Car Mods a waste of money?

[Dilzzyy]

Just curious , how many car enthusiasts on this forum have ended up spending alot of cash modifying their cars and regret it? Im from the younger generation and alot of people my age are putting there whole pay checks on mods. Some are still on finance but have had alot of cash spent on them. Ive owned 3 cars now , bf xt, vy calais super6, fg xr6 turbo and all have had a fair bit of coin thrown at them. At 24 now i have taken a break from cars and started saving for a house as i have recently worked out how much i've spent modding them which has left me shaking my head.

[Express]

I regret selling some cars but I've never regretted spending money on them.

[Trump]

If one looks at car modification from a purely financial perspective, they are a massive money pit. The money poured into mods will never be recovered no matter what. Not only that, financing such modifications by using credit and other debt is sheer financial lunacy.

However the real value in modifying one's chariot(s) isn't financial, it is in the sense of achievement, having something that no one else has but most importantly, it is a symbol of one's passion.

[GT0132]

I saw something on my Facebook feed the other day which said " I may die broke, but I've had a million dollars worth of fun"…That says it all really.

[Junkyard-Dog]

I have regretted spending a lot of money on mods to some extent.... mainly because I have been robbed and had expensive parts (even an entire car) stolen from me.

Besides that, few things feel better than driving a car that is exactly the way you want it to be.

I care more about buying land now though.

[mik]

It can work out too a lot of money mate , but you have to weigh up how much enjoyment your hobby brings you , most hobbys cost you something be it time or money.
more often than not cars are a sink hole for that hard earned money , but so are a lot of other interests .

[mike_nofx]

To be quite honest, and I'll be in the minority on this forum I'm sure, I see spending money on performance upgrades (that is, parts which make the car faster) on a street driven only car a bit of a waste. With a maximum speed limit of 110km/h, and pretty much every speed limit on any road designed so that a 1970's car can drive it at the limit without losing control I fail to see why $10k on 'go fast bits' is even worthwhile.

However, my passion is more 4x4ing, So i'd happily spend money on bigger tyres, suspension lifts, diff locks etc because they actually DO make a difference over stock.

I see value in spending money on something like a stereo or nicer looking wheels as they can be enjoyed.

Just my opinion

[XRtowcar]

Depends if the mods put a smile on your face after they are fitted.

[hackney]

For me,yes.Because you rarely get your investment back(some people do though.)But not for me though.

[Franco Cozzo]

On the same token having kids and a wife is also a waste of good car money but each to their own

[STINKY NINJA]

Of course its a waste of money,better than spending it on drugs I suppose,at least you have something to show for it at the end;)
Rather be a car addict than a junkie,druggie lol

[mike_nofx]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

On the same token having kids and a wife is also a waste of good car money but each to their own

True that. I'd be a millionaire as a single man.

But hey, If i had spare cash to spend on 'mods' i'd probably have more fun buying bolt on parts for the wife than for the car.

[mcflux]

If you count LPG systems as mods then they're an exception to the rule.

[reds89]

absolute ****loads on every car and effie i owned,do i regret it,in some ways yes,i look back and think maybe should have put that money to better use,then again i have had a ball messing with cars,finding out how to make them go hard and racing a few,would i change things if you could go back,dont know,in hind sight is always a 2 way street.

[Jacko*]

The way I see it as long as your spending your own cash & aren't borrowing money to modify your car you can't go wrong. Cars are so cheap to buy used I don't see why you would need to borrow money to buy a car either.

[X-AHH]

A lot of people spend vast amounts of money on a boat and hardly ever use it.

Been there,done that.

A least with a car you get the use out of the money spent on it without having to wait for the weather and tides/swells to be favourable at the same time.

[GO FURTHER]

Many years ago, when my kids where young, I put an inground pool in the backyard of the home.... One day, my neighbour leaned over the fence and said to me; "You are a fool... Don't you know you are over capitalizing in this area by putting in that pool!"

I replied, while looking at the smiles on my kids faces splashing in the water... "What price do you put on the happiness of your children?... Not everything in life is about return on investment!"

Now my kids are are all grown up, but we often cherish the wonderful memories we had in that pool, the overseas holidays, and all the things I was able to give them.... Never once have I regretted the money "wasted" on their happiness.

