Desert Car Kings any good?

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Welcome aboard and it is truly good to see you have saved cars at lower prices where poor folks like us can keep them in our driveways.
 
Thanks for your post Jason, and your response to some of the posts on this site. These guys here are very passionate at what they do, and I guess we see that you are too. To do what you have in 3 weeks, it's taken some of these Abody guys 3 years or more to acheive. I will continue to watch your show with your comments in mind. Best of luck, lets keep this hobby alive and well. Rog
 
Jason,

Glad you found FABO.

It is obvious that most FABO guys are perfectionists and would only be happy with the cars they personally labored over for years. You are running a business, and probably aren't even profiting much at the prices your cars auction for. I expect the TV promotion is worth the difference. The cars look nice on my HD TV and I wouldn't mind driving any shown so far.

They may not win a show prize, but you aren't selling Trailer Queens. Sure, the door gaps aren't perfect, but neither were the cars rolling off the Detroit assembly lines in the 60's and 70's. Judges at shows today fuss over every hose clamp and oil filter. The factory made no such fusses. "Correct" was usually whatever trunk mat material was available as the line rolled.
 
caught the 55 ford f-100 episode tonight, they pulled a motor out of a galaxie (289 i suppose) and decided to see if it ran, it ended up starting for them, of course they said that they now had a running motor.

Earlier in that episode jason said that parts and motor rebuilding were money they didn't have... So, am I right in my assumtion that the motors aren't rebuilt? or what??? I hope not
 
Welcome Jason! I'd love to do what you do on the show. Growing up, all I wanted to do was pull cars that had been in Salvage yards and put them back on the road. Every time I'd go with dad or bro, I'd beg them to get "this" car, or "that" one. My memories of fast cars were from late 60's and early 70's. Always wanted to get part time job on weekends to get "first dibs" on any mopar treasures that were turned in. My hat is off to you and your crew, definately not as much fake drama as a father/sons Motorcycle show....(ooppss, I said it) Keep up the good work, and keep the shows coming. People know they can't expect the same 'love' that they would give their own cars over a 2-3 year restoration, done in 10 days. I would love to come out and find a good Demon or 73 and later Duster body for my next project. A lot less work on the metal, then from here-Indiana.
I only have one request for the show. More Mopars!
 
They do state up front that they're building daily drivers, not concourse 100 point show cars. Their definition and my definition of the word 'restoration' differ somewhat. For instance, if I'm restoring a full frame car, the body's coming off the frame, the frame gets sandblasted and powder coated or at the very least, it gets a couple of coats of POR 15. The body mounts get replaced, the suspension components get all new bushings, it gets new tie rod ends along with new idler and pitman arms, and all the tubing gets cleaned up or replaced. And all the rubber components like fuel hoses and brake hoses get replaced (and perhaps they do replace all the 30 + year old rubber parts, we just don't see that in the show). That's what restoration means to me.

But like I said, they're up front about the type of cars they build. They're not Chip Foose or Rad Rides by Troy. Who knows? Maybe I can afford to buy one of their cars.
 
Reading your comments Jason says to me you seem like a good guy. I enjoy your show. I understand this show is more about entertainment than about doing a concours restoration. Now if you would give me a good deal on a dart fender:)

