Built vs. Bought
Let's not hate on those who buy a finished or near finished ride!
Ahh one of my favorite topics! Built vs. Bought (BvB here on out in the below post)
ODB’s Life Substack BvB topic is brought to you by Lincoln Addict Podcast. Checkout Lincoln Addict Podcast, which is FREE, anywhere you listen to podcasts including here: Lincoln Addict Podcast
BvB can be compared to other all time great rivalries such as: Hatfields vs. McCoys, Ford vs. Chevy, Florida vs. Florida State, internal combustion engine vs. electric… ok you get the point.
In the automotive world, but especially in the custom car/truck community, BvB conjures up plenty of discussions online and in garages around the world. I can hear the discussion points now including “Yeah, but he bought it like that” or “can you believe he is winning awards with so and so’s truck? I could never do something like that.” Some of you can probably even add your own flavor based upon your own thoughts on the BvB topic. I’m not hating on anyone’s mindset on the topic but rather stating my ways of thinking as it relates to the subject. Let’s dig in deeper.
Urban Dictionary defines BvB as “A phrase used by car enthusiasts. It means the current owner of the car in question has has paid for and/or done all the work to it themselves, rather than buying it pre-modified or renovated by a previous owner. This commands great respect by fellow enthusiasts.”1
Think about this for a moment. Do most people actually “build” their own vehicles with their own hands, tools and time? What if your friend paid to have their car “built.” Did they still build it? I paid to have my truck Bada Bing built. I did have time invested in the project but let’s be clear, I didn’t “build” my truck with my own hands. I get the point that people associate the truck with me and if someone else bought it well then it would be “bought” so to speak but does it really matter? Let’s say a current owner isn’t showing their ride much and decides to sell the vehicle. If their current life situation doesn't allow them to take their ride to a show or they simply choose not to show their ride anymore, why not sell it to someone else who will value and appreciate the ride? In one example that comes to mind a person I know bought a truck that was finished 20 years prior. The truck never really got the recognition it deserved. The person invested a good bit of time and money into the truck and brought a few things up to date and it resulted in a couple of magazine features. In addition many people were able to see the truck which they had only heard of or saw in show coverage in the late 1990s. Anyway, let’s continue the BvB discussion.
How many people in the truck community are people who build a truck and are on to the next thing in an instant? Where would those people offload their trucks if there was no market to sell them. When the next person buys a custom truck should they just not take it to shows? Or maybe take it to shows however when registering they could tell the staff they don’t want to be judged since they didn’t build the truck. They wouldn’t want to take an award away from someone who did build their ride right!?! I mean I’m sure some people may actually do this but for the most part it seems far fetched. I’ve been told by someone who is in the “bought” segment that they have told people at shows to not judge their vehicle in the past (since they were not concerned with an award) and the ride was still judged and still won an award. Should someone who bought a truck finished or who only made minor changes on a “bought” ride be clowned for not “building” their ride? Not in my opinion. Remember, the majority of true enthusiasts don’t care about winning an award. Since I brought my truck back out in in 2021 I pulled in a few awards which were pretty nice. Each of these awards were given to a child or someone else has it in their possession. As cool as the awards were I said to myself I am simply at a point where they don’t mean anything to me personally. I only say this because even if someone wins an award it doesn’t mean they are in the scene for that sole purpose.
Ice-T recently tweeted something that I believe can tie-in to the topic of BvB. Below you will see the tweet which gets to the root of the BvB topic in my opinion. I often feel others simply hate to see someone else do well especially if they aren’t “winning” themselves. It isn’t that other people actually want the ride in question, they just don’t want the other person to have and/or be enjoying something.
Let’s say you’ve been working on your ride for 5 years and its not quite finished. Someone else in the truck scene comes along who had taken a break from the automotive world due to health, family, kids… heck call it life in general. They start pulling awards with a truck they just “bought” recently. What is the big deal? They bought a nice enough truck worthy of an award. Should that person be able to win an award? I believe the answer is yes. Maybe shows should come up with an award such as Best Owner Built or Best Home Garage Built. Note: I’m pretty sure I’ve seen this at shows in the past.
Many people do not posses the time, skill set or resources to build their own ride. Often it is way more economical to buy something already finished and show it like it is or make subtle changes. At what point would we draw the line on who can win an award at a show? Could you imagine someone at an event saying “Umm Sir, we just love your ride. Before we give you this best classic car award we want to know did you perform the work yourself? ____ Oh ok, I’m so sorry. You said you just bought the car like this. Umm we don’t give out awards to people who bought their ride already finished.”
In closing, I say we continue to praise the many talented enthusiasts in the automotive industry for building their dreams and dreams of others. Think of how many shops around the country build awesome rides for themselves and others to enjoy. Also, let’s praise enthusiasts who decide to buy a ride and put the time and effort into taking it around the county for others to see and enjoy. Often they are putting money into these rides to revamp them or get them roadworthy. In addition, I think we all agree that anyone who essentially built their own truck or performed the majority of work on their ride definitely deserves the credit for going above and beyond. Let’s not hate on others who buy a ride already finished or pay someone to build it for them. We are all in this automobile scene for one main reason and that is due to our passion!
What are your thoughts on the subject? Leave a comment below!
Stay On Da RISE!
ODB
Well my opinion on it is…. some people don’t have the time or knowledge to build one. Others take pride in saving ones that would probably never see a show again. I personally don’t care either way as long as they’re still out there being shown and not in someone’s backyard or barn rotting away. Buy them all. Or build them all. Both is cool with me.
Minitruck PASSIONATE enthusiast here.. my two cents is you hit it on the head. I have nothing but love for everyone in this life. Whether you are a fabricator or somebody like me who isn’t, but has always dreamed of owning trucks like I have today..the smile on my face when I get to share them with everybody out at shows is the payoff.
I’ll keep taking good care of the work created by the hands and imaginations of amazing builders, and everyone can see the work put into them when I cart them to shows across the US. It’s a win all around in my book.