ff_

Honest question:

I see a lot of threads about people modding their cars, spending huge wads of cash for oftentimes little or no gain. Is part of the whole modding mindset to impress others with how much money you can spend on your car? I mean, you hear about $6000 brake kits, $1200 intakes, $4000 wheels, all of which will return a miniscule benefit compared to the amount of money spent. What is the thought process behind this?

I appreciate the enjoyment of tinkering with one's car, but it seems like people can be pretty foolish with their money. When you're 21, that $8000 spent on a brake kit, intake, and wheels, put into a well-managed investment, will grow and make money for you. Who knows, maybe even enough money to buy the car that you really want.

Again, just an honest question. What's your motivation and justification for the amount of money you spend on mods?

snaKe

to me it is all about individuality... to stand out of the crowd. Just a little lower and nice wheels, maybe a subtle bodykit, window tint and some performance upgrades and i'm fine. It's not about impressing others - it's just to please yourself with your very own style car

Flipsonic

As for me (IS250), I modified my car just for looks. It has 100 hp less than the 350 so I don't intend to race it, nor do I plan to increase hp. I bought it with the intention to use as a commute car for work. I have a weekend vehicle. Although the IS looks sexy the way it is, I'm not one for looking plain stock. I like the looks of a lowered (not slammed) car, nice wide aftermarket wheels, tint, and HIDs. It costed me less than $5k. To me it's the biggest bang for my money and I've had lots of good compliments. But I didn't do it to impress others, I did it for me. All the rides I've owned had some kind of mod. And yes, I'm way over 21 and have a good paying career. I made $$$ on my investments as well. I do agree that some people have their priorities out of order. But it's their life and they are entitled to do what they want with it. Just my 2 cents.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

Why stop at mods?
If you think about it really... what does buying a nice car like the IS buy you anyway? You could certainly pick up a 15K Hyundai Sonata... and pocket the other 15K-35K?

What does a 500 coach change purse buy someone... or a movado watch? Does the purse hold more change? Does the movado tell better time?

People buy what they want, because its what they want. Nothing really to understand.

PhilipMSPT

iTrader: (5)

It's all about aesthetics. That's all.

People want their cars personalized to make it their own. Add chrome, give it a grunt, tint anything clear, and the such: it's a way to make it aesthetically pleasing to themselves; just like how people dye their hair, style it differently, and dress uniquely.

As for cost, it varies between people. Just like how one person can spend next to nothing to look unique, and how one person can spend tens of thousands of dollars to look different, everyone will have a term of value to what is aesthetic.


If you spend wads of money on your car, and you have no savings in the bank, do not donate money to charities, and have no means to support your own family or your children's future college costs, you're spending too much.

If you have the extra income, do it.

But there are better things in life that need out focus, time and effort, and money...

Batmobile

iTrader: (2)

i modded my 97 SC to for the same reason these guys up here modded their cars...then i sold it

i do agree...the money spent on cars is kind of dumb but that's the biggest thing about america. everyone wants to be different and unique. Putting alot of money into something that depreciates in value everyday. I mean i've done it and to be honest if things for the 2IS weren't overpriced like hell...i would do it again. I'm not fortunate YET to make big bucks and am currently stuck in a job that only pays 45k a year so i can't really go crazy on my car yet...i mean i'm 22 now and the monthly payments on the car is enough for me....... but for those who are making the kind of cash and can afford it...more power to you... i though am a baller on a budget.

Threxx

I completely agree.

Granted, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

If the car in question is a 50k dollar car that's 95% perfect in stock form... but in order to make it 100% perfect (in the buyer's eyes) they need to spend another 20 grand... then I guess if you quantified it... that last 5% was damn expensive and likely impractical. But then again I suppose the difference between a 200 dollar suit and a 2000 dollar suit isn't anything close to 10 times the durability/comfort/quality/etc... but to some people (who have the money and have the desire), it's still 'worth it' to buy the nicer suit.

