Start fresh or buy someone else's project?

[vwguy]

Age old question I'm sure, but time and/or moneywise, are you better off buying/building new or buying someone else's old/project gokart?

Just looking for something my boys 6, 8 & 10 (and probably me!) can cruise around in the back yard. Checking FB & CL I see beat up $200 - $400 karts that "just need an engine"...but I'm not so sure about that. I even looked on AliExpress and while some frames seem reasonably priced, the shipping (and quality?) would be a killer.

I have average mechanical skills, but welding up a frame, etc is way beyond what I'd be able to do.

Thanks in advance guys.

 

[Thepartsguy]

I started by welding three bars into a unfinished rectangle. it ended up being a very fun minibike.

I would not even think about attempting to weld together my own gokart frame.

Marketplace a manco or similar frame and pop a $100 predator 212 on it and fix the small stuff.

Bam 212cc powered sub $250 gokart

 

[ezcome-ezgo]

Buy used. Standard philosophy for everything but food and underwear.

 

[Denny]

Buy a used up kart to fix with your boys and build memories. That they can learn to ride on. Then after you learn what works and what doesn’t build yourself a nice new one!

 

[Rat]

Overhauling a beat up frame to be exactly what you want/need it to be is more cost effective and worthwhile then buying new and finding it lacking but also not wanting to cut into it

 

[panchothedog]

Post 3-4 and 5 are dead on. I have 4 karts. 3 were purchased as beaters and the one that was bought new in 2008 got the same refurbishing treatment. Much cheaper than buying new. I don't weld and have needed almost no work done to any of mine. With some elbow grease and care you end up with basically a brand new looking and running kart. Your boys will learn a lot along the way also. How to use mechanical tools properly, and the ethics of work. Put a wrench in their hand, and get the phone out of there for a while. Great father and son project. In my case it was grandfather and grandsons, but the results were the same.

 

[Rat]

Put a wrench in their hand, and get the phone out of there for a while.

Get them addicted to wrench life young and they grow up being too broke or too busy to go looking for trouble... unless it's pulled over for laying rubber the split second the green lights up.

I grew up a garage gremlin and shop gopher; also caught on about watching the cross light not the one directly ahead... when intersecting traffic goes red you have precisely 2 seconds to green