DVAP_Jason said:
Hey ALL,
I am Jason (From DCK's tv show on Discovery),
I was told never to reply to or even read most internet threads about the show or our company ect.
I happen to love A-body mopars and have too many of them, so it is worth it to me to take the time (and the cyber-bashing I may get in return for my little defensive post....).
First, you guys are worth this post mainly because you are REAL CUSTOMERS!!!! Customers that post actual pics of our yard, they themselves took as a result of being a visitor. Thank you for that. (I can not say the same for a Falcon/Corvair sites.)
Second, for all those that think we are too high priced. Well, my only response to that would be... you obviously were just pricing parts that day and were in no position, or had any intention in buying that part and taking it home. This is not Walmart, we don't have a suggested retail price. We have a starting price, that is ALWAYS negotiable. Remember; it's called Supply and Demand. These cars don't just find there way to my wrecking yard on there own, it cost thousands of dollars to buy/bird-dog fee/spiff/finders fee/ship????? anything it takes to get these old cars purchased, picked up, and placed within our inventory. Last time I checked you can't ever go up on a price quote. So if you price something too low, well your screwed. FYI, we are not talking about a Mustang or Chevelle here, this is A-body mopars. We built the 64 Barracuda in episode 4 (after market parts are non existant as compared to the pony cars of the 2 other American big 3 auto makers). So when pricing Dart, Duster, ect parts....the prices are forever changing.
In the future, WHEN YOU ARE READY TO PURCHASE THAT PART, THAT DAY... WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED SHOPPING FOR A BARGAIN BAESMENT/ BLUELIGHT SPECIAL/ E-BAY PRICE.... WHEN YOU ARE READY TO FINALLY FINISH YOUR CAR WITH ORIGINAL FACTORY CHRYSLER PARTS.....
Lastly, can these rebuilds happen in 2-3 weeks.... well they did x10. We were not happy doing it, we put up a fight, we complained that we weren't happy about stamping our names on cars that would obviously need more TLC to end up with a better finished product. But Discovery doesn't like fake, incorrect, or made up stories. They just plain would not have it, so we had to build these cars in that small crunch time and BINGO it created the drama, brought in the deadlines, and it produced our show!
The fact that the acting is crappy is because we are not actors. This is REALITY show.... One thing I would like to get straight and if anyone hasn't figured it out by now. We are not a DIY, How-to, or process show. If you want to learn how to bleed breaks, pull moldings properly, or change your oil, we suggest you simply Google it on your PC or asking your uncle Mike the mechanic. Only watch DCK for the entertainment and the excitment of seeing all the old cars.
We are just a group of guys with a killer classic and antique junkyard and a passion for the hobby. That want to breathe that last breath of life into a few old relics that are at deaths door. Instead of the scrap yard being considered a graveyard... Desert Car Kings is turning Desert Valley Auto Parts into an ER for old cars!!
We are not calling ourselves experts or are calling our shop a pro shop or trying to get anyone to follow us by lead what so ever. We are just attempting (and succeding) in putting these old cars back were they belong on America's highways. MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!
By making these cars so affordable (not Barrett-Jackson crazy prices), we are turning what would have been just a image on a TV set into a real life test drive for the new owners of our auction specials. We are turning the keys over to the next generation of car enthusiasts, which is the only way to TRULY keep this great hobby alive!!!
For all the haters out there....NEXT TIME I'LL TRY TO DO BETTER!!!
J. MCCLURE DCK 2011
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71b5duster said:
Reading your comments Jason says to me you seem like a good guy. I enjoy your show. I understand this show is more about entertainment than about doing a concours restoration. Now if you would give me a good deal on a dart fender:)
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Do you consider $300 a good deal. thats what they quoted me on a 64 valiant fender. Personally, Thats offensive, and obscene.
 
hemitheus said:
Do you consider $300 a good deal. thats what they quoted me on a 64 valiant fender. Personally, Thats offensive, and obscene.
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When it comes to USED parts......

How much is YOUR time worth? How much time COULD you spend on the phone...or the internet...looking for a part that would satisfy you both in price and quality. And if you did find a suitable part, how much of your time would you spend removing it from the donor car, how much fuel and expense to get yourself there to take it off, plus the fuel to get you and your part back home????

Factor all of that in, plus the price of the part in the first place, and I'll bet if you did find a fender for $100, you'd have close to $250(or more....) in it when all is said and done.

Just sayin........it ain't all as simple as it sounds.
 
Rick@Laysons said:
When it comes to USED parts......

How much is YOUR time worth? How much time COULD you spend on the phone...or the internet...looking for a part that would satisfy you both in price and quality. And if you did find a suitable part, how much of your time would you spend removing it from the donor car, how much fuel and expense to get yourself there to take it off, plus the fuel to get you and your part back home????

