1. EVERYTHING is negotiable. The great thing is that there are a number of builders out there who can make your car for you for a reasonable price. The even better thing is that someone out there has probably already made the car you're looking for, and is just looking for the right person to buy it.

The resale value of the kit car generally depends on how desireable the kit is that you purchased. If you chose a car that was popular (like a Cobra, for instance) or rare (******* P4 replica) or both popular AND rare (GT40) you will have a car that will more than likely not devalue during the course of your ownership - if you take care of your car. For instance, if you were to buy a Cobra replica for $24K that car would probably be worth $24K when you go to sell the car at a later date. The reason for this is simple: you're not buying a production car. A high performance production sports car (Dodge Viper) is worth - in three years - about 60% of what you paid for it (assuming you take great care of it). And that's high. A 'normal' production car is usually worth about 30-40% of what you paid for it in three years. So - while you generally won't make money on the car, you will almost never really lose any money on the car...as long as you chose wisely.

Insurance is usually based on the driver, and how the car is going to be used. If you use it as a daily driver, you're going to pay more for insurance that if you were to list it as a second car/pleasure vehicle that's only driven a minimal amount of miles. Talk to your insurance company.

Kit cars come in three flavors:
(1) full custom kits (most Cobras, Porsche Spyders, GT40s, Listers, etc) where the chassis is usually designed by the manufacturer;
(2) semi-custom kits (many Coutach/Diablos, Porsche Speedsters, 917s, alot of F355s, etc) where the chassis is adapted (stretched or shortened) from a current production car;
(3) rebodies (ASPP GT40, some F355s, Z3 roadsters) where new body panels are fitted to an existing chassis that is not modified.

The safety of the kit car is totally dependant on which flavor you choose:

If you choose a full custom chassis, then you might want to check on who actually designed the chassis. "Some guy in a garage" isn't usually a great answer. Cobras - as great as they are - would suck in a side-hit (the most common) accident; you've got two layers of fiberglass, a steel tube to hold the door in place and that's it for impact protection. Most kits replicate race cars that were never designed for street use, and therefore don't do great in accidents. That's not to say they're unsafe. They're as safe as a motorcycle.

If you choose a semi-custom chassis, you're going to get most of the benefits of a proven production vehicle, like a VW Bug or a Fiero. Generally, VWs are shortened (for a Speedster or a 917), and Fieros are stretched (for a Countach, Diablo or F355). Shortening involves taking a section out of the floorpan and welding the resultant two pieces back together. Stretching involves cutting the chassis in half (usually right behind the cockpit) and adding 9-16 inches of bracing so that the wheelbase looks "right." Production vehicles had to - at some point in their lives - meet DOT regulations for crash testing. The chassis you reuse is a proven performer...the weakness is the place where the chassis was modified. However, the good news is that there are plenty of welders and chassis modifiers who know what they're doing. Sometimes the work is actually stronger than the original car.

Rebodies are the safest (and generally the most boring, performance-wise) of the kit cars. You're essentially pulling panels off of a production car (like a Fiero) and bolting on new ones. The chassis structure doesn't change, and the safety areas of the original car will remain intact.

Which type of kit car is the safest? Who knows. You're building a car that other people will look at, and it will most likely be unlike anything else on the road around it. This will either make the car stand out and people will see that it's there, or it will make the car stand out and people will drift into it while they're admiring the fine workmanship. It's a coin toss. In either case, most people on the road will admire the car from your blind spot (the place to the left or right rear of the car where the mirrors can't see) and make it just about impossible to change lanes. The best course of action you can take in whatever car you drive is to imagine that you're on a motorcycle and that nobody can see you. Know where everyone is on the road, and you'll probably be fine.

I hope that helps you out. If you need more specific information on a particular kit or a builder, please feel free to post and we'll help you out as best we can.

Your pal,
Meat.