money to accomplish, and ignoring the opinions of others that try to put you down because your approach doesn't match theirs.
Someday I hope to try the "bought" route. Hopefully a 987.2 cayman.
I seem to by a bought & built better guy:
The Datsun was a friend's daily driver we converted into a race car and have perpetually developed over following 36 years. It's now 15 seconds a lap faster.
The F500 is the same I bought it as a cheap autocross car and I'm progressively increasing it's speed. The latest upgrade is going from the obsolete AMW engine to the Rotax engine.
As for the original question:
Buying a competitive ready to run car can be deeply gratifying. With the Showroom Stock Miata it was fantastic to show up and win with a brand new car.
The D-sports racer was a built car (teething problems aside) it was very cool to have people ooh and aah over all the little bits on the car.
Pretty sure there are no wrong answers here.
I think there is really three catagories...
Built by owner. Built but purchased by owner. Purchased from new car dealer.
I have a street car so "built" that the whole frame and suspension was fabbed in-house. You can't dial up Summit and buy any replacement parts. Its a testament to years of work. To me there is a special rush when you dive down through the esses at Road Atlanta in a car you assembled from the crankshaft out.
On the other hand I keep buying raffle tickets hoping to win a new C8. 
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