The pastime of car modifying
Discussion
Having owned a few different models of the performance variety, aside from PH I tend to join up on the corresponding specialised forum for the car I've got at the time. There tend to be people who like their cars factory fresh, some invest in the basic spring upgrade and maybe an ECU tweak and a small number throw an obscene amount of money in making their car look and drive completely different.
You know the type; they tend to have a progress thread running somewhere in one of the sub forums, their 'signature' tends to be an elaborate photoshop construction usually containing a picture of their car, a few associated brand symbols and perhaps some lightening or fire to spice it up. There is however a list contained within the signature that lists every single modification that they have carried out on their car.
OK getting to the point (finally!) it does seem such an awful lot of money to throw at a car in some cases and when they have completed the project they tend to try and sell it — initially for a price that they feel it is worth and then for a price (after a few months 'bumping' the for sale thread and reading the endless 'I'd love to buy it but it's the wrong time for me' type comments) that is often lower than if they had left it OEM.
Maybe I'm too old, maybe I'm boring or maybe too set in my ways but I just cannot understand why people do this? The cars often look s
te and they cost a fortune.
I remember reading one for sale thread from a character who had completely ruined a once stunning Z3M Coupe - sprayed it purple, turned the front end into a plough type of vehicle and lowered to an extent that driving it would only end up with having to repaint certain parts. The car eventually sold when he stripped off most of the parts and swapped them for OEM again.
What about the Subaru boys why try to emulate a rally car with every bolt on possible and garnish it with the corresponding rally stickers and adorn the rear side windows with the names of past drivers! wkety wk imho
There are countless other examples I could list. Aside from taste as it's a personal thing, how can these modders not see that it is costing them a fortune and most of the well wishers on the forums are really thinking that the cars in question have been ruined.
If there are any serial 'modders' out there; why do you do it? Do you like the extra attention? Does it make you feel good? Is it an attempt at a display of wealth? Once you have took a hard hit on the nose at resale time, why do you do it again? Do you ever look back at the past monstrosities you have owned and curl your toes in unison?
Please can someone shed some light on this line of thinking?
You know the type; they tend to have a progress thread running somewhere in one of the sub forums, their 'signature' tends to be an elaborate photoshop construction usually containing a picture of their car, a few associated brand symbols and perhaps some lightening or fire to spice it up. There is however a list contained within the signature that lists every single modification that they have carried out on their car.
OK getting to the point (finally!) it does seem such an awful lot of money to throw at a car in some cases and when they have completed the project they tend to try and sell it — initially for a price that they feel it is worth and then for a price (after a few months 'bumping' the for sale thread and reading the endless 'I'd love to buy it but it's the wrong time for me' type comments) that is often lower than if they had left it OEM.
Maybe I'm too old, maybe I'm boring or maybe too set in my ways but I just cannot understand why people do this? The cars often look s
te and they cost a fortune. I remember reading one for sale thread from a character who had completely ruined a once stunning Z3M Coupe - sprayed it purple, turned the front end into a plough type of vehicle and lowered to an extent that driving it would only end up with having to repaint certain parts. The car eventually sold when he stripped off most of the parts and swapped them for OEM again.
What about the Subaru boys why try to emulate a rally car with every bolt on possible and garnish it with the corresponding rally stickers and adorn the rear side windows with the names of past drivers! w
kety wk imhoThere are countless other examples I could list. Aside from taste as it's a personal thing, how can these modders not see that it is costing them a fortune and most of the well wishers on the forums are really thinking that the cars in question have been ruined.
If there are any serial 'modders' out there; why do you do it? Do you like the extra attention? Does it make you feel good? Is it an attempt at a display of wealth? Once you have took a hard hit on the nose at resale time, why do you do it again? Do you ever look back at the past monstrosities you have owned and curl your toes in unison?
Please can someone shed some light on this line of thinking?
Not everyone who owns a Subaru puts the Rally livery stickers on it. In fact I know three people with Subarus and none of them have any stickers what so ever on it.
Some People like to be different or unique with their cars rather than just being one of crowd with a mass produced model. People like to put the stickers on as a tribute to their favourite team or driver, Its not to my taste but each to their own.
Again people like to modify their Subarus because you can quite easily get a lot more power with some upgraded parts using just the stock internals for not a lot of money and have something fast and fun to drive.
If you had a car that you could spend an extra £2000 on and make it considerably faster than it is stock and rival acceleration speeds of many much more expensive performance cars or spend £30 000 + on a Porsche I know what many people would choose.
Some People like to be different or unique with their cars rather than just being one of crowd with a mass produced model. People like to put the stickers on as a tribute to their favourite team or driver, Its not to my taste but each to their own.
Again people like to modify their Subarus because you can quite easily get a lot more power with some upgraded parts using just the stock internals for not a lot of money and have something fast and fun to drive.
If you had a car that you could spend an extra £2000 on and make it considerably faster than it is stock and rival acceleration speeds of many much more expensive performance cars or spend £30 000 + on a Porsche I know what many people would choose.
Some people enjoy making things their own, whether it's cars, computers, homes or gardens. There's an engineering experience to be had in making things fit and work together; an artistic experience in making everything look good. A lot of satisfaction comes from the result.
I can't understand people who don't want to make things better. Thankfully they're in the minority, or humanity wouldn't get anywhere.
I can't understand people who don't want to make things better. Thankfully they're in the minority, or humanity wouldn't get anywhere.
