I guess I'll actually attempt to start a discussion in a more appropriate venue than before. Back when I first got my wrx I was talking to friend about all of the mods that I was looking forward to doing. At the same time though, I was a little weary about spending such a great deal of money on car mods. The friend told me something that has stuck with me. He said something to the effect of, "If you really like the wrx and are planning to still own it for years down the road, do all of the mods you can afford. However, if you already have your heart set on the next car you will get, don't bother spending all of the time and money." I feel that he makes a good point. When you do sell your car, there is no way you'll make all of the money back that went into it. Why perfect something when you are already thinking about the next thing you want to take its place. I guess that basically nailed down my thoughts on modding in general. I was just curious on other peoples opinions. Obviously, there are a lot of people that feel differently (i'd bet a majority of this forum). I just want to hear their side as well. -Daniel *On a side note I want to apoligize if I was stepping on anybody's toes while I skirted around this topic earlier. I wasn't trying to start anything other than the discussion that I hope this will. Obviously I offended someone, and I'm sorry; I assure it was not intentional.
when you modify a car, you don't do it with the intent of recouping your money when its sold. in fact you will generally lose more money by modifying your car. that being said, do whatever makes you happy
My thoughts are if you what to mod the crap out of something, buy a project car. It seems like alot of people are putting mods into their cars without thinking about the possibility that it will be unreliable in the future and the whole "voiding" the warrenty thing. I also don't see any reason for people spending thousands of dollars on coilovers when the only use for their car is a daily driver. It's one thing to use your car to go to the occassional trackday or autox; it's seems completely useless to me to spend $2,000 on coilovers to get groceries.
I agree with you about not modding a car when you're allready planning your next car. I have my heart set on buying a Vette as soon as I can afford one. I don't see that happening for at least another 2 years so I went ahead and spent some money on my wrx. In hindsight, I probably didn't need the sway bars(I usually dont corner too hard), and the CAI is worthless(only spent $100 though)... but everything else is functional and worth every penny. Plus I've kept most of my stock parts so I can sell my aftermarket parts and maybe get some back.
There are street performance mods and there are racing/track performance mods. sometimes the line is blured when adrenalin starts pumping. And sometimes its just the "love" of your car by buying something for it. Im very bias to safe and reliable mods.
I have every intention of keeping this car. Once paid off, I will start saving for a second car, with the hopes of someday turning my WRX into a dedicated track car. With that plan in mind, I am doing all the basic bolt ons with an eye on relieability for the time being, car still has to last as a DD for the next 3 years.
Good topic, one that Ive pondered for a long time. My first car was the one you see below... Full works done to it, including performance. The outside was changed three times and the motor was pulled for a full repaint. Every single bolt on and SVT part you could find, and then some added N2O. Fully tuned by BATLGround. Pulled a decent 1/4 mile and overall I was very happy with the car. Tracked it a couple times at Little Talladega and enjoyed it. Full Koni/ Ground Control suspension as well. The interior is full carbon fiber, including the roof and doors. Sponsored by Corbeau, and a few other companies. I spent probably well over 20k in all the changes I made to the car. I still have this car, minus a few performance parts Ive sold off it for the WRX I own now. Do I regret it sometimes ? Yeah of course, but I love this car and more than likely might not get rid of it. Its all part of the learning process, and without that car who knows where Id be now. I was part of the NECO community for that car for 6 years, made friends along the way and learned a great deal. Now ive moved on to the Subaru world, and I hope to be around it for a long time to come. Its just kind of weird starting out fresh with new people. Almost as if you are transferring to a different school and have to make new friends along the way. I dont think Ill dump 20K+ in my WRX, but who knows. Maybe in 5 years Ill come back to this post and laugh.
LOL, I'll post on this topic later when I have more time. The bottom line is that if you think you can recoupe any money then you shouldnt bother modding your car.
