818s crowdfunding, feelings?

[SniperTeamDerp]

Hello and thanks for stopping by. This will be my first post and I hope im in the right place. Im currently a high school student and my dream is to build an 818s. I wanted to hear from the community about how others feel about using a crowdfunding source to fund an 818s.

If you're not familiar with what crowdfunding is, its basically a way for people to donate money for certain causes and ideas, usually with incentives at certain donation amounts. Kickstarter is a great example. I would use the option of "indiegogo" as they dont require to be a certain age.

What I want to know before I start or do anything, is how people felt about this. I dont want to blindly take money, so what would be some good incentives? (maybe donate $1000 and get to drive the finished product on a track for a day, ideas like that) Maybe you just dont agree with this? Im looking for any and all input, and greatly appreciate all responses!

-Thanks

[metros]

Get a job and save up money?

Really I wouldn't recommend an 818 for someone who has such little driving experience - provided you don't race spec miatas.

Just my honest opinion.

[mrmustang]

Get a job and save up money?

Really I wouldn't recommend an 818 for someone who has such little driving experience - provided you don't race spec miatas.

Just my honest opinion.

Ditto,

Crowd sourcing is just as bad as sitting on the corner and begging for money.......If you have any resemblance of dignity, you'll go find a job, maybe even two and work for it.

My son wanted a car when he came of age, I made him go out and get a job, just like my father did to me, and his father did for him. Gives you a whole new meaning to what real life is instead of trying to get something for virtually nothing.




Just my added two cents

[SniperTeamDerp]

Ditto,

Crowd sourcing is just as bad as sitting on the corner and begging for money.......If you have any resemblance of dignity, you'll go find a job, maybe even two and work for it.

My son wanted a car when he came of age, I made him go out and get a job, just like my father did to me, and his father did for him. Gives you a whole new meaning to what real life is instead of trying to get something for virtually nothing.




Just my added two cents

I appreciate both of your responses, and considering I have a job I understand where you are coming from with the dignity. Being in highschool does not allow me to have a job to be able to afford this as easily as I had wished. Like I said this was an idea and just wanted some input.

[DodgyTim]

so what would be some good incentives? (maybe donate $1000 and get to drive the finished product on a track for a day, ideas like that)

I can't see how you'd make that work, letting drivers of unknown ability out on a track in a high performance car they only have $1000 invested in? Sounds to me like your repair bill might be high.
What happens in an accident? How would you insure it?

[SniperTeamDerp]

I can't see how you'd make that work, letting drivers of unknown ability out on a track in a high performance car they only have $1000 invested in? Sounds to me like your repair bill might be high.
What happens in an accident? How would you insure it?

Maybe hire a professional driver, or tutor to help prevent a crash?

[Rasmus]

So you want us to give you our money?

Dude....

Saving up money's easy when you don't have to pay for: rent, power, water, internet, tv, cellphone, insurance, food, or even buy your own clothes.

Get a job, slacker.

[insurance guy]

In 1969 I was in high school and for whatever reason wanted to learn to fly. I was 15, my dad thought it was a great idea and said he would gladly drive me the 20 miles to the local airport. I worked all summer in a hot, dusty, warehouse earning whatever minimum wage was back then. It took three summers of work but I finally paid off the loan my dad advanced me. Felt good to EARN my private pilots license with my money.
I don't understand the youth today that know how to do everything but work.
Just my 2 cents

[Pearldrummer7]

Save up, buy WRX to be used as future donor car, autox/track WRX to see if you like it and to get better at it. Someday save enough to buy 818 and do swap things. Not to mention you'd get better at working on it/cars in general by owning and tracking it.

[Innkeepr]

Save up, buy WRX to be used as future donor car, autox/track WRX to see if you like it and to get better at it. Someday save enough to buy 818 and do swap things. Not to mention you'd get better at working on it/cars in general by owning and tracking it.

Absolutely !
My son bought his first car ( 1985 RX7 ) for 1K, he saved his cash, and together we spent the winter replacing the suspension, fluids, engine tune up, exhaust, brakes, interior.
I would front him some cash for parts, and he paid me the balance on payday. He is now a senior in high school. He is responsible with his " pride and joy " as he has time and $$ invested it it.
Now I have to contend with his plans of dropping in an LS motor ot a twin turbo 13B ... ya, wife said the apple doesn't fall far from the tree.

You're young, that's and advantage - don't rush into anything, and for the love of Pete - don't build a car on a credit card !

[C.Plavan]

This thread makes me just shake my head.

This "Entitlement Generation" is driving me bonkers. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to work harder to achieve it. It will make you a much better person in the long run. Stay in school, get good grades, go to College, the toys will come.

[redfogo]

This thread makes me just shake my head.

This "Entitlement Generation" is driving me bonkers. If you want something bad enough, you will find a way to work harder to achieve it. It will make you a much better person in the long run. Stay in school, get good grades, go to College, the toys will come.

