Ever regret modifying a car?

[Barry_v]

i drive my modified 30yo 300k+ car to work everyday. the best way to make something reliable is to rely on it! you soon fix the priority stuff. Ive never regretted doing anything to it, although i do sometimes leave jobs unfinished for some time... must put some tailpipes on it someday.

[schnoods]

I regret putting a blower on my EF, instead of doing up my Val!

[MR.BA.GT.332]

Originally Posted by schnoods

I regret putting a blower on my EF, instead of doing up my Val!

i'll gladly take the blower off your hands for nothing so your attention can be towards your val.... i promise ill put it to good use

[madmelon]

Originally Posted by jphanna

Mate i apologise if i upset you. i owned a corolla for 10 years straight, and that was my only car!

maybe a better way of putting it is that when a person makes a decision to buy a new (newer?) car and it is a falcon or commodore, it is more likely that they are more enthuthiastic about how they see themselves in the motoring world. Sure you will get electrical glitches and quality issues with a falcon and commodore that a camry wont have, but its the feeling of driving an aussie traditional good looking rear wheel drive car sports sedan that makes enthusiasts overlook the reliability and safeness of a camry.

I recon if toyota brought out a rear wheel drive Aurion it may be taken more seriously by enthusiasts.

Sorry man, there was supposed to be a :P on the end of that- was in a bit of a rush. I hate driving the camry- I really do. But it's so so cheap to keep on the road...and I got it for less than 1/3 of its value. It really is too "good" to get rid of presently.

[westoftown]

This thread is exactly what got me thinking about my own desires, had my EF for 3 months now and hasnt missed a beat, but i get my full licence at the end of the year and thought about getting a nice old V8, like a XC or something. get rid of a perfectly decent EF only to regret it when my dream classic muscle car isn't half as reliable or all its cracked up to be!!
Although every misconception i had about what my first would be like have turned out to be just that: misconceptions.

Im still only 18 so i suppose its all a learning curve . . .

[jphanna]

Originally Posted by madmelon

Sorry man, there was supposed to be a :P on the end of that- was in a bit of a rush. I hate driving the camry- I really do. But it's so so cheap to keep on the road...and I got it for less than 1/3 of its value. It really is too "good" to get rid of presently.

mate i hated driving the corolla and being seen in it, (previous 2 cars were falcon XE and VL calais), but in 10 years only a door latch broke and it cost $2.00 and toyota fitted it for me!!!!

i know what you mean about cheap to run. i expect my EA to have problems as its 18 years old, but my VE scares me with the amount of electrical glitches it has. every time i turn the key i do a 'sign of the cross....'

Enjoy your camry and decades of trouble free motoring, even if you are 'invisible' in one of those.

[schnoods]

Originally Posted by mr_460bigblock

i'll gladly take the blower off your hands for nothing so your attention can be towards your val.... i promise ill put it to good use

Too late!

[rag top]

I have my weekend car and my daily; unfortunately (according to my wife), I had to modify a few things on my daily as I wasn't happy with it being like everyone else's car.

Do I regret modifying it? no; Some people do drugs. I modify my cars... and i enjoy it. It is a good therapy from the stresses of work and helps keep me sane.

[TUF270]

yep kinda every day i look at my car i regret it at the moment lol....im hating my wheels, i want it to be more factory like.....

and also was going to get the rear mufflers cut out last week, so i decided to unbolt the rear mufflers and drive around to see how it sounds, thankfully i did coz i put the mufflers back on and im happy how it is....saved me the hassle and money of doing another mod i hate... :(

[GUTLES]

Originally Posted by TUF260

yep kinda every day i look at my car i regret it at the moment lol....im hating my wheels, i want it to be more factory like.....

and also was going to get the rear mufflers cut out last week, so i decided to unbolt the rear mufflers and drive around to see how it sounds, thankfully i did coz i put the mufflers back on and im happy how it is....saved me the hassle and money of doing another mod i hate... :(

I'll swap ya rims, you'll have to go back to 18's, but there genuine FPV!

I'm suprised ya car didn't sound good without the rear mufflers, strange how much different some systems sound.

