Does chopping parts off old cars count towards the $500?

You may have to take some bs laps for your first race, but should be able to get the value down for races after that.

My car has a brand new alternator (ironically, the reason for getting the car so cheap).  the original replacement burned the fusible links (19 volts output), and while it was parked waiting for a replacement, was side swiped by a drunk.  We stopped at advance auto on the way back while towing the car home and got the warranty replacement.  So, that's a 150.00 part, give or take, and I don't think it'll pass bs.  It's not like we're going to win our first time out anyway.

Hopefully, if we make race # 2, the value will be set below 500.

Riktor nailed it.  If you want to pull body parts off of the Honda and create some monstrosity or use lights or other non-running gear from the Honda, that's okay.  It's sort of like theme expenses (paint, weird shit that gets bolted to the car, etc.), the rules don't say that they aren't part of the $500 budget... but they are generally overlooked.

Of course, if you claim the Honda as a documented free parts car, that's different.  Perfectly okay, but... the judges will look at you cross-eyed if the benevolent donor is a team member or relative.

However, this is all a moot point.  If you show up with a vintage Opel, you're golden.  Revel in the awesomeness of choosing a proper lemon!

If it's a team member's car, you're not getting it "for free." You're getting it for whatever he paid for it in the first place, not what it's worth now. Since you haven't read the rules yet, I refer you to Section 4.1.1:

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.

As for selling stuff off a car to get to the $500 limit, that's fine. Just document the shit out of all your transactions, and by "document" I don't mean "call up your friend with all the blurry photos of the car on his iPhone and have him come running to the BS inspection," which we see at least three times per race.

Also, keep in mind that selling parts off the car can only get the value to zero, not into negative territory. This means that you tow-yard owners who sell $20,000 worth of parts of that repo'd Evo you got for $3,000 can't loophole that thing through the BS inspection (however, if you use that same trick with a Rolls-Royce we'll be perfectly fine with it).

If you are choosing between a Honda Prelude and an Opel 1900, you're really choosing between two types of BS Inspection. In one type, you get every item on your no-doubt-phony stack of paperwork scrutinized with ball-bustingly harsh skepticism... and in the other, you get cut a whole bunch of slack. Guess which type the Prelude gets?

Yes, aircraft-engine-powered Crosleys are exempt from BS Inspection rules.

You can turn all the profit you want, but you can't get a $1000 BS-Inspection-approved budget by selling $900 worth of parts off a $400 car. Feel free to spend your profit on gas, tires, etc.

No, selling $1000 in parts from a $1500 car means that you can spend an additional zero dollars on non-safety-related items, because you now have a $500 car. If you sell a $1500 car down to zero, you can then spend 1000 BS-Inspection-approved dollars.

You can also take a $2000 car and get it down to zero by selling parts... which will get you past the BS Inspection (if we believe you) but might result in your team winning the Curse vote (see Superkak Racing Mustang GT).

My point is, if I start with a $2000 car, and then sell off $2000 and get it to Zero, you can now reinvest $500.  Eitherway, you've got $2500 in the car now.

Starting with a $300 car and sell it to zero, you can spend $800.

I'd assume a $2000 car is leaps and bounds better than a $300 POS.

Therefore, I see no reason going negative should be matter.

Otherwise, you are car encouraging more expensive cars and giving them an advantage over say my $120 810 Maxima.  I would be better to start with a $1500 E36.

While I am getting this straight from the Judge himself.  The rules do not say you can or can not go negative and it ends up being the discretion of the Judges.

This is definitely a gray area.

And THAT is the beauty of Lemons.

Maybe I should paint my car gray?!?

KT