not sure what you are referring to here... i mustve missed it anyway, this thread is a good idea... my take on things: this can be a very expensive hobby if you want it to be... i think a very important thing is to first decide what you want out of the car as a final goal and decide on how much you are willing to spend to attain that goal... it is very important to do all the research before hand about what parts you are planning on buying rather than jump on the first cheap alternative that pops up... you could easily line yourself up for a large amount of spending to fix the mistake you made... also, always realize that once you push the car more than it is designed to from the factory, you are usually shrinking that reliability cushion... find out what parts of your car are more likely to break than others and if you plan to push it, be prepared to spend the money to fix it also, im moving this thread to the 'mod squad' im trying to do a little bit of everything with my car... i drag race, autocross and track it occassionally... but more than anything else, its a daily driver... now its difficult to find a set of mods that give you the edge in every one of these categories... so rather than trying to be competitive, i drive my car and decide on what i feel is lacking the most... the stock STi suspension is too soft for me so my first purchase was coilovers... i like coilovers because they lower the car and the damping can be fine tuned to your spring setup, hence eliminating the underdamped oscillations... so beyond being helpful at a track/autoX, its a pleasure driving on the street... im sure coilovers are too stiff for a lot of people but i like the feeling that im driving a race car... the way it is now, its loud, bumpy and fast enough for me... everyone might not share the same thoughts as me but it makes going to work fun
i bought my WRX because out of the box, it's fast. and this is the second subi i've owned and want nothing else but a subi. i know it'll go faster, but it takes cash for that to happen. also, it voids the warranty. my approach will be, little mods here and there. ones that SOG are friendly with so i CAN keep the warranty. also, at auto-x's, i don't win the d-stock class, so until my driving skills are polished and i know there is no more time to pick up at the track, i'll stay stock (or within the limits of the SCCA classing). i look at the WHP of some of the folks here and just Jones to be that strong. it's not my life-style, though. yeah, i want to be fast as anyone here, but life has priorities. my WRX is an extension of who i am, but i won't let it break me. if you are already thinking about the lack of return on the investment, you might be looking at in the wrong light. meaning, you should do what you can afford to so driving is fun for you. you don't need to keep up with all the tuners you read about. i've had auto-x days where my stock WRX was faster than a heavily modded one. that makes me feel even better about my car and ME! and that's all that really matters in the end. patients goes a long way in life, and expectations are nothing but a road to disappointment. teaching yourself better driving skills is far more important than WHP. albeit, the more power a car has the more enjoyable it can be. ok, i'm off the soap box now.
I think the key is to not mod the crap out of things that you can't afford to fix. If your wallet can handle the hit from a blown engine or tranny, by all means go ahead and have some fun. That said, it seems like few people DO consider reliability and warranty when modding. I hate seeing people have something expensive break and not the money to fix it.
I love my car and will most likely never get rid of it. But at the sametime I have this worker-ant complex where I like to mod and fix and change things on everything all the time. I know if I ever sell it I'll never recoupe my costs. But oh well. At some point in my car's lifetime I'll want to start doing autox and trackdays pretty often. I just always fear something's going to break or not work correctly so I went ahead and modded everything that seemed like it would benefit me on the track/autox. Brakes, suspension, bushings, and minor power mods were things I point me in that direction. Is it worth 5k in mods just to be able to drive on a track? To me it is. It's all about the passion and love for your car. It's my baby, my creation.
Some of you know I just bought a new sti, I told myself that I was just going to do the basic stuff and that would make me happy. Then I decided that if I was going to go to all the trouble of modding it then I might as well do what I want, so I decided to put the GT30R on the car with the front mount and a AP. I'm keeping all the stock stuff and if anything breaks, Ill put it all back on and then take it in for warranty work. Matt
^^I Personally wouldn't own up to doing that online. Lots of dealerships frequent subaru boards (not just this one), and I've actually seen somebody get turned in for doing this very same thing. Craig
Yessir! futhermore I have done at least something to every car I ever owned and learned that "just cause it's cheap don't mean its the best" and always have Really GOOD insurance! the wrx is by far the best car I have ever owned. It had what I wanted right out the box and color so I didn't have to rush and get mods. and with wrxatl install days,g2g's,SS,and TS and such a great group of folks is more than I have ever experienced with any other car club or group I've known.I think cause of the fact that it took me soo freakin long to get a car that ever since I got my first one I've been kinda anal about my cars (even my mom said if I treat a girl like I treat my car she would never leave) my dad had a mustang he used to tweak that thing every other day that started my car carzyness but when I saw my first lowrider 70's monte carlo hit switches when I was a little older I was car carzy times two.:ddirty: It's an addiciton and addictions are expensive just this "mod" one is a little more satisfying and you dont have to go to meetings for it...wait a g2g is a meeting! OMG! Hi my name is ________ Hi________! hnoes:Well, Just yesterday I put on a Tbe ordered gauges, and looking for other parts before I have the money for them!:wtc: (gets pat on back) It's ok, Talking it out is good. anything else? No...:naughty:
You will always have a car you want, AKA a dream car. I don't mind dumping my money into my car because it makes me happy at the moment. When it's time to sell the car and step up to a better car, you will forget it about it rather than regretting spending so much money on it... well it's like that for me at least hehe Good luck!
My friends sister just got hers repo'ed the real carzy thing is she didn't even have a job when she got it!? hnoes:
Heh, I used to say something similar. Now that I CAN do something like that I find myself going "why the hell would I spend all that money on a damn car?" :rofl: