Complete palletize parts

[Mr. Potato Head]

Has anyone purchased a pallet of complete parts for the 818 from one of the advertised vendors? If so could I ask a ballpark figure of what you paid? Just trying figure if I want to buy a wrecked Subaru or just the parts

Thanks
Mr. Potato Head

[Red Tag]

I have talked to them and if I can take the liberty to paraphrase their response, the cost is $5,000 to $17,000, depending on what you want. The low end of $5,000 is for a non-turbo stock 2002 high mileage Impreza, if you want a high mileage stock WRX turbo, you're probably at $8,000, low mileage stock 2.0 WRX turbo, probably $10,000, low mileage stock WRX 2.5 turbo, probably $12,000. To any of these, add $1,000 for an extra 60hp (227hp --> 280hp), and additional $4,000 for an extra 100hp (280hp --> 380hp). And so on and so on.

There are a thousand different combinations you can come up with that will affect the price, which is why they do not want to list a specific price. Even though I understand this, I agree with what you are thinking, why don't they just list a price? At least list an example of what it could be, so you can trust that the company is legitimate and not using a bait and switch tactic.

I think they are an honest company and offer a great service, but for me, I like the idea of driving the vehicle to understand and fix any issues before tearing it down and also the enjoyment of going through the process. YMMV

[Silvertop]

I have talked to them and if I can take the liberty to paraphrase their response, the cost is $5,000 to $17,000, depending on what you want. The low end of $5,000 is for a non-turbo stock 2002 high mileage Impreza, if you want a high mileage stock WRX turbo, you're probably at $8,000, low mileage stock 2.0 WRX turbo, probably $10,000, low mileage stock WRX 2.5 turbo, probably $12,000. To any of these, add $1,000 for an extra 60hp (227hp --> 280hp), and additional $4,000 for an extra 100hp (280hp --> 380hp). And so on and so on.

There are a thousand different combinations you can come up with that will affect the price, which is why they do not want to list a specific price. Even though I understand this, I agree with what you are thinking, why don't they just list a price? At least list an example of what it could be, so you can trust that the company is legitimate and not using a bait and switch tactic.

I think they are an honest company and offer a great service, but for me, I like the idea of driving the vehicle to understand and fix any issues before tearing it down and also the enjoyment of going through the process. YMMV

I don't really think there is a practical way to for them to nail down a price. Every donor is different, both in terms of what it is specifically, and also the general condition and mileage. They do issue a "report card' for each donor which lays out its general condition. The report card values affect the ultimate pricing.

My '04 NA Outback Sport Donor Pallet cost me $5600 not counting shipping and requested engine modifications (which are ongoing). That is consistent with AJW's stated ballpark range of donor pallet pricing. Obviously, there IS the potential for "bait and switch", but based on my own experience, and on my gut feeling regarding AJW's honesty, they are not likely to do that to you. In any case, that would not be in their best interest. The forum would crucify them.

You should understand that you will NOT save money by going with the donor pallet concept as an alternative to buying a donor car and stripping it yourself. What you save is the nuisance of dealing with a wrecked car, and the work of disassembling it. Whether or not that is valuable to you depends on how you feel about that exercise. For me, not having to deal with the wreck is a huge value, and turns my 818S build into essentially a plug-and-play process. It means that I will finish the project, and probably relatively quickly.

I'm betting that a donor pallet probably WOULD be cheaper than buying your needed parts individually on the open market, though.

[BrandonDrums]

Yeah, I'm sure price will have to be a-la-carte. They are probably sourcing the cars from salvage auctions just like we would as end 818 customers but they are also having to tear down and inspect everything.

IMO, there's good reason for many future 818 builders to go this route and pay the extra few grand to have it done this way. The 2 primary reasons being saving space and cutting a LOT of time out of the build process. I'd say close to half when you consider cleaning up and inspecting all of the parts on top of clearing out all of the parts you don't need so you can get to work on the 818 chassis.

If you've got a wife who'd rather have you buy a new car than building a kit because of the time away from family or the clutter, you can easily justify crating the parts like this. Even going out with with a low-milage wrx+100hp at ~16k crated, you're still getting a world-class car for 24 grand and that's base model BRZ money, that may be a fun car but it won't touch the 818. It's only benefit over the 818 is that it's a pre-built car with a warranty and I can totally see many wives across the nation pushing their husbands to just get a BRZ rather than get an 818. They see a project and get stressed out.

How do I know this? I need to re-build the engine in my WRX which means a long long project in the garage. Instead, my wife wanted me to just buy a complete engine which cost more so I didn't spend every evening in the garage for 3-4 months. Turned a $1,100 4+ month rebuild into a $3k weekend engine swap.

Now I just need that weekend....

