I am probably opening a can of worms here

[Jamo]

Stimpy...it's a fine madness.

Good luck and have fun with your search. It is a great time to buy, but don't wait too long.

[RaceDeck]

I think last year it surely may have been possible to get a quality Kirkham for near the numbers you are talking about, from some poor soul who needed cash asap to survive.
To me, a KMP is truly a beautiful handcrafted piece of machinery and knowing what it takes to craft these cars, I am not sure how the Kirkhams make any money?
$75k seems like a fantastic deal for a quality 'used' KMP with the proper set-up ( if there are any out there). A buddy of mine sold his in 2008 for around $92k ( 1200 miles on it). I am sure there may be a few deals left out there ....but even the green one on eBay is no deal if you calculate what it would cost to strip off that Green and Gold

[stimpy]

But it is a good point, thanks.

As for how the Kirkhams make money, don't feel too sorry for them yet.

Much of the labor in these cars takes place in Poland, and the Zloty has collapsed v the dollar over the past 2-3 years, going from 2 to over 3 to one.

that would give them a fair bit of room to cut prices if demand softened and they wanted to keep volumes high.

thanks again to all on this board for the great input.

Advice like the hail question is most welcome.

PS I didn't mean I don't get stimpy, I didn't get the attachment at first so I didn't know what you meant!!!

[RaceDeck]

Originally Posted by stimpy

But it is a good point, thanks.

As for how the Kirkhams make money, don't feel too sorry for them yet.

Much of the labor in these cars takes place in Poland, and the Zloty has collapsed v the dollar over the past 2-3 years, going from 2 to over 3 to one.

that would give them a fair bit of room to cut prices if demand softened and they wanted to keep volumes high.

!

I could not disagree more. Sure they get the bodies and frames from Poland and labor is cheaper...but,materials ( metals) have sky-rocketed over the last few years and they still have to ship them here.

Once here there is a ton of work needed to finish them and finish them to the highest standards that the Kirkhams demand. Then there is the ongoing product & performance development, working with customers during the build, working with customers long after the build and so on...There is a term that is common at the KMP factory " black hole of time" and that's because they virtually never leave..working day & night 6 days a week.

Just my $.02

[stimpy]

Originally Posted by RaceDeck

I could not disagree more. Sure they get the bodies and frames from Poland and labor is cheaper...but,materials ( metals) have sky-rocketed over the last few years and they still have to ship them here.

Once here there is a ton of work needed to finish them and finish them to the highest standards that the Kirkhams demand. Then there is the ongoing product & performance development, working with customers during the build, working with customers long after the build and so on...There is a term that is common at the KMP factory " black hole of time" and that's because they virtually never leave..working day & night 6 days a week.

Just my $.02

Aluminum prices are a fair bit lower now than 2 years ago (LME charts) and ocean container shipping has COLLAPSED as the economy has lagged.

Virtually every part of the businesss should be more profitable at the margin for the K's, leaving plenty of room to cut prices on rollers if they want.

[Got the Bug]

Originally Posted by stimpy

Aluminum prices are a fair bit lower now than 2 years ago (LME charts) and ocean container shipping has COLLAPSED as the economy has lagged.

Virtually every part of the businesss should be more profitable at the margin for the K's, leaving plenty of room to cut prices on rollers if they want.

Just had a chance to read this thread. What else can be said. It's time to go work your deal with the Kirkham brothers.

[RodKnock]

Originally Posted by stimpy

Aluminum prices are a fair bit lower now than 2 years ago (LME charts) and ocean container shipping has COLLAPSED as the economy has lagged.

Virtually every part of the businesss should be more profitable at the margin for the K's, leaving plenty of room to cut prices on rollers if they want.

I don't keep an eye on commodity prices (OK, maybe pig futures ) or shipping prices, but while the Kirkhams keep their roller price the same at $57,000, Shelby, who buys their aluminum bodies from Kirkham, continues to increase their roller prices. I think they're up around $120,000 now.