In 1969 I was in high school and for whatever reason wanted to learn to fly. I was 15, my dad thought it was a great idea and said he would gladly drive me the 20 miles to the local airport. I worked all summer in a hot, dusty, warehouse earning whatever minimum wage was back then. It took three summers of work but I finally paid off the loan my dad advanced me. Felt good to EARN my private pilots license with my money.
I don't understand the youth today that know how to do everything but work.
Just my 2 cents

In the words of Socrates: http://www.bartleby.com/73/195.html
"The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise. Children are now tyrants, not the servants of their households. They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and tyrannize their teachers."

Its not new generation your just getting older and complaining about the same thing your parents did just like their parents complained about them and so on and so forth.

As for SniperTeamDerp crowdfund is a small market especially for something like this. Secondly this project is not something you want to jump in with little experience. Don't let anyone discourage you follow your dream and obtain what you want. Work hard for it! However you will have loads of fun and learn a lot by picking up a project car before jumping into something like this. Any cheap Miata or really any car (I love MR2s thats what I learned on plus they are cheap take a look ) for that matter would be a great platform to learn on before jumping into the ring on this. I promise you will have more fun learning on a car that needs a little work at a time then a giant shell that needs every single bolt installed. Then when your finished with school and into the work force save up see how you feel! Now at you age is the time to save up buy a cheap car and starting building up your tool inventory because come 818 time you not only will need car parts, but you need the knowledge, and a lot of tools to make this thing happen!

Find your local SCCA group and talk with them. They may be able to help you find a cheap car to get started with and hook you up with a free membership tell your 24. This will let you race for cheap have fun and build as you go . Build small and slow then go wild.

[DMC7492]

Hi I took a different route. At around ten or eleven I was mowing lawns for cash and repairing mini bikes and painting grade school class mates bicycles for $2.00, then throwing news papers at homes at 12,stocked shelves at Kmart,took a job fixing semis and painting steel building structures,built log trailers,and made my own beer,my brother gave me a car ,that was smashed in the front and the side,so I fixed that also,went through major back surgery then celebrated my 16th birthday!
But I really wanted a helicopter and if you dream it it will happen and you will miraculously have a helicopter in your garage! Thirteen years it took from test flight until I soloed at altitude as I built the chopper.
My 818s is half completed, but it comes this way by the school of hard knocks and life experiences!
I had a couple lucky breaks during this 48 year period but in the end it comes down to what are you going to do to make YOUR dream happen?
Sorry but MY dream is to not buy you a project unless you mow my lawn I'll pay you for your time and show you my project!

[6t8dart]

Crowd funding is for the Obama generation, who want everything but don't want to work for it. If you work for it, you will cherish and respect it more. And maybe respect yourself too.

[STiPWRD]

I can appreciate a kid that wants to learn about cars so I'm not going to bash you or get political, I'll just tell you my experience. In high school, I worked various jobs life guarding, mowing lawns and landscaping and it took me 3 years to save for my 2002 wrx, which I bought my senior year - this same car was my daily driver for 10 years and now I've used it as my donor for my 818S.

Because of insurance, you probably won't be able to drive an 818 legally on the street until you are 25 so my advice is to continue working and start saving. Building a kit car requires a lot of time, money, tools and experience but it's all worth it in the end, you just have to be patient.

[longislandwrx]

Not to flame you further, but most of the above is true.

That being said if you work hard enough, you should be able to build this car at very little cost to yourself.

Half the guys on here who got a good price on a donor, shopped around and did their research made money on it by selling unused parts. cars with aftermarket suspension/interior/exterior/performance parts is money to be had for pennies on the dollar, sell those parts back and you will make money.

cleaning up donor parts can keep you busy for months while you save money and hustle to get the rest of the stuff you need.

get involved with the Subaru community... tons of great guys and gals out there, you'd be amazed what gets GIVEN or Thrown away, especially if you pay it forward.

get involved on this forum... if you pay attention and have good timing, you could probably get everything you need to build the car, especially if you pay it forward, especially when you are willing to help others.

talk to ALL the performance shops in your area, tell them what you are doing, see what they have laying around, strike up a deal of some sort for sponsorship.. throw some decals on your car, get some discounts.

shop smart... lots of online retailers had crazy deals this Labor day.

the biggest hurdle is the $9900... and hard to get it cheaper than that.

but FFR throws in a set of free wheels.. if you are really trying to do this for cheap, sell them and use your stockers.

perhaps talk to FFR, maybe they can sell you just the chassis without the body at first to save you some money ( I don't know if this is possible or not)

or buy a used kit that someone gave up on... there has to be a few out there.



keep grinding buddy, whatever it takes to make your dreams reality.

[tirod]

Taking the advice as above - after you launch your campaign, you now see exactly how it will be received by the very people who could donate. They won't.