[Silvertop]

...........How do I know this? I need to re-build the engine in my WRX which means a long long project in the garage. Instead, my wife wanted me to just buy a complete engine which cost more so I didn't spend every evening in the garage for 3-4 months. Turned a $1,100 4+ month rebuild into a $3k weekend engine swap.

Now I just need that weekend....

Just TOO true!! :D

[Evan78]

Although I don't expect them to do so, it would be great if they'd publish full details on what they've sold to date as examples of what can be expected.

[Silvertop]

Although I don't expect them to do so, it would be great if they'd publish full details on what they've sold to date as examples of what can be expected.

Perhaps, though it might be difficult for them to do without the express permission of each individual purchaser.

[Evan78]

I wouldn't consider it sensitive information since there's little reason to include info on who made the purchase. It would probably be a good idea though since there has been open discussion here of who is getting what setup and someone could put 2 and 2 together if they wanted and some past customers might prefer to keep their purchase amount private for whatever reason.

[wleehendrick]

You should understand that you will NOT save money by going with the donor pallet concept as an alternative to buying a donor car and stripping it yourself. What you save is the nuisance of dealing with a wrecked car, and the work of disassembling it. Whether or not that is valuable to you depends on how you feel about that exercise. For me, not having to deal with the wreck is a huge value, and turns my 818S build into essentially a plug-and-play process. It means that I will finish the project, and probably relatively quickly.


That's my thinking as well... I am likely going to place deposit for one soon, just waiting to see how satisfied the beta participants are with their kits before I pull the trigger. Particularly since I'll be building in a friend's garage; he's excited for the build, I want to keep him as a friend therefore a donor kit makes the most sense! I'm expecting a few $k premium over performing my own tear-down, and that's OK for all the benefits you mention. My estimated delivery date is October, so I have time.


I'm betting that a donor pallet probably WOULD be cheaper than buying your needed parts individually on the open market, though.

This is my only concern... If I can source individual parts cheaper then I would do so. However, following recent donor threads, it appears that "the whole is worth less than the sum of the parts" in that a wrecked donor typically costs less than the fair market value of it's parts sold individually.

I'd like to keep my 818 to a $20k budget, but that might get stretched, depending on what donor they find and how bad a case up 'upgraditis' I catch.

[AJW Performance]

Hello everyone, thanks for sharing and discussing these valid points.
Figured I would chime in in regards to a couple topics in here.

Pricing: We DO have pricing for our kits of course, we just do not have STANDARDIZED pricing. Just like every used car is not the same price, we can not sell every donor for the same price. When we released our beta donor kits for participants to choose, they had a diverse selection of donors that ranged from 5500.00- 14,000.00. Each donor has a detailed report card (which I can attach for reference I suppose) that gives the donors full story (from engine health, maintenance, new parts, condition, etc). The customer can choose which donor report card best suites their needs... Why such a large difference in price you may ask; the range of donors is just so vast.

Although from a first glance it may seem like the year or miles of the vehicle/donor that determine the price. This is one of the factors since it determines our purchase price, but the real factor is how much work we need to put into it to have it acceptable to our standards. Some donors we have put 5,000.00 into ON TOP of the original auction purchase price! It is the nature of the beast. They may look good on Copart, they may even have a run and drive certificate, but that doesn't mean it is good to go by any means.

I guess to sum it up our pricing is simply populated by calculating the cost of the vehicle, the work it needs, the 75-150 hours it takes to process it (yes it takes us that long), and then adding a margin to justify doing it and staying in business :) I think it is very fair, especially seeing it from our operations and behind the scenes perspective seeing all the work it takes to make a donor worth selling to a customer that meets our standards.

People think a donor pallet saves you the hassle and time to strip the donor car. This is true, it keeps a scrap car out of the garage and your wife won't complain, but the most important aspect that greatly surpasses the stripping/ convenience factor is (at least from us); the diagnostic work/ the parts/ the repairs/ the organization; the peace of mind.

As far as sourcing the parts individually yourself (not buying a donor). I think it is possible and I am sure someone will do it. Whether the time factor and investment adds up to be worth it in the end, I am not sure at this time.

Hope that helped!

[BrandonDrums]

....People think a donor pallet saves you the hassle and time to strip the donor car. This is true, it keeps a scrap car out of the garage and your wife won't complain, but the most important aspect that greatly surpasses the stripping/ convenience factor is (at least from us); the diagnostic work/ the parts/ the repairs/ the organization; the peace of mind.

As far as sourcing the parts individually yourself (not buying a donor). I think it is possible and I am sure someone will do it. Whether the time factor and investment adds up to be worth it in the end, I am not sure at this time.

