Easy fix car win stories

Doh!

I once bought a Buick with a nasty knock in the engine for $175. The knock turned out to be from a small dent in the oil pan, caused by the car slipping off the jack during a recent freeze-plug replacement. The crank was hitting the dent every time around. I tack-welded a piece of all-thread to the pan and pulled out the dent. Instant smooth-running 455!

I bought this $600 non-running Passat a few years back. Threw a $9 ignition switch at it, drove it for 2 months, let a buddy drive it for a month when his e21 took a crap, swapped the black interior for the tan interior in my other car, then sold it for $1400. Probably could have gotten more for it, but I didn't feel like sitting on it for weeks.

Don't do this as it is my easy money button.

I buy Honda's that will not pass smog on Craigslist and I kid you not 85% of the time is a can of seafoam and some plugs away from passing and doubling in value.

I pushed a Ford Pinto home one day. Drove a pencil in a hole on the side of the carburetor and drove the car to work the next day. I paid $200 for the car and sold it 2 years later for $450. It still had a pencil in the side of the carburetor. Not the same pencil mind you, but a new, improved, pencil. The first one was lost due to a backfire.

Just one of many I regret selling.

Epic stories, guys!

My friend and his dad bought a YJ Renegade for $500 because it wasn't running well. It turns out, new plugs and a new belt made it run just fine. IIRC, they sold it only a few weeks later for $1500.

RX7 that did run, bought for $400. Previous owner put battery in backwards and blew main fuse.

$25 main fuse and it ran pretty good. Sold for $1500.

I bought a 7 year old RN Truck that wouldn't start ("Bad computer...") for $350. Put a $100 timing chain kit on it and drove it for several years.

Lots of rabbits, but my first 944 was an intermittent no start and rough idle. I had passed on it at $2300 (1997 dollars) , the guy called and said it had died on a date and he wanted rid of it. I had $245 on me so I offered it up and he bit. I drove out and snagged it. As 16vCorey already showed, duct tape on the intake boot did the trick for about a year til I found a good one at a JY. This car also had an insurance claim that brought me $1200 and I sold it on eBay for $2200. Crazy. It let me buy my S2 convertible though so ill always be partial to that 83.

"tenant left this truck, my son can't get it to start, you want it?"

i paid $70 to have it towed home. popped hood, there were no injectors in the throttle body. they were in the glove box. popped them in, truck fired right up. so i got a lowered 90 c1500 v8 5 speed truck for $70.