The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Question on vehicle cost if it alreay has a roll cage
Let's say I buy a $500 roller with a cage already installed (old Mustang drag race car).
Would it be safe to say I'm actually buying a (cage for $400) and a (roller for $100), then buy a junkyard motor/trans for $400 to max out the $500 CAR budget?
Inquiring minds want to know.
from the rules page
4.1.1: Lame-Ass Rationalizations: Cars that "should be" worth $500 don't count; cars that "were worth $500" before you spent another $2000 to fix them don't count; cars you've owned for 20 years and spent more than $500 on during that time don't count; "it would have been worth $500 if it didn't already have a cage" doesn't count. Five hundred dollars means five hundred frickin' dollars.
Not saying people don't find ways around this but I'll leave that up to you to figure out.
Why stop there? How about you bought a cage for $1000, and the guy paid you $500 just to take the roller with it. Now THAT is bookkeeping.
Buying a car with a cage already installed is certainly a smart way to save money (though I should insert the disclaimer here about not assuming a roll cage built for another competition environment will work for Lemons).
We're not automatically opposed to creative bookkeeping that deducts some of a former race car's purchase price on account of the included safety gear.
But we can also tell when you're bending the rules. If you buy an ex-drag Mustang with a sweet cage and no engine for $500, don't try to convince us that it was a $1000 cage and a free car, thus giving you $1500 to spend on a 347 stroker. Have good records and abide by the spirit of the rules, and you'll be fine.
Buying a car with a cage already installed is certainly a smart way to save money (though I should insert the disclaimer here about not assuming a roll cage built for another competition environment will work for Lemons).
If you buy a car with a cage.... take pictures of all the safety gear BEFORE you leave for the race. This will save you LOTS of headaches in the long run.. (Sorry Evil Genius guys.. I know how much you LOVE doing late night fab work on Friday night)
It might also help to get the seller to write the sale up that way. Get two bills of sale, one for the car and one for the cage. Show both to the judges.
When even an Autopower cage is $650, it's not unreasonable to consider the cage a significant part of the $500. Yes, it's bending the rules, but it's a reasonable bending.
The 24 Hours of Lemons Forums → Lemons Newcomers → Question on vehicle cost if it alreay has a roll cage