Help me with my project?

[Alex Li]

Hi everyone,
if you saw my last post: I'm a 16-year-old student located in the bay area, California. I've always had a passion for cars, and love seeing cool cars on the road. One day I saw a video on Youtube about Kit cars, and I fell in love with them. After some research, I see that the DF Goblin is the best option for me. I've always loved building and customizing things. Another thing that I love is auto racing, I've watched auto races for as long as I can remember. So I really want to build this car with my dad as a final project before I leave for college next year. But there's one problem, and that's money. My family only has about 1/4 the amount of money to do the build. So please if you can donate a little, I would appreciate it very much. Again, anything helps, and I thank you in advance. If you decide not to donate, thank you for visiting my page, and please no rude comments. Click on the Go Fund Me page to donate. Thank you.

Go Fund Me
or copy this link to your browser: gf.me/u/zq6d5n

 

[DCMoney]

Unbelievable.

 

[JBINTX]

Grow up kid. Get an education. Get a job. Become valuable to society. Make your own income. Pay your bills and taxes. If you are successful and smart you will then have disposable income to afford a toy like this.

 

[Ark :D]

Alex, I won't be rude, but let me try to help you understand the scope of this undertaking.

Your fundraiser notes a goal of $15,000 for the project. That's a good start, and you may even be able to get four wheels on the ground with that sum, but then you further have the expense of insuring the car annually (no small sum for a custom-built car with a 16-year-old driver living in the Bay area, I am sure), and the up-front cost of registering the car with the state in the first place (the Montana route costs $849 up-front plus a small annual cost. I do not know what it would cost in California, but you would pay state tax on the money invested into the car). When the car breaks, you need to fix it. That costs money, both for replacement parts and the tools you need to install them. Speaking of tools, if you've never worked on a car before, you'll need tools you don't have. That's probably a $500 investment at minimum.

Additionally, these cars are not like your typical "first car". You can get yourself in a LOT of trouble with these. Hell, on my first real romp on Sunday with a buddy in my passenger seat, we caught some air where I wasn't expecting to and that could have turned bad in a hurry. I'm an experienced 41-year-old driver who has owned 6 Mustangs in his life, but I almost had a mishap.

For your financial situation, I would consider looking at something like a go-kart or a side by side to sate your wheeling thirst.

 

[ccannx]

You should look into FSAE they learn to design build and actually go out test/race. You will learn more than just bolting a kit car together. Even if you had the cash now you may not be finished with a Goblin project by time you head off to college.

 

[Lechlis]

Just a thought, this guy has 3 posts and they are basic in nature. I question if this is even legit or simply a money grab.

@Alex Li, I agree with the comments above, but do you have any social media so we can attempt to verify if you are even trustworthy?

 

[Alex Li]

Just a thought, this guy has 3 posts and they are basic in nature. I question if this is even legit or simply a money grab.

@Alex Li, I agree with the comments above, but do you have any social media so we can attempt to verify if you are even trustworthy?

You guys are right, this is kind of stupid... After some thinking last night I do think this is not responsible of me. Sorry for bothering anyone’s time. I’m taking down the fundraiser.

 

[k.rollin]

@Alex Li: While looking at colleges to attend, try to find ones that have SAE collegiate design teams such as Baja SAE, Formula SAE, FSAE Hybrid, FSAE Electric, Super mileage, or AutoDrive. I used to be in your shoes, wanting to build a unique high performance car myself. Participating in Baja SAE gave me a lot of skills and a better understanding of vehicle systems while also helping to scratch the itch until I could get to a point where I could reasonably take on such an endeavor myself.

 

[Lonny]

@Alex Li,

I think it is awesome that you are interested in one of our kits, and don't give up. We have folks on here that take several years to arrange their financial situation enough to be able to build a Goblin.

My suggestion to you would be to purchase an affordable car that needs a little TLC. Fix it up, drive it for a while and then sell for a profit. Do your research to make sure you get a good deal on a car that will sell quickly. Then use the money from the car to buy the next project car.

Eventually, you may be able to flip enough of them to pay for a kit car and have enough tools and experience to help with a kit car build.

We do have several Goblins on the road in Califonia. You may be able to find them on our forum or Facebook. PM them, I am sure they would love to show you one and may even give you a ride in one.

If you and your Dad are ever in the Dallas Texas area give us a shout and you can come by the shop for a tour.

Lonny

 

[Alex Li]

@Alex Li,

I think it is awesome that you are interested in one of our kits, and don't give up. We have folks on here that take several years to arrange their financial situation enough to be able to build a Goblin.

My suggestion to you would be to purchase an affordable car that needs a little TLC. Fix it up, drive it for a while and then sell for a profit. Do your research to make sure you get a good deal on a car that will sell quickly. Then use the money from the car to buy the next project car.

Eventually, you may be able to flip enough of them to pay for a kit car and have enough tools and experience to help with a kit car build.

We do have several Goblins on the road in Califonia. You may be able to find them on our forum or Facebook. PM them, I am sure they would love to show you one and may even give you a ride in one.

If you and your Dad are ever in the Dallas Texas area give us a shout and you can come by the shop for a tour.

Lonny

Thank you for replying, I'll definitely get one once I'm able to. Putting it on the bucket list.

 

[Mayor West]

lol

 

[JPas914]

Well, you have a goal, now you gotta work towards it. You can always find a job now and get started putting money aside before college. Work hard, save up, and you'll be better set up for getting one a little later in life. Buying one now might be a bit ill advised, and there may even be speed bumps that you hadn't thought of that pop up...such as 'where would you store it during your time in college?' I don't see DF Kitcar going anywhere for a very long time, so you'll be able to pick up a Goblin when you are better prepared for it. And all the hard work that you'll have put into being able to buy/build a Goblin will make that first drive all the more enjoyable.

 

[Brian74]

Can’t knock a young dude for trying, lol...

If you enjoy kit cars, keep learning. There are skills you can pick up now, at your age that will make your first kit car even better. Just find something that appeals to you. Examples: Learn welding. Do some electrical/Arduino projects. Buy and restore an old motorcycle. Pick up a cheap 3D printer and learn CAD.

Just scale down your project to something within your current time and resources, and complete it from start to finish.

You have plenty of time to build a car.

 

[TravMac]

My suggestion to you would be to purchase an affordable car that needs a little TLC.

Something I think we all sort of missed - find yourself a halfway decent cobalt. Let your first car be something to wrench on and learn, not to mention already having the doner car for this project. Eventually build into a kit when the disposable income comes later on. It will really help having a few years of history for how the car acts too. I liked my car a ton before the kit, and I'm hoping to get another as a daily driver.