The built or bought debate could rage for an eternity…but if you own a car and get a garage to work on it, is that still “built”?

In modern times you could save yourself an absolute fortune picking up a car that has been done already, nice paint, sorted engine, perhaps just awaiting your choice of rolling stock. Sadly a lot of these cars are stripped because of the high build costs, and then sold in parts, leaving a nicely painted body and not a lot else.

What have you got to do to make that car yours? A re-paint is out the question, you only bought a rolling shell as you liked the colour. In the case of Simon Sweetland’s Mk2, or Big Ron’s in fact, I would of put them both back to how they had built it!  But then it’s definitely not “your” car! And could I of afforded to, I should have just bought them when they came up for sale!

On the other hand, you could by a Mk1 or Mk2 completely stock – that’s no-ones car right?! Then if you lower it, add some new alloys, a bit of touching up here and there then that’s yours. Correct, I think. So lets replay that; but your stock MK1 you take to a garage, who lower it, add some new rims, and touch it up on your behalf. If they do the work, surely it’s theirs, although technically it’s yours.

I guess it is an opinion whose car it its, the scene is calling the shots.. if it has been featured in a mag, then there will always be an association to the person who owned it before.

Which leads us on to, what if i built, from the ground up, a Green metallic Mk2 with pulled arches and BBS rims a la Big Ron.. I’ve done the hard work, but he made the plans. Whose car is it now scene?!

Andy