My thoughts exactly. If you combine the time needed to strip the car, inspect and clean the parts, organize them then clean up the mess to start work on the 818 Chassis, that process is at least half of the overall time spent wrenching to yield an FFR. My bud who built his FFR MK3 roadster in 2009-2010 saw this first hand. The FFR kit itself comes wonderfully packaged with all the parts (as they say over and over on the website) packed in the order of assembly. That's awesome but that process didn't happen with the donor parts. We'd often spend an evening or two prepping or modifying or going to replace a donor part that for this or that reason wasn't ready to install. Usually something like a bad seal, a torn boot, a stuck or seized or even broken nut or bolt etc. We'd have to get stuff pressed out at the machine shop or spend time drilling out and re-tapping bolt holes. I bet that will be even worse on the 818 since Subarus are so much more plentiful up north and rust will be more of an issue here and there.

The extra cost for a prepped and palleted donor kit is worth it and personally, I think it will be worth it for more of the guys here than we think.

[skullandbones]

Just to add to what BrandonDrums said, I spent $2500 for a "donor pallet" for my roadster. I put that in quotes because it was nothing like what is being discussed here. I was up to my elbows in grease for weeks cleaning and breaking down the components and engine. The problems with broken seals, gaskets, boots, etc really adds up and drives up the cost of the donor. I didn't mind the work because I was learning about the Ford components as I went having never worked on one before this. Another downside of the process was the abandoning of several components due to quality or a number of other reasons. If you are assured of the good quality of the parts it simplifys the process so you basically assemble instead of having to evaluate whether to use it or not (peace of mind). Not trying to favor one process over another but the guys who build the 818s have a resource option that most of the roadster builders never had. JMHO. WEK.

[Silvertop]

.......People think a donor pallet saves you the hassle and time to strip the donor car. This is true, it keeps a scrap car out of the garage and your wife won't complain, but the most important aspect that greatly surpasses the stripping/ convenience factor is (at least from us); the diagnostic work/ the parts/ the repairs/ the organization; the peace of mind.........


I forgot to mention that in my post above, but knowing that my donor parts would properly inspected, diagnosed, cleaned, and repaired as needed WAS also a huge factor in my decision to go the donor pallet route. No worries......... Just plug and play!

[Oppenheimer]

But it could be really useful to have an idea of what a pallet would cost, for planning purposes. Someone might realize the only way for them is to do a pallet (for all the valid reasons stated in this thread), but then they have to budget for that. They need to know how much to budget. They need to know how much they need to save up. I think Red Tag did an excellent job of addressing that.

[Silvertop]

But it could be really useful to have an idea of what a pallet would cost, for planning purposes. Someone might realize the only way for them is to do a pallet (for all the valid reasons stated in this thread), but then they have to budget for that. They need to know how much to budget. They need to know how much they need to save up. I think Red Tag did an excellent job of addressing that.

He did indeed. And in the next post, I confirmed that my experience with the price of my donor pallet dovetails with the overview he provided. A good job for sure.

[Red Tag]

He did indeed. And in the next post, I confirmed that my experience with the price of my donor pallet dovetails with the overview he provided. A good job for sure.

Thanks for the compliment.

I was in the same boat as Mr. Potato Head (feels funny to actually type that out), and was very close to going the pallet route. I still may, if my friends want a 818, and ask me the best way. I wanted to make a plan for the 818 build, which includes the cost. I found it frustrating that I could not get a specific answer on what my final cost would be, so I could not even decide if it was worth it or not. In my particular case, I want to go around Mid-Ohio racetrack as fast as I can for a reasonable amount of money in a trackday car. My benchmark is a C5 Corvette Z06, which you can get for about $18,000 (remember track car, not show car). Having a rough estimate from the donor pallet company of cost vs. performance would have made that analysis much easier. Hopefully this helps the next guy evaluate their options.

[Sandy Washburn]

I have a 2002 WRX donor package which includes turbo engine, 5 speed transmission, lower front aluminum A arms, half shafts, spindles and brake discs, and steering rack. These were removed from a donor with about 85,000 miles by DENT Sport Garage in Norwood, MA so that the body could be used to rebuild a rally car which had crashed at Okemo hill climb. The original racing engine, transmission, suspension and brakes were used in the rebuild so these donor parts were not needed. Asking $2950. Would prefer pick up but would consider pallet shipping paid by buyer. Call 617 306 4393 or email washburn@mit.edu.

[David]

Has anyone purchased a pallet of complete parts for the 818 from one of the advertised vendors? If so could I ask a ballpark figure of what you paid? Just trying figure if I want to buy a wrecked Subaru or just the parts

Thanks
Mr. Potato Head

Um, Mr 'Tater' :D

I would call Mike at Cypress. I was telling him about the 818, he may be willing to find a car for you, just like the old days.

You aint gonna put no tater on ur 818 are ya? That would be .... wrong you know. ;) (sorry guys, inside joke that goes back 10 or so years) Mr Tater has some history with FFRs. :D

David

[Wayne Presley]

Mr P! How's it hanging?

I can hook you up with a donor if Cyprus doesn't hook you up with what you need.