Pagoda: A probable cause of OCD?

[Andres G]

Having had our car with us for some time now but having to bear not-so-nice weather, I've been able to dedicate some time to sorting through the incredible amount of information provided by Jim, the prior owner.

I've discovered many things through this research, but what continues to impress me is the level of detail that Jim dedicated to the records kept on the car. Absolutely everything is there... I mean EVERYTHING! The way things are filed, documented and recorded is just simply amazing. There is a print copy of every pagoda@yahoo group reply that was relevant to the restoration of the car or it's maintenance, email exchanges with most of the forum members (Don't worry guys, your secrets will be kept safe  ), as well as every invoice and card slip for absolutely anything bought for the car... down to screws and washers!

Documentation available proves the current kilometer reading on the car is most probably accurate (and incredibly low at 39.058 kms!), as does the original title of the car and the bill of sale combined with maintenance records from Italy, which are well kept in a file folder. More interesting paperwork includes all the insurance slips and annual contracts from back in the early 70's when the car cruised the roads in the Massa-Carrara province (I'm also thankful that my Italian mother insisted I learn at least some basic Italian...)

Reading and sorting through all this made me imagine what a glamorous drive it must have been to go from Lerici to Nice in this car back in 1967. What a picture! What a trip!
Hopefully, you guys can also close your eyes and imagine or remember just like I did... and for those lucky enough to live there, maybe go take your Pagodas on this same drive and delight the rest of us with some pictures.

I cannot thank Jim enough for being so consistent and impeccable in keeping records of the car. I only wonder... is this contagious?

Cheers!
Andres G

PS: I was wondering if I needed to change the sparkplugs today, but a simple check of the service records proved they were replaced just a few kms ago, more precisely @ 25.571 kms... on February 1986!
PS2: I also added up the total cost of the restoration the car underwent from 01 through 05, I'll save those for another post

[Dash808]

Not quite that anal, but I don't plan on selling so it shouldn't be an issue, lol.
Props to Jim though!

[jharkin]

when i bought my current car, it came with no records. i trusted in a physical and mechanical inspection. i got very lucky. i got a car virtually rust free, and in good mechanical and cosmetic condition. even so, i've put a llot of time and money into necessary repairs and freshening up. i've kept all records and receipts, as well as maintaining a spread sheet of all work done since i took ownership. this has come in handy a number of times. so i guess a little OCD can be a good thing...

[thelews]

My car has every record on it complete with pictures and diagrams from 1971.  Previous owner was incredible.  My plan is to copy it all to a PDF file in date order.  I now keep a spreadsheet of all work done and receipts are thrown in a folder.

[Cees Klumper]

I had to look up the meaning of 'OCD' and found:

"Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, OCD, is an anxiety disorder and is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) and/or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors such as handwashing, counting, checking, or cleaning are often performed with the hope of preventing obsessive thoughts or making them go away. Performing these so-called "rituals," however, provides only temporary relief, and not performing them markedly increases anxiety."

I should have this a bit more when it comes to Pagoda-recordkeeping, since I do keep all receipts etc for work done, but stopped logging it all in a spreadsheet. So I have no clear record of when I replaced brake fluid last, set the valve clearances and so on. Clearly not enough OCD ...

[Andres G]

Don't worry Cees, I believe that if I look through these records hard enough, I'll be able to tell when was the last time you did all that to your car, maybe even more!

 
Andres G

[waqas]

I keep all receipts, and log everything (dates, mileage, part numbers, curse-words, etc) into a simple text file using Emacs. The text-file format allows my desktop search tool to find keywords easily, given I have multiple cars and multiple log-files. It's shocking how many hits I get when I search for $@#%ing rust bucket!

[Peter van Es]

If any of you with OCD feel like being featured with some of that documentation of yours, like this: http://www.sl113.org/mar-2008.html, all you need to do is supply me with the relevant material and I'll post it. I've been chasing a number of people who promised me content for a new featured car for over a year now, to no avail...

Then all of us can decide if it really is OCD!

Peter

[graphic66]

My car came with a notebook full of stuff, photos records, receipts etc.The PO even used a razor to cut out his credit card number on every receipt. It is very interesting to look back at how much our money was worth.

[Andres G]

My car came with a notebook full of stuff, photos records, receipts etc.The PO even used a razor to cut out his credit card number on every receipt. It is very interesting to look back at how much our money was worth.

I did the math and I'm frankly quite scared... receipts for the restoration work and parts replaced are way over $35K, mostly spent between 02 and 05 when the work was done. On top of that, there are maintenance receipts adding up to more than $15K worth of labor & parts from 1986 through the last service in 07. What was most surprising was that even when the car was not driven for extended periods of time, Jim still had the oil and filter changed, engine tune up, etc. I can tell this by the odometer reading stated on each invoice, which shows less than 500 kms driven in 05 since the prior service in 04.

The more I dig into this car, the more I dig it!
Andres

[Cees Klumper]

Hey Andres - if you would do just one more calculation ...

Total amount spent over the 35-year period you have records for, subtract the $-value increase of the car over this period, then annualize, then compare to the average annual cost of a new car today of, say, $50,000 that will depreciate to say $15,000 in not too many years ...

The average annual cost of the Pagoda: $35K for the restoration plus $15K for the maintenance, plus another estimated $20K for the years prior to the restoration, less about $20K value increase since early seventies (mostly caused by inflation) equals about $1,300 per year.

New car, $50K plus maintenance costs of, say, $5K over 5 years, less value of $15K after 5 years = $40K divided by 5 years = $8,000 per year.

There are better stats than mine on new cars, but the general picture will stay the same - Pagoda's not such a bad value after all ... And nobody will ever tell you "Wow, what a nice car you have" at the gas station when you fill up your new $50K car, whereas ...

[Andres G]

Cees, you're in sales, right? 

I had to work a little bit to get the figures, but I found the original invoice from when Jim bought the car in Italy in 85, so I'll base the analysis on that as is it is stated in Dollars. The invoice states he payed $8.928 for it on Dec. 19th 1985 - Looks like he got himself a really nice Christmas gift!

With this in mind, I ran the calculation you suggested:
$35K resto work + $15K maintenance - $32K price I paid + 9K price Jim paid = $27K / 23 years = $1.170 / yr

Seems like a pretty good value indeed!

I agree you can get softer on the numbers for new cars, but not by much, especially on the high end luxury coupes. What I feel is much better in comparison however, is not so much the comments from people when they see the car, but that feeling you get when you are walking away from it after you've parked and have that need to turn around and look at it over your shoulder. Priceless!

Andres

[Peter van Es]

Andres,

Cees is an accountant...

Couldn't you have told?

Peter

[Andres G]

I really though he was trying to sell me into buying my own car again