Do you spend a lot on money on YOUR car?

If so...why??

To me it's seems a little pointless. You spend all this money to make it look good, and it will only depreciate in value...

I can understand spending a bit of money on a decent reliable car. And having to get stuff fixed can't be avoided.

But why do peopel spend thousands on making their ride look "good"? Is it an addiction?

Why do people spend $15000 on a home stereo system? Why do people spend $10000 on a plasma tv? Why do people send $50,000 on a holden/suv over a standard 1.3L car that will fullfill their needs? Why do people spend $300 on a bottle of wine which really isnt any better than a $50 bottle?

Pure pleasure

if you had a new hyundai getz you wouldn't be spending any money on it because they have a 5 year warranty

I've spent thousands upon thousands doing up my car, simply because I love cars, why have 200HP when you can have 450HP, my car is so far improved over standard its not funny, far more fun to drive but the main thing is I can take to it Pukekohe and run it round the track at 250kmh

when it comes to making cars look good, generally you add wider wheels for traction, lower the car to improve handling and fit a body kit for down force all help performance, some more than others but these are perforamnce additions that make the car look cool as an off shoot, there are the people that go for the big flashy expensive paint jobs but they do that because they enjoy being looked at/owning a nice looking car

like a hobby,

same reason a gym junkie will spend $ on diet products and equiptment, for the finish result.

oooo i know this one

because your a way cool ricer that has played too much need for speed underground and seen the fast and the furious one to many times....

this is true, for people that dont know anything about cars

What's all the money you spend on alcohol/door charges/taxis in a weekend worth on Monday morning?

Not everything's an investment for monetary gain

I haven't spent any money on my current car, other than maintenance, but that's just because I have other priorities.

i'm the exact opposite.. i hate spending money on my car so outside of the usual tyres, oil, filters, batteries etc its not getting a cent of my money!
until I have to replace ball joints, cam belts or other such accursed parts

Now you have a good point there...im like you as well, i dont see the point in spending money on something that is mearely a way to get from a to b.

cars are more than a to b for a lot of people, theres your answer

I see the point f'sho! I am actually a car enthusiast. I'm just content (although not overly rapt) with what I have at the moment/what I'm about to upgrade to.

I just put a few other things that make my life enjoyable ahead of it

Same Pfunk, i plan on moving overseas next year, but am also buying a new car soon...but will not be doing anything at all with it, and have not done anything with any other car ive even owned.

I just dont see it the way others do obviously...

Very true However sometimes you just go overboard. I spend around $120,000 on my last 2 cars what a waste it was now that I think back ...

Hey i have to ask this random question, where do you all get your cars serviced?

i need to get an oil change & a tune up, like
spark plugs, all that stuff you do every 6 mths
etc, give me a name of a place that is reasonable,

not those hometune guys that come out & charge you a fortune for all this shit you dont need coz they paid on the more parts they sell, thats why the try
to say you need this, that & the other when you dont!

i just want some automotive company thats honest,
its so hard when you're a girl & they try everything
on ya, i just want a f**king car tune up nothing else..!!!

Depends what you got for $120,000 ... its all relative ...

also something a lot of people forget is economy of scale... which to many dare I say it NZers forget ...

well its a fact of life for most people who modify cars to the max that you aren't going to make money from it...
say you get a $20K car and sink $30K into it... chances are you'll only sell it for $30-35K

the best option is to buy a car thats already been modified but then of course you don't get everything just the way YOU want it which I think is half the appeal of modifying your car in the first place

the only people who can make money out of it are people in the industry who can get a beat up classic car dirt cheap and restore it themselves... even then while on paper it might show a profit the time put in is usually phenomenal... its more a labour of love thing imo

personally i get enough satisfaction admiring other peoples handiwork and feel no desire to own one of these money soakholes myself

Ive probably sunk around 80K into my car, I never expected to get anything like that back if i sold it, so i dont plan on selling, I plan to turn it into a race car, then I hope I just dont stack it too bad hahaha

The problem with buying a already modified is 1: you dont know whats been done to it apart from what you see and 2: Mostly modified cars as usually the ones that have had the tits thrashed off them.

Best bet is too buy a car as standard as possible and just do bits yourself slowly

do people who get their car to a show standard actually thrash them though?

i can understand that being a worry with people who have only done performance mods but i'm talking the whole paint, sounds, body kit etc etc type thing

those people would be to precious about their car to thrash it i would have thought

See your point, 'show cars' are probably a different kettle of fish but then they have to be full blown show cars which aren't practical for driving everyday. My cars got a body kit and custom paint and looks the part, still gets thrashed though. Ideally any car you buy you'd get the engine out and reco it straight off, then you wont have problems but theres the cost. So when you buy a car whether its modified or not I guess its a good idea to go for cars with known strong reliable motors. I bought mine with 100,000kms on the clock, then more than doubled the power and still going strong!

i once had 2 buy some oil for my car
i wasnt happy about that

I feel your pain.....had to get rid of that damn noise somehow...