Crowdfunding is no guarantee of completion - in fact, it's being used by those with no intent of completing a project or even honoring their commitment. There's plenty of scams going on right out in the open and it's gained the reputation that online bidding did in it's first days - the character of the guy starting it up is what is judged.

That's what makes them viable now - slick talk and ads snag the gullible, but someone wanting to give you $1,000 for a days drive? He will keep the money toward his own kit. He only needs to do that repeatedly and he's saved it.

Case in point, some old curmudgeon getting an early retirement check from the .Gov at $1,000 a month. In 18 months he's got the kit and a donor in hand. With a donation, all he has is a promise and he's also delayed in his project.

Those with money understand it's value and the blood, sweat, and tears they put into earning it. Their thinking is explained in the preceding posts, it's blunt, but it's meant just as much for your good as it would be for their own son. Having earned the money and completed the kit, you'd be loathe to loan it to just anyone to blast around a track and wreck it with no further obligation than to say, "Great, thanks, you still owe me half a day."

It's actually a good idea to float it here - you're getting honest feedback from those who've been there, done that, and didn't get off easy. There won't be enough donations to get the project off the ground any more than asking your family and friends, or going down the street in the business community hitting up every one of the Chamber of Commerce members. BUT - you WILL find a job that way. Plenty will offer work for someone who has a goal and wants to achieve it. They actually LIKE that kind of talk because it shows a plan of action and the determination to see it thru. It would be something better than the ones they get with earbuds in their head basically dissing them and then being slackers on the job. There are far too many of those in life and it's hard to find someone who is actually willing to work.

Good luck with the project - get the job, save up for the donor, and you will be about 15 years ahead of your friends and acquaintances who don't think they can make it happen yet.

[dirty kurty]

I agree loosely with most of the above points regarding jobs etc. But this forum is supposed to be about helping people accomplish their goals, so here are my thoughts on HOW to crowd fund, not whether it is a good idea or not (I have some experience crowd funding physics experiments that my supervisor won't pay for).

1) Think about why someone would want to fund your project. I am not talking about about rewards, but what make your project a worthy goal. One group on here made an ultra-high mpg car using a TDI engine. Another would be to focus on expanding your knowledge of cars/engineering/trade skills. If people get the sense that you want a fast and furious racer or a flashy car to impress people, you won't get much funding (also the people that impress this way aren't worth your time).

2) Don't ask for too much. Rather than crowd funding the kit, why not crowd fund the donor ("I want to learn to make this rust bucket run like new again."), and some of the tools you will need. By the time you get the donor sorted out, you might have saved enough for the kit, or you might have moved on with your interests.

3) Don't offer rides in your car/track days etc. It's just a bad idea in terms of liability. How about an autographed photo and thank you letter with the before and after shots of the donor?

4) Make sure your budget the full cost of your rewards into your crowd funding goal, Include shipping to you and shipping to them as well as any applicable taxes. Also remember that you are basically forming a contract to provide the rewards if your crowd funding works, so don't offer too much.

5) Because you are (I assume) a minor, don't give out any personal details about yourself, leave it at your first name and state (not city or high school etc.), or have a parent act as the contact person.

Some other thoughts in no particular order:

Look up "kickstarter potato salad" to see that stranger things have gotten funded.

Aside from breaking laws it's better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

Listen to experienced people's advice but ignore the grumpy "get off my lawn" type comments.

If you don't try you gain nothing. If you try and fail you gain experience/knowledge/wisdom.

Get a mechanic to give you an idea of how much work/money you need to get your donor road worthy.

Get an adult family member to help you with the purchase and make sure the title is clear when buying a used vehicle.

Don't give anybody cash without talking to an adult family member first. Always get and keep receipts for EVERYTHING.

If the car is rusty (fenders etc) that is fine (cheap!) but make sure the frame is safe. I don't trust frame repairs on unibody cars.

Get a normally aspirated engine not a turbo. You will have a much easier time with insurance.


Good luck and I hope you accomplish your goal.

[carbon fiber]

I'll donate $1000 if you donate $2000 to my build. That seems like what you're asking me. As soon as your check clears, I'll send you one. And get off my lawn...

[jceckard]

Find a decent restaurant in town that still employs bus boys. It's hard work but potentially lucrative for a high schooler. If you're under 18, you most likely can't be a server - can't serve alcohol unless you're 18. But busers typically get paid minimum wage plus tips from their servers. I was a buser in high school 20+ years ago and was able to put together $4k the first summer alone. That was 20+ years, ago. I imagine you could do better now that minimum wage is at least double what it was then.

[thall818]

All I had to do was read the title and I knew this guy was getting flamed.

You just reached out to a bunch of guys who worked their butts off to get to the point where they could afford a toy, and then committed to working hard to build the toy. Then you show up with an idea to get a free one. It's not very surprising the result. Our generation already looks at yours as the entitlement generation.