Pig Skill said:
If there are any serial 'modders' out there; why do you do it? Do you like the extra attention? Does it make you feel good? Is it an attempt at a display of wealth? Once you have took a hard hit on the nose at resale time, why do you do it again? Do you ever look back at the past monstrosities you have owned and curl your toes in unison?
Please can someone shed some light on this line of thinking?
Why have you narrowed this down to a purely financial perspective? Have you ever considered that people might actually enjoy modifying their cars? Do you feel envious because you only drive worn out crap boxes?Please can someone shed some light on this line of thinking?
ambuletz said:
While I do think its a waste of time & money, each to their own. I do think its sacrilege what some people do some cars that are already great looking.
I'd like to think that somewhere there's some angel on earth that snaps up these tacky cars and puts them back to standard.
Of course some of the modified cars were actually rusty wrecks before they were modified....My Sprite has a Rover V8 and my Sprint has a mid mounted Alfa V6. I'd like to think that somewhere there's some angel on earth that snaps up these tacky cars and puts them back to standard.
The Black Flash said:
I don't really understand why people spend their time posting rants like this, but each to his own.
This.OP: Cars are designed, engineered and manufactured to suit the masses.
They are often also designed, engineered and manufactured to be sold in multiple markets (countries) and the associated legislation.
What this means is that there is compromise in almost all aspects of the car, and therefore scope to tune/tailor the car to your ideal vehicle.
Yes, quite often people f**k this process up (sometimes spectacularly), but that doesn't mean they should stop trying.
So what do you do with the cars when you get bored of them and you want to sell them on? Are they easy to flog when they've been modded in your ideals?
After all, everyone's has different tastes as pointed out and you might be the only person in the world who thinks ground-scraping skirts and bright green paint looks good on a 306.
I'd be inclined to put critera on whether to mod or not. If it's RWD then you're only ever going to ruin it, if it's FWD then it doesn't matter, do what you want!
I'm not really bothered about the whole culture either way, it gives me a laugh when i see a liveried Impreza or Lancer knowing full well that it's never even seen a muddy track, let alone a forest stage.
The only bit i do have a problem with is fking loud exhausts. They're just for narcissists and tts. And i'd love to see government legislation brought in that effectively bans all after-market exhausts.
Villages will be much happier places without Corsa's fitted with farty-pipes.
After all, everyone's has different tastes as pointed out and you might be the only person in the world who thinks ground-scraping skirts and bright green paint looks good on a 306.
I'd be inclined to put critera on whether to mod or not. If it's RWD then you're only ever going to ruin it, if it's FWD then it doesn't matter, do what you want!
I'm not really bothered about the whole culture either way, it gives me a laugh when i see a liveried Impreza or Lancer knowing full well that it's never even seen a muddy track, let alone a forest stage.
The only bit i do have a problem with is f
king loud exhausts. They're just for narcissists and tts. And i'd love to see government legislation brought in that effectively bans all after-market exhausts.Villages will be much happier places without Corsa's fitted with farty-pipes.
FWIW, the corsa body kit brigade give me a right laugh. However, do I laugh with genuine disdain for their work... Of course not...
I spent 4 grand or so on my old scooby making it go faster and handle a bit better. Did I get any of that back at sale time - nope. Did I care - not a jot
I spent 4 grand or so on my old scooby making it go faster and handle a bit better. Did I get any of that back at sale time - nope. Did I care - not a jot
I think you've stereo typed all the modders into the body kit and garish paint jobs of the Barry era, nowadays its more about performance and standard looks from the outside.
My Citroen ax is highly modified and I have spent around 5k on it, all second hand parts, most of which will get me my money back so nothing lost, but I get to drive a car with 300bhp weighing 750kg, handles like its on rails and looks like a 1.1 shopping trolley - if you came out for a drive you would not be able to wipe the smile off your face.
My Citroen ax is highly modified and I have spent around 5k on it, all second hand parts, most of which will get me my money back so nothing lost, but I get to drive a car with 300bhp weighing 750kg, handles like its on rails and looks like a 1.1 shopping trolley - if you came out for a drive you would not be able to wipe the smile off your face.
BarbaricAvatar said:
So what do you do with the cars when you get bored of them and you want to sell them on? Are they easy to flog when they've been modded in your ideals?
After all, everyone's has different tastes as pointed out and you might be the only person in the world who thinks ground-scraping skirts and bright green paint looks good on a 306.
I'd break it for bits, but to be honest I can't see me selling it, if I took another UK job and needed a daily I'd prob by an s-class as I had an auto Merc before and loved it, wouldn't mod a daily and I wouldn't use my ax as a daily either.After all, everyone's has different tastes as pointed out and you might be the only person in the world who thinks ground-scraping skirts and bright green paint looks good on a 306.
As a car 'enthusiast' surely the temptation to tinker with your car comes as second nature? If finding out how parts of your car work and whether you can replace parts with updated ones is of absolutely no interest to you whatsoever then I'd take a good look at yourself and question whether you even like cars...
BarbaricAvatar said:
The only bit i do have a problem with is fking loud exhausts. They're just for narcissists and tts. And i'd love to see government legislation brought in that effectively bans all after-market exhausts.
Villages will be much happier places without Corsa's fitted with farty-pipes.
So for those cars where official parts are no longer made/very hard to get hold of, what is a person supposed to do then if their exhaust dies/needs replacing? Scrap the car?king loud exhausts. They're just for narcissists and tts. And i'd love to see government legislation brought in that effectively bans all after-market exhausts.Villages will be much happier places without Corsa's fitted with farty-pipes.
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