However... in MY eyes, most if not all mods not only have a high cost per gain, but also have a substantial downside to them as well such as worsened ride, higher cost of maintenance, worse reliability, and just more headaches in general with the car.

To me I wouldn't mind modding the hell of out a sunday-driven Corvette that sat in my garage as a project car... but for daily drivers I like to keep it stock, or very near stock.

marshmallo

To me there are certain things about the stock car that are not
visually pleasing to me, so I just change it.

I agree it is a complete waste of money, but I do derive some
satisfaction out of it and some things in life are priceless.

Dumb, but priceless

al503

It's all relative. Why are you, ff_ on this forum? Everyone that never purchases a new car (so the 'sucker' who bought it new takes the biggest depreciation hit) or those who purchase entry level cars can pose the same question to you. Why did you spend $30+K on a depreciating asset when you could have bought a used, but perfectly reliable late model civic/corolla/etc for $5K. What a waste. Your gas expenses, insurance, etc., would all be much less. You could have invested that $25K+ blah, blah, blah.

Let's not stop at cars. Let's look at food. Why does anyone eat out when they can make the food at home for a fraction? Just think of all the $ you could save and invest. Why drink soda at a $1+ for 16 oz. when you can get 5 gallons of water delivered to your house for a few bucks more?

Lexmex

I want to be the fastest, but that does not mean I am willing to throw wads of cash to get there. A lot of what I do is custom stuff (due to lack of 1MZFE aftermarket support) that requires merely a trip to Home Depot.

Yet, based on what you are talking about I help run a track above the north side of the city and we do have our share of what I like to call cash cows, where vehicles down to the last detail scream $$$ all over them. I have had chats with some of these people and they want to win car shows, impress friends, girls, basically have a satisfaction they feel they do not have in the world outside of their vehicle...and that last line seems to be the most important.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Modding is about a few things depending on the person...

1. making the car more enjoyable to you whether it's looks, handling, speed, etc.
2. competing in shows
3. impressing others

For me personally only the first one matters, but each to their own!

It doesn't make financial sense, but then neither do a lot of things (eating fancy, drinking, most hobbies, jewelry, etc, etc.).

Skulinex

considering Utility as the benefit OR satisfaction a person receives from consuming a good or a service, then to maximize satisfaction, the consumer should allocate his or her money income so that the last dollar spent on each product <in this case 'mods' > yields the same amount of extra utility. That's also known as the Utility-Maximizing rule.
in other words, as long as YOU are happy with what you did to your car and you can afford it, as Bitkahuna said, each to its own it's all under the Theory of consumer behavior

GSteg

iTrader: (15)

This is why I dont do any engine modding. 99% of the time, my car never sees anything over 3000 RPM. Now suspension I can justify because I can't life with the horrible body roll and unconfident steering at higher speed. Sway bars, springs/shocks are all I need. No need for bracing and such.

rai

I'm not a hard core modder. If anything I will change the wheels, I'm getting a set of snow tires and need an extra set of wheels anyway so I'll spend a bit more if I find a set of wheels I really like.

For my S2000, I installed new gears which many people say is one of the better performance mods for the S2000 (since it's hard to gain any real power without FI), then I installed a K&N intake (better sound and maybe a tiny bit of power) and new set of wheels/tires while the stock wheels got snow tires.

With my S2000 for example, I spend maybe $5K (for all my mods). But that includs snow tires so I can drive it more often, also it makes the car a bit better (IMO) and feels a bit different so I don't get tired of it as soon and need to trade it in.

IMO I don't like mods that make the car look godawful (which most mods will do aka rice-out). Nor do I like to spend a lot on a mod that isn't very useful (aka 'big brakes') I mean my brakes are fine stock so whats the point of having bigger brakes? What I mean is if it's gives a good bit of bang for the buck (like gears for the S2000) than I'll do it. But if its just for show, then it's not worth spending much money on.

bitkahuna

iTrader: (20)

Amen to all that!