Life can be very boring if you take away all the "money pits" such as wine, women and fast cars

I have never regretted the money I spent on modding my cars, the money on women or fine wine.... Because when I'm 90 and sitting in a rocking chair on the back porch with a blanket over my knees, winter in my hair and a walking stick in my hand... I want to say... "Well, I'm not as rich as I could have been... But boy I've had a great life full of fun and memories!"

I live by the saying... "Nothing in this world is forever... Just enjoy or bear it while you can"

[BOSHOG]

car mods are a better investment than alcohol, cocaine or women, and brings a bigger smile to my dial

[Adamz Ghia]

Nothing is a waste of money if it makes you truely happy.

[OLDBLOKE]

Originally Posted by Dilzzyy

Just curious , how many car enthusiasts on this forum have ended up spending alot of cash modifying their cars and regret it? Im from the younger generation and alot of people my age are putting there whole pay checks on mods. Some are still on finance but have had alot of cash spent on them. Ive owned 3 cars now , bf xt, vy calais super6, fg xr6 turbo and all have had a fair bit of coin thrown at them. At 24 now i have taken a break from cars and started saving for a house as i have recently worked out how much i've spent modding them which has left me shaking my head.

Mate, buy your house first, i wish i had taken that advice instead of wasting money on cars. When you get setup in your home you can play with cars again.All the best young man.

[mcflux]

But you can't turbo a house

[Itsme]

We all have hobbies in our life & car mods would be one of them so the answer would be No to wasting money on them.

Cheers.

[383hq]

you spend money on a car, you get value out of it/the process. Value isn't only a monetary measure .

"I spent most of my money on modding cars, sex and alcohol.
The rest I just blew."

example:
$800 million of taxpayers money spent on kids at the Olympics is not good value for money. I'd rather that spent on higher speed limits and car mods.

Others will disagree based on their perception of "value"

[woolleymammoth]

Originally Posted by OLDBLOKE

Mate, buy your house first, i wish i had taken that advice instead of wasting money on cars. When you get setup in your home you can play with cars again.All the best young man.

Not bad advise, but try paying off an average house on the average wage in less than 30 years. Not much fun hooning around in your modded car when your 60

[arronm]

If you got the cash its not a waste.

If you bought a new inter-cooler and your kids have no shoes then it probably is..........

[STINKY NINJA]

Originally Posted by mike_nofx

Why are these the only alternatives to Car mods? If you guys didn't like cars you'd be junkies?

They are the only alternatives that I offer you,car mods or junkie ,take your pick...

[Dilzzyy]

Dont get me wrong i loved modding my cars. Especially the fg xr6 turbo i had which had such a large range of mods to make them fast...BUT i found myself wanting more every time i did something to the car. Suddenly without realising my bank account started showing $0 then i knew i had a problem. So even though i loved doing mods i was getting worried about my financial situation/future and realised if i kept this car i would just keep splashing money on it and it was going to land me in trouble so i sold it. 6 months later i do miss it like crazy but i dont want to financial screw myself over with another as i know i cant control my spending when it comes to mods.

[T3rminator]

There has only ever been one mod that I felt was a waste of money... under drives when i had the boss 260.

The rest, if you get the right combination, is an investment in your happiness and well being

[GazzF6]

I've spent loads on most of my cars, I call it continuous improvement!
Don't regret spending my hard earned...

But yes, house/apartment should be the first priority.

[tranquilized]

I spent every cent I had on modding my cars for years. I was about 23 when I came to the conclusion that a nice car should be a reward for having earned enough spare cash, not the main priority at the expense of everything else. Being almost $20k in debt sure helped me come round... So I sold my EB V8 and bought a tired XF Panel Van on gas. Drove around in a panel van for the following 15 years.

Cleared the debt in a year or two, saved a bunch, started a business, sold the van to go travelling but when I got back I just had the business buy another van (XH this time, a small step up) and kept spending my money on travel.

Wasn't until a couple of years ago my partner and I bought our first house with a decent deposit, at the not so young age of 37.

Long story short though, I have no regrets at all. I loved driving around in my nice cars when I was 18 and into my early 20's. But I'm so glad I gave it away when I did and got to experience other things.

Lot's of people will tell you spending money on cars is a waste, and for them it would be because they aren't into cars. Maybe they spend all their money on something else - people keep mentioning drugs as though there couldn't possibly be any other alternative, but I know people who spend every cent on music studio gear, or travelling, guitars, whatever. People who save every cent or put it all on their mortgage are boring people, good luck to em.

When you're on your death bed you definitely won't be regretful for not saving enough money, but like everything in life it's all about striking that balance.