[MITCHAY]

My car owes close to $50k and that's without modifying it, just keeping it on the road.

It's all about passion and disregarding logic IMO. Money wise it never makes sense but usually the joy you get does. I could of paid off over a third of a house I spent on cars and I've only had two of them :

[ebxr8240]

Buying a new car every four years or so costs too..
Depends how mods are done..Done properly it's fine!!
All my cars are modified one way or another..
But remember unlike real estate, cars depreciate..

[malazn mafia]

Dont regret one single bit transforming BA XT into practically whats become a BA typhoon lookalike with full factory xr6t running gear and luxury pack ghia/xr interior, running dual fuel, and all within budget of $16K, car included. Couldn't be happier, great daily driver, no real issues, but maybe I'm just one of the lucky ones.

[iCat]

i couldn't not modify any car i'll own - it's about passion and individuality and pride in the end result....

i look at my ute and the grief it has cost me during his ongoing mod's and yes, just sometimes, i think a nice new car without dramas would be sweet. and then i go and ask my very patient and understanding and encouraging mechanic exactly how i can get more bang for my buck out of a brand new car, and i know it's a waste.

because when my ute is running well, or if i'm cruizing in my sedan, then all is well in my world, and i helped make it that way.

[BENT_8]

Something i noticed early on in my car modifying days was that it's never finished and the simplest thing often leads to greater expense down the track.

Consider this, you buy a bog stock late model falcon in grandpa spec coz you want one thats been cared for, problem is it looks like it's riding on old man emu springs, you decide to drop it, but thats where the fun begins.
So you get a set of super lows expecting to get a race car look for your $450 investment only the guy at the shop tells you you'll need short stroke shocks to get around the constant bump stop clunks you'll notice..an extra $350.
Then once you've got it nice and low, riding well you decide to ditch the factory 15" for some shiny 18's, no probs $1400 later it all looks good, then 3 mths down the track you notice your expensive tyres only have tread on the outer edge, a result of lowering the height without re tuning the steering geometry via a camber kit..$600 later you have two new tyres and a user friendly front end, unfortunately the car now rides like a brick as there is next to no suspension travel and no tyre flex in the low profile tyres you've spent so much on..soon enough the interior starts to creak and groan.
To hide the noises you decide on a loud exhaust, no probs $300 from the local exhaust bloke and she sounds sweet through the single muffler, until you go on a long drive and hear that horrid drone at 110k's.
Back to the exhaust shop for a set of extractors and a resonator..$600 later she sounds slightly better.
Perhaps a new stereo will help with the noise..$500 later you have a nice headunit but the speakers sound aweful..$250 later the speakers sound great but the HU cant keep up with the 250w speakers..better get an amp and whilst at it a boxed sub..$500 later you can no longer hear the exhaust and the rattling from the over driven, low quality sub in the boot is embarrassing.
Not only that, but the battery cant keep up with the extra drain and gives up soon after..$100 more.

You've now spent 10K on buying/modifying a car that rides like crap, eats fuel coz you feel the need to over rev it on every gear change to hear the expensive exhaust, has more rattles than an EA, and attracts every cop in sight.

And thats all before the rocker cover comes off.

[ayeyew]

No regrets so far

Not gonna spend too much more on the girl tho, she's probably gonna be upgraded mid next year

All the stuff i want to do would cost far more than getting a newer car with better performance, reliability, features etc...

If i get a better paying job in the next couple of years, I'll do a full AU buildup. But $60k gets you nowhere with bills to pay and especially a wife

[MKIITurbo]

My old baby - 1996 EL XR8 was modified with all the hard work done myself. I regret using the car for transport to my local train station. It went missing after 2 days there!
Biggest disappointment was all the effort i put in myself to make the car what it was before some scums knocked it off. Got paid out but thats little to what i felt for that car!
Lesson learned - Never drive your pride and joy to any train stations!!

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by MKIITurbo

My old baby - 1996 EL XR8 was modified with all the hard work done myself. I regret using the car for transport to my local train station. It went missing after 2 days there!
Biggest disappointment was all the effort i put in myself to make the car what it was before some scums knocked it off. Got paid out but thats little to what i felt for that car!
Lesson learned - Never drive your pride and joy to any train stations!!

