[techweenie]

The key here is the concept that 'my time costs me nothing.'

For most of us, there's "opportunity cost." IOW, the money your time could bring if you were doing something other than searching, repairing, dealing with logistics, and yes, dealing with buyers.

I have a friend who bought a '70 911 for $1,000 and sold it for $9,500, having put 2 hours' work into it... plus flat-bedding it to his house. That's a good ROI.

Like the lottery, someone has to win. There are 2-300 people scanning 'cars for sale' listings where I live, every day, looking for just such a deal. But for every one of those big wins, there are dozens of folks who have unhappy surprises. I personally have experienced 1.) seller did not actually own the car, 2.) "clouded" title, 3.) DMV record errors identifying the car as a stolen motorcycle prevented title transfer, 4.) seller pilfered parts off the car after purchase, 5.) landlord of storage location quit paying rent and my car was seized as an asset, 6.) well disguised but faulty chassis repair... I could go on.

The point is there is risk. And while I've come out well ahead on the net of all my Porsche 'investment' adventures, the biggest mistakes I've seen have been by people who lucked into a great return first time out.