Factor all of that in, plus the price of the part in the first place, and I'll bet if you did find a fender for $100, you'd have close to $250(or more....) in it when all is said and done.

Just sayin........it ain't all as simple as it sounds.
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Aint it the truth in most cases. Well stated Rick
 
I beg to differ. Time spent looking for parts for a hobby car is fun. I don't factor in my time or labor on a project car. And if we all do our cars would be worth 10 times more than they are. Time spent researching things on fabo would also have to be counted in then. And who knows how much time has been spent on here looking at who knows what. I picked up a set of glass fenders. They were 150 for the pair. It was a total drive time of 1 hour. So by your thinking my time should have been worth 150. I don't see it it was time that I had to waste before my child got out of school anyway. So I didn't have anything productive to do therefor the time was not worth anything close to 150.

I sent a pm to jason. Bassically explaining that a high price to someone that doesn't bite and calling them window shopping is in my mind insulting. If I am window shopping I will tell you up front. His post above about it made me never willing to do business with him. I asked for a response and a price on some parts as well. To give him a chance. And guess what I got the same response that my buddy was given when he called. (ready to buy) and the response was nothing. Not even a sorry you feel that way. I gave constructive critisim on their customer service and how people need to be treated. Maybe I hurt his feelings and he took it personally. I don't know. It was not my intent. Looks like I'll just happly take my business 90 miles away from their JUNK yard go with a nice guy that wants to make customers happy. DVAP is less than 5 miles from my house and would gladly give them business but they can keep the parts they have. I don't want or need their JUNK. I do not watch the show nor will I. I understand running a business but polishing a turd, is just a shiny turd in the end. Ok I'll step off my soap box now. Sorry for the rant
 
Rick@Laysons said:
When it comes to USED parts......

How much is YOUR time worth? How much time COULD you spend on the phone...or the internet...looking for a part that would satisfy you both in price and quality. And if you did find a suitable part, how much of your time would you spend removing it from the donor car, how much fuel and expense to get yourself there to take it off, plus the fuel to get you and your part back home????

Factor all of that in, plus the price of the part in the first place, and I'll bet if you did find a fender for $100, you'd have close to $250(or more....) in it when all is said and done.

Just sayin........it ain't all as simple as it sounds.
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I disagree. It is not how I choose to conduct business and I am certain it is not how you do either. i have heard nothing but great things of you and your business, product and pricing.

Entertain me for a moment. If you consider how much money they pay for these parts cars generously consider their expenses, taxes, labor etc... their mark up is outrageous.

Say they have 1000 cars on their lot and they paid 2000 (using a number from their show on the purchase price but lets be honest, parts cars are 500 and up)each for them you are looking at 2 million in expense. Add in labor say 35k a year for a staff of lets say 7 is $245k (total 2,245,000) Lets be idiotic and say that their taxes are 100k and their licensing, power, water, webpage, advertising is 200K (2.445M to round up 2.5m) Also using their show as a numerical reference a car in parts is worth $5k. 5000x1000=$5M. So according to the math that is a profit of 2.5M. Now I am a realistic person and realize this is contingent on selling every part you have. But that being said, my numbers were obscene in their favor. in addition.... how much scratch is coming their way from the folks at Discovery?

To me if you care about the cause, if preserving classic cars realy matters to you and youre in the business you make your product affordable to as many people as you can. With them it seems to be all about squeezing every penny they can out of their customers, which is why so many people refuse to use them. If they chose to price their product fairly they would increase their profits tremendously by doing a greater volume of business. This in turn puts more classic cars on the road, betters our hobby and is mutually beneficial.

Like with my HOA, I would love to thumb through P&L report from these guys.

If you take advantage of those who you rely on to survive you are sure to die off. If you treat your customers with respect and honor their needs and provide a good product at a good price you make more money off of a return customer and said satisfied customers FREE word of mouth advertising.
 
looks like those of us close to the shop know the truth. And choose to go someplace else. Lol
 
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