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I saw a 2003 Civic EX in blue at the mall in that was hot. He happened to be coming out of Friday's at the right time and I got a tour of the car. I looked it over, it had nice engine mods, ICE, and a body kit. All in all I was impressed...............until he told me how much the upgrades were. He said that he had put in $9000 into it mostly in the engine and suspension. I was baffled because with a new EX running for $17000 and the upgrades being $9000,

WHY WOULDN'T SOMEONE JUST BUY A BETTER "OUT OF THE BOX" CAR LIKE A WRX OR A Z????????

I mean, it's still slower and less responsive than those cars, right?

 
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but its having a personalized car, built to your taste. for the people who have been modding cars since before those big movies ruined it image-wise, making your car more personal and perform better was self expression - not fitting in. If sheer bang-for-dollar was all there was - I would try everything i possibly could to sell my civic and buy an evo, then set it up for circuit racing for as little $$$ as possible and drive to pocono raceway and lime rock - and the new thunderbolt raceway they are building here in jersey


sorry if i vented... im not flaming you - i just got done a similar conversation with someone and went off here.

 
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what this guy said.

 
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Not everyone wants a fast car.

 
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People might not have had modifying their cars when they first get it but once you start little by little and you start enjoying all your hard work and the people you meet along the way, you just cant stop . I say its their business and what they do is their business and if that makes them happy then its all good.

 
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Because at the end of the month, on the insurance statement, it is still listed as a Civic...

 
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but now he has a civic that basically no one else has.... or a very very very rare civic. if he spent the money on a WRX then he would of been one of the millions who own them and he wouldnt feel special

 
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Nothing personal taken. I'm just having a hard time that someone would put in more than 50% of the car's selling price in it after he just bought it.

Like justplainbad said, it's still a Civic and insurance companies will only give you so much in a total loss or theft of the vehicle. Just for a little bit of reference, I'm an underwriter and mostly think of everything in terms of opportunity costs in $$$$. This is a bad decision financially, but I guess since most Americans live in debt it's somewhat realistic.

 
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To be a smartass, I sure would feel special with the WRX, especially after beating the guy who spent $9000 on his Civic modding it, voided his factory warranty, and is flipped upside down in how much he owes versus the car's appraised wholesale value.

 
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insurance quotes, looks, quality, design, options of personalization.

it all builds up.

 
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if he spent that 9 grand on his engine the WRX wouldnt even be in any class close to his car..... with 9 grand into the engine he would be tkaing out STis and EVOs left and right

 
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id rather have the giggles smoking people in my little ol civic (that is if i had $9k to drop on the power/drive train), than being in somethin obvious like a z or wrx

 
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u shoulda got pics

 
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No digital camera with me. His name was Brian from OK City. I mentioned the site and he said that he had been on it a couple of times, so if he reads this, post pics of your ride.

 
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Hmmm......9 grand......boosted k20a2......and all the lil extra stuff......that's just as fast if not faster than a WRX.......and cheaper

 
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I actually pay less insurance on the Z then i did on either civic i owned so that statement is false..

 
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I agree with this statement. Even though I stick with stock and modfying with small stock upgrades, I love to see a civic modified like that! I just don't have the $$ to burn!

 
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its just the whole process behind it. the build up instead of just starting right off. its pretty much a hobby, and expensive one at that but its still really fun especially once you start to get into it...

 
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Exactly. To me one of the best feelings is having stuff on my car that few other people have (for example, how many other people have a CWest front lip on their EL? NONE). With the loot I spent I could have easily have financed a used BMW or even gone right up into TSX country, but I bought what I could at the time and have spent more time and money making it look and handle like what I truly want it to be.

 
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9grand mmmmmm

 
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some people like the tinkering part of modding, not the end result. i mean a fast car is nice, but its great to know you made it that way, and not just bought one.

 
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My signature, nough' said.

 
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The problem is if you buy a 350Z or a sti or whatever, you are going to modd that too! do you know how much it costs to modd a 350z the right way? 19" 3 piece wheels cost me $900 each without tires!

No simple bolt on turbos for the VQ, no sir! A turbo kit costs 5k+ then you have to fortify the new VQ engine which is expensive! Everything has to be custom ordered from japan unless you go NA.

Then you have the reliability issues of subaru, mitsu, and nissan! My tranny was replaced under warranty twice! i bet if you had a z it wouldn't stay stock for long :P

learn from people who pissed money away...buy a used car as a great base and go nuts.

 
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If you can afford the car you better be able to afford the mods.. I bought my Z and i just ordered the APS TT kit for it.. $8500..

also 900 bucks for 3 peice rims.. wow you are getting ripped off.. Volk 20" GTP only cost 600 a piece

 
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I was getting ripped off for HREs? I don't think so.

 
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Modding to me is a form of self expression and pride. My civic is stock except for a litte over $2,000 for a new sound system. If I had the money I would probably do something with suspension but thats besides the point.

To answer your question I feel that those who spend a lot of $$$ on their cars aren't spending it just to fit in or just to brag to people about what they have. The people that are really serious are those that have there own motives - motives for better performance, looks, sound, etc... - it doesn't matter what car youy buy in the first place - if your an enthusiast you will always want to mod.

An example I can give is this. The stock audio in any civic is horrible - so I felt the need to plunk down $2,000 on new one. Now I could have bought a car that had some type of audio package in the first place but that wouln't give me good sound and it takes away the whole fun of getting things custom and fit to my needs - selecting the parts - custom sub enclosure, etc...

Modding isn't really an object of money or fitting into some type of "underground modding culture" - its more about self-expression and getting the most out of your car. [B]

 
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actually you can get them easily for 800 bucks... you = getting ripped off.. sorry pal

 
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wow. I am speachless. $800 for 3 pc 19x9 and 19x10 with 3 inch lip in rears. You should go start your own wholesale business.

 
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mommy and daddy got it for him maybe?

 
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I remember when I had my civic....back then I was going to have a substantial amount of money comming in each month, and I wanted to boost the car. Well, obviously that didn't work out b/c I just didnt feel like it was worth it. Now I'm modding my M3 and I'm totally content with it; I've put almost $3,000 worth of mods on it, including tires, over the past year I've had it and I've never been happier.