RE: Tuning is a waste of money: Tell Me I'm Wrong

[Dan Trent]

cvega said:

err interesting article for a "car enthusiast website"

There's a clue in the title of it as to what to do if you disagree!

Cheers,

Dan

[VladD]

The good thing about tuned cars is that who ever buys them next gets a bargain, assuming it's been well done of course.

[Froomee]

As has been mentioned everything enjoyable is a "waste" of money... But i suspect there would be a lot of unhappy people were it not for that waste

Extreme tuning is a but wasteful as you may as well start with a "better" car. But popular, reversible mods are generally a decent bet... Use them and when sale time comes return the car to standard and sell the mods. Also buying secondhand wheels, exhausts, supercharger kits, suspension, etc reduces the cost of modifying significantly.

[Alex]

dukebox9reg said:

Be happier if more companies popped up like Mountune allowing us to do it and still keep the next owner happy and the warranty company, also easier on you at insurance time.

This is the answer. Manufacturer-approved and warrantied tuning kits.

[okie592]

COULD YOU IMAGEN A WORLD WHERE YOUR 335D WASNT MAPPED?


What a awful place to live that would be !!!!

[Matt UK]

essIII said:

Like all hobbies, tuning a car is not a financially sound investment.

Exactly.

[VladD]

There is also the issue of tuning older cars, Dan's Eunos for instance. Cars like this will get to a point where parts need replacing, so replacing those parts with something better is less of a waste of money than replacing servicable parts. A car could get tuned though evolution in some respects.

[shalmaneser]

I don't think I've ever heard someone claiming modifying a car was a financially sound investment?

Neither is buying a car (unless you're buying an ultra rare classic Ferrari/Maserati/whatever) so who cares?

[Guillaume]

mike-r said:

There you go then.

You know what else is a waste of money that you 'only' get enjoyment from? Everything.

The point discussed here is about how it's a "double" waste. You pay for the mod itself AND it depreciates the car.
I enjoy going to the movies, it's wasted money by some criteria, but at least I am not "taxed" on it a second time.

[tps23]

having 'tuned' many cars I understand the point being made. I agree it is a money pit, addictive and doesn't always improve the car for its original purpose.

However there are many elements that tuning provides satisfaction with:
- its a skill that you get better at - the more you do it
- as a hobby goes it offers reward in coming up with your individual spec and delivering it, then living with it.
- Also it can help provide access to something you wouldn't normally be able to attain, in my case a reasonably fast, reliable track car.

My story in case:
5 years ago I bought a '97 BMW 323i Coupe with 105k miles on the clock for £1350 to use as a commuter from London to Bradford. It performed this role perfectly for 2 years clocking 25k miles with the small overhead of a £200 water pump and normal servicing. When I finished the project I could have sold the car but tuning allowed me to change the cars use, and become a cheap track day car, something I've always dreamed of having, but never been able to purchase outright. Also I wanted the challenge of building the car to my spec, and have a chance of doing this myself. Ebay, several parts companies and some help from skilled mechanics now mean I have a creditable track car, that I know is sound, that parts are cheap and easy to find.

So tuning helped me realise a dream from a regular car, for less than it would cost for someone to build this for me, plus providing the satisfaction of being in the process.

a couple of pics
Before:

After:


Mods list: lengthy, most of it is used so not full price!

[Boylett]

Pretty sure Car ownership in itself is virtually never considered a "sound investment" as MOST cars depreciate anyway, unless a rare exotic, which if you can afford that you most likely wouldn't feel the pain of a couple of grand on mods...

I think some people do indeed get it horribly wrong - I did spectacullarly with an old Astra that ended up all show and no go when I was 18... but if you enjoy doing it, and its not going to leave you bankrupt, why the hell not, It's certainly not a waste if its enjoyable, a waste of money would be paying to have your teeth ripped out just because why not!