I sympathize with you, my macko EL XR8 was stolen too.

[Gobes32]

Originally Posted by BENT_8

Something i noticed early on in my car modifying days was that it's never finished and the simplest thing often leads to greater expense down the track.

Consider this, you buy a bog stock late model falcon in grandpa spec coz you want one thats been cared for, problem is it looks like it's riding on old man emu springs, you decide to drop it, but thats where the fun begins.
So you get a set of super lows expecting to get a race car look for your $450 investment only the guy at the shop tells you you'll need short stroke shocks to get around the constant bump stop clunks you'll notice..an extra $350.
Then once you've got it nice and low, riding well you decide to ditch the factory 15" for some shiny 18's, no probs $1400 later it all looks good, then 3 mths down the track you notice your expensive tyres only have tread on the outer edge, a result of lowering the height without re tuning the steering geometry via a camber kit..$600 later you have two new tyres and a user friendly front end, unfortunately the car now rides like a brick as there is next to no suspension travel and no tyre flex in the low profile tyres you've spent so much on..soon enough the interior starts to creak and groan.
To hide the noises you decide on a loud exhaust, no probs $300 from the local exhaust bloke and she sounds sweet through the single muffler, until you go on a long drive and hear that horrid drone at 110k's.
Back to the exhaust shop for a set of extractors and a resonator..$600 later she sounds slightly better.
Perhaps a new stereo will help with the noise..$500 later you have a nice headunit but the speakers sound aweful..$250 later the speakers sound great but the HU cant keep up with the 250w speakers..better get an amp and whilst at it a boxed sub..$500 later you can no longer hear the exhaust and the rattling from the over driven, low quality sub in the boot is embarrassing.
Not only that, but the battery cant keep up with the extra drain and gives up soon after..$100 more.

You've now spent 10K on buying/modifying a car that rides like crap, eats fuel coz you feel the need to over rev it on every gear change to hear the expensive exhaust, has more rattles than an EA, and attracts every cop in sight.

And thats all before the rocker cover comes off.

This is my life story.........

[Alby1]

My main regret is trusting a 17 yr old "p" plater who smashed his VR commodore, i wanted the motor and box for a hilux,
ME....So the motor has a few k's on it
HIM....Yeah but it's been rebuilt 50k ago
ME....You got reciepts
HIM....Nah it was the guy who owned it befoe me
ME......Ah ok than


So did the conversion, crank angle sensor went in a month, had the sump of to fix and was told it looked worn by machinest, $3,500 later with mates dicounts, bigger cam and ported heads, only because it's "cheaper" to do it while it's apart, put it together than another month later gearbox went... $1,500 later on new box and stallie.
Ute went great but could of had same result for 4k cheaper if shoped around and researched..

Al

[motorcycles4eva]

Originally Posted by Alby1

My main regret is trusting a 17 yr old "p" plater who smashed his VR commodore, i wanted the motor and box for a hilux,
ME....So the motor has a few k's on it
HIM....Yeah but it's been rebuilt 50k ago
ME....You got reciepts
HIM....Nah it was the guy who owned it befoe me
ME......Ah ok than


So did the conversion, crank angle sensor went in a month, had the sump of to fix and was told it looked worn by machinest, $3,500 later with mates dicounts, bigger cam and ported heads, only because it's "cheaper" to do it while it's apart, put it together than another month later gearbox went... $1,500 later on new box and stallie.
Ute went great but could of had same result for 4k cheaper if shoped around and researched..

Al

you live and learn brother... i also got screwed on my first car purchase.. it was a hj statesman deville.. on top of that screw up, when i got it painted, i trusted an older spray painter cause i thought he would be more experienced... ha!!!
when he started spraying the red colour.... how can i write this.. lets just say he didn't cover or put news paper in the sections that weren't supposed to get paint.. in other words, i had partly red interior/wheels/wind screen/ etc.. this was when i was 18.. (33 now)
i sold that car to someone who ended up using the motor in his boat(308)
that gone got me a zh fairlane..(351..etc..)
left it standard as it did line lockers easy.. and was scared to paint it again..
lol.