With that being said, I would like to offer a solution. Since you obviously have an interest in cars, I would suggest an early 90s Miata. Work hard, save up about $2K, and set out to buy 3 junkers. It won't be easy to find, but it can be done.

Now, start parting them out. Use Craigslist, ebay, etc. Boom, you are now a small business. When you make your first $1,500, buy a driver Miata and start autocrossing. Then start scrapping or selling off the shells and buy more to part out. You will learn more than you can imagine. And you will make much more than flipping burgers.

Be disciplined and start climbing. Set a goal and reach it. Then set another. You will get there in time Padawan, just be patient, and focused.

[Mechie3]

Oh man! lol.

True story: If you put "gofundme.com" in a post on NASIOC the swear filter changes it to "iamauselessmillennial.com"

While I'm a millennial myself and take minor offense that all millennials are labeled as useless and entitled, I fully agree that gofundme has devolved into a "oh look, free money" site. Gofundme/crowdfunding is supposed to be used for things that are (IMO) shark tank-esque worthy projects. Someone has an idea, has tested it, but needs funds to take it to the next level. It's not supposed to be for "I have no money and want things so give it to me"

This comment:

Being in highschool does not allow me to have a job to be able to afford this as easily as I had wished

can be applied to anyone at any level. I'm an engineer, my wife is a cardiovascular perfusionist and we make good money, but not millions, and we can't afford a ferrari as easily as I had wished. Or a mansion, or a boat, plane, road racing, private race track, or anything that costs money.

When people look at me and say "oh, I wish I could have XYZ" and they're younger than me I always tell them "pay attention in school, work hard, and don't waste your money and you can have this too when you're my age".

When I was in high school in 2001 I didn't own a car but drove the car my parents had for me. 1988 pontiac safari 6000 station wagon. I didn't have a cool car until I was out of college.

[TX-Lou]

SniperTeamDerp,

I don't know what year you are in High School but there may be another option that you can pursue. Does your school or district have an Auto-shop?

Since we first thought about doing our own build I've been thinking about what a great project this would be for a high school auto shop. The first half of the school year could be spent in tearing down a donor car, cleaning and rebuilding parts. The second half of the year could be spent building the 818. All through the school year the students could be selling raffle tickets in their community for the completed car. The money from the raffle could be the seed money for the donor car and 818 kit for the the next school year.

The challenge is that you have to approach your school and school district with this idea. You will need to have all of your ducks in a row to convince everyone that this is a good idea and a doable project for high school students. You will need to raise the money for the first year from the district, PTA/PTO and local businesses. Perhaps your crowd funding would achieve better results if people knew they were donating to an educational project at a high school, rather then donating money so that some kid could build a car for himself. And, you should also check with FFR to see if they have any programs in place for working with schools on something like this.

Of course, you wouldn't get to keep the car but you would learn so much by going through this process. The experience of championing, proposing and pursuing this project would be just as valuable an experience (if not more) then the experience of working on the donor car and building an 818. It would require a lot of hard work and perseverance on your part as well.

- Lou

[fyrewhirl]

I'm a high schooler too! It's going to be hard to build and drive an 818, just saying.

[skullandbones]

I agree with TX Lou. Your crowd funding proposal just isn't a good fit for your original idea but if you tie it to educational/vocational benefits, it will fly. You might end up with more funds than needed. If you are a serious want a be hot rodder though, you will find other means to get into it. A hot rod club is one very good start. I built a roadster (not FFR) in a hot rod club garage. The club offers expertise and resources a high school guy usually doesn't have. Investing in the donor first, driving, and working on it is another good route if you know you are going to stay interested in this specific project. You sound imaginative so I think you will find a way.

Good luck,

WEK.

[Blitzkrieg]

If you can get enough people to back you, go for it. It would be stupid not to. That being said I would rather see t a crowdfunding project to make a new body for the 818. If you got enough people to do that you could have a 818 for development and have a good business. Work smart not hard.

[SniperTeamDerp]

Many responses here and lots of information to consider. I thank everyone who posted now and for future posts!

[jceckard]

I got it. Crowd fund and maintain dignity. You provide access to the car to everyone who participates as they would own a share of the vehicle. Their share of time is proportional to their share of ownership. When/if the vehicle is ever sold, each owner would receive their share of the proceeds.

Of course there may be some legal obstacles to overcome. Maybe set up a corporation to"manage"the time share. I hear it's really easy to do that in Montana.

[AZPete]

and, because building is half the fun, each owner gets to build a proportional part.

[SniperTeamDerp]

Love the last 2 ideas and input, great help, may be hard to incorporate but definitely could make or break it.

[Erik W. Treves]

before this thing gets locked out....I will FUND you.... if you fund my next build....you go first!....