[BusaMK]

When I was filling up my old standard looking skyline, chavs would often come over for a chat, and were astonished when they realised they had spent more money to get an extra laggy 100 horsepower out of their golf than I had to get my next two hundred.

I feel sorry for an old skyline only running at standard power - I dislike tuning which reduces drivability, but following that caveat they were built to be tuned.

[cvega]

Dan Trent said:

There's a clue in the title of it as to what to do if you disagree!

Cheers,

Dan

point taken!

I think there's a fine line between tuning i.e. stickers and "AERO" and actually making your car better. Some cars can be improved vastly from their original state (my last Civic Type-R - the new shape - benefited greatly from suspension mods and lsd). Some cars need no intervention (much like my cayman).
I dont think it's money wasted when done "right" and actually improving the car. When its stickers and fake wheelarches then yeah. it's a waste.

[k-ink]

One niche of tuning does make some sense. If you buy a classic car and do an engine swap. Instead of the underpowered, sometime unreliable original lump, you can have way more reliable power. Perfect for a daily where you intend to rack up lots of enjoyable miles. Chose the right classic and upgraded suspension and brakes will add value.

Even on the wrong car (for financial reasons) such as turbo Japs, they can make good sense as a used buy. Typically you can save a fortune and get a great spec. So long as the tuning is sensible stage 1 or 2. Not some hand grenade stage 6 which may only have a summer of life left in it before a mega pricey rebuild.

All in MHO

[framerateuk]

Totally agree. Absolute money pit that only leads to spending more money.

I had a Fiesta ST ('08), I added the Mountune 185 and KW suspension pack (about £3k if memory serves correctly!). It was great for a while, but it highlighted how bad the brakes were, and the exhaust drone was so bad I had to replace it with another one.

Never again. My Caterham just has some tweaks to make it more usable, but it's staying standard under the hood. The Megane is untouched aside from brake pads and fluid.

[Ocellia]

My wife, who is totally NOT into cars, has got to exclaiming "A Subaaaaaarooooo" when we hear a noisy fat-exhaust car coming by!
And she's usually right.

And being on the road behind a hard suspension/lowered car is painful to see.....bang, bang......
The only Mod I ever fancied was Maikonics boost on a Citroen CX Turbo.

[C.A.R.]

article said:

But the financial sting in the tail at the end of it certainly isn't.

Just to pick on this bit, since it is a bit misleading. The only 'financial sting' you may suffer at the very end is a slightly reduced vehicle worth. It's not like you get hit with a massive bill after you've finished modifying it.

I've 'tuned' up some of the cars I've owned, my daily driver is in for a bit of lowering and some uprated springs this weekend coming, but by buying smart I haven't spent much more on the 'upgraded' parts than I would have on the replacement standard parts which were in need of changing anyway.

Modifying is gradual, not all done in one swoop. A little bit of a pay check here and there - something which can be justified every month. Obviously the more you earn or the fewer outgoings you have the higher this amount will be.

[CB2152]

My 9-5 Aero is now at "stage 3" in terms of power, which means it has a bigger downpipe with a sports cat, a higher pressure fuel pressure regulator, and a remap. I'm also going to have an uprated clutch fitted soon as the current one can't quite handle the torque on full throttle in 4th/5th. It also has silicone boost hoses instead of the standard rubber items.

Result: A completely standard looking 9-5 Aero which now has 285-290 hp and 330(ish) ft lbs of torque, compared to the standard 250hp and 250 ft lbs.

That's probably as far as I'm going to go for the foreseeable future, I don't want to compromise the ride quality with harsh suspension as that's not what the car is about, and I don't want a loud exhaust because, again, I don't think it's the type of car that should have it.

I should add that it's my daily driver, it might be different if I had a "toy" car

[Kong]

Tuning a waste of money?

Not always

[Hollowpockets]

My Noble turned into a race car I can reverse it though

My Sagaris has only had an exhaust so that can easy be changed.