... with the modifications, that is.

I was reading another thread, when I came across this quote:

I don't think this statement is really performance specific either. I originally bought this car because it was cheap, economical, roomy, comfortable, had loads of features, and had some "mAd JDM tYtE" styling. You know, I figured it would be a good commuter car.

:twisted:

Then I started with the mods... you know how it starts. "Oh, I just want the short shifter. That's all I really need." Then you get it and then you start thinking... "Hrm, maybe just a sub." And then before you know it, you start buying new headunits, amplifiers, component speakers, wheels, suspension parts, headlights, bodykits.

Then you start running out of ideas, so you start swapping out body kits for new ones... and thinking, "hrm. Maybe I didn't want green LEDs, I really wanted them to be red," so you start swapping out all your LEDs and start buying other things like the Fabulous teddy bears and Garson leather pillows to put in your car.

Ideally, you don't want to spend more money on parts than you did on the car, right? I'm sure some people have gone way past this mark, i.e., anyone with JDM wheels and a bodykit. I sort of set myself a personal limit, because after a certain point I start to wonder why someone would decide to purchase a 2005 Scion xB and heavily modify it instead of say... a 2005 Acura TL.

Personally, I like shopping for parts and making my car a little bit more of my own. I won't go as far as to rebuild the engine and install a turbo kit (on the xB), but I like to add a little of my own style -- subtle as it is. I think the best modifications are the ones where people think, "hey, that looks different, but I can't figure out what it is."

Although I'd really like to own something like a BMW 330ci or an M5 and just call it a day, I think that I'd probably end up customizing that as well. So... that's just more wasted money. Or is it? Do you think that modifying your car is a waste of money or do you think of it as the cost of admission for your hobby?

Ergo, to sum up my rambling:
Is it actually the finished product that makes this car fun, or is it the customization? When do you think you will stop modding your car?

 

your money do what you want to do!

if you ever been in a carshow circuit you will understand why you spend more money that usual.

 

It never ends!

Started off telling myself I only wanted rims and tint...
Last time looked I didn't recognize my car!

And the xB is so easy to take apart! It's just fun to work on.

-THE DON

 

its a hobby bro.. all hobbies cost money. and did i mention its addicting?

 

Yes....I will stop modding someday. There will come a day when I sit around and I can't think of another mod to do to my car that I WANT to do. And on this day I will begin looking for a new car, and once I find this new car I will get rid of my car and get the new "project" car. It's as simple as that. Is it really worth it to invest a lot of blood, sweat, and money into a car that you will get rid of when it gets old? Or should you do this to a car that you are planning on keeping for a long time(10+ years)?

-Z

 

nail on the head. i never know how long i'm gonnas keep a car but it's my passion , my curse so i unload moneyu into all cars i get . when i get a car within like teh first 3 weeks is when i gotta figure out whether i'm gonna somehow live with it stocker or start pimpin it. unfortunately i have dropped so much money in the past , over 2500 for my 81 bmw , and over 3200 for my 87 supra , so far i've dropped like 2k or so on tha scion , wait maybe that was 1 k , either way, after body kit , air , bags , rims , stereo completion , and the build upf/swapping of motors is complete thing like 7k or 8k total for mah box. damn do i do cracked out things.

 

It never ends. There is always going to be something new and improved that's being produced.

 

... like those Tein Hybrid Dampers?

Hrm, that's what I was afraid of. At least I'm not alone... you're all going down with me! ;)

 

Well said.

I once bought a $50 Bug, that was trashed, to just drive around during the winter. A beater.
$5000 later, it was a show winner. (This was 15 years ago...so that $5 grand would be, what, $10 grand now???)

And I had told myself, "I'm just buying this for a beater..."

With the xB, I knew I would do stuff to it from the get go. Fun thing about this car, is I can see doing all the stuff I am doing to it now, and maybe in a year or two, just going the other way, and doing other stuff to it.

 

I think there will be a point when I stop, after I can run 10's all day, lay frame, and have a noblesse kit with a sick paint job, and a suede interior. JK on the 10's but everything else is my goal

 

It never ends. I've been like this on all the cars I've owned, except for a Saturn sedan I had.

After restoring/modding the heck out of 3 Volkswagens, I told my wife that I just want the RS1 xB with a sunroof and some wheels....what a lie that turned out to be!

The fun is making the car your own and being proud of what you have & have done.
Thank God for forgiving wives

 

hey boombox with any kit at all you will never be able to "lay frame" you can however get it low enough to lay body kit/

 

yea I know, its a term

 

Sometimes I think its a waste of money but its soooo much fun modding .I Worry about how long this thing is gonna last. like lets say in ten years.Will everyone saying be saying "I remember those" I say that when I see a old minni truck fixed up.

 

wada u mean, it never ends. i havn't started yet! i'm way behind

 

get to moddin my friend. and the term lay frame comes from when mini trucks and older cars could drop it so low as to lay the actual frame on the ground. lol. i wish i could have an unlimited cashflow to match my unlimited imagination and plans for my cars.

 

It never ends...My commuter box is now a never ending project. But I guess it's better on the wallet that I mod the xB instead of the IS300 which I handed over to the wife. I think spent more on wheels and tires for the IS300 than all of the mods I've already done to my box, and the near term mods too.

 

its a passion. im never gonna finish mine.. i have so many ideas..and sooo little money.. but its a passion....

 

And here's the problem. I've had many cars and not modded (beyond sound) any of them. I've retored a couple old trucks etc too, but that's different. But, now.. I got this scion and I knew I was going to lower it and get wheels.. maybe a sub. But now... someone, just tell me it ends with this car and I won't do this with my next?

 

I'm sorry, but unfortunately we can't do that. Toyota/Scion knows it too. That's why they give out that little $50 Gift Certificate. They're like crack dealers:

Dealer: "Here's some money for a mod."
You: "But I don't want to modify my car."
Dealer: "Okay, but take this money anyways. I'm sure you might need something later."
You: "Well... okay."

[Now you're at the dealer for service]

You: "Hrm, I guess I could get this shift ****. I mean, I do have a $50 Gift certificate."
Dealer: "Okay, you still have $20 left."
You: "Okay... then I'll take the pedals too.
Dealer: "And then?"
You: ".. and the sway bar?"
Dealer: "And then?"
You: "... the strut bar."
Dealer: "And then?"
You: "And the intake, the shocks, and the lowering springs!!!"

Must... stop! Feeling... cold... but I just need... one... more... mod.