... reversible mods so that the car can be factory reset.

there are a few mk1 octavia's which have been modded then returned to standard more than once in their lives

I dont drink, I dont smoke & I never go out.

I'm found in the garage making/fixing/designing/modifying something to do with one of my cars. Yes it probably is a waste of money, but I have a car which dont look like all the others out there, handles better, stops better, goes better. But everything I do is reversable when it comes to selling it - so nobody is the wiser. I've bought and sold 50 cars in the last 17 years of driving - probably lost thousands of £££ in buying parts for cars and fixing bits that break because of it (My old Polo G40 being a prime candidate with £8000 spent on a £1000 car and sold it 4 years later for £2000!!!!)

 

I tend to stick to the German's way of tuning - Wheels, Drop, Finished - the manufacturers tend to get the interior and the bodywork right first time, but the mechanical side of things definately could do with an update/upgrade as and when the original components are requiring replaced. That way it isnt a waste of £££, more a sensible investment - or thats what I tell the wife almost weekly!

A lot of the 'mods' I completed on my Focus were upgrades when parts needed replacing, so Bilstein shocks with Eibach springs when the suspension needed renewing, ST170 brakes when it needed discs and pads, custom made stainless cat back exhaust when the old one rotted through; you get the picture. To me, this is an economical way to mod; slowly improving the car as things need replacing. Some things, though, you just do because you want to - 17" alloys, remap, ST170 headlights etc. But it was an excellent car when I finished.

@mariatto - Thing I like most about the modded Scooby - Standard interheater replaced by an FMIC.

Thing I like least - black wheels.

@mariatto - Thing I like most about the modded Scooby - Standard interheater replaced by an FMIC.

Thing I like least - black wheels.

Had no choice but to replace the top mount intercooler mate. the TMIC is only efficient up to 400bhp on the Subaru - my car was 480bhp.

 

The wheels weren't black mate. They where Rota gunmetal grey with a bronze flake in them. It just doesn't show up in the photo above - maybe this picture gives a better perspective of the colour

 

Tuning isn't a waste of money. After all the person who is modding their car knows what it will cost because the people who have the parts or do the remap, will ask them for money So the owner knows exactly how much it will cost and so can make the informed decision to have the work done. Most of the peeps on here seem to know the possible downside to uprating power on their engines without doing other request work to compliment this and again that's their choice.

 

Although I do remember playing silly buggers with Shifty in his stripped out Furby. I had a BMW 123D (Stock) at the time and followed him cross country from a Mini-meet. I found I could easily keep up with him. when we chatted about the compromises and money he spent to get his Furby up to the performance level it had, it was nearly as much as my BMW. He had a car with no interior panels or sound insulation and was difficult to live with on a daily basis. Only Shifty can tell you if it was worth doing or whether he should have just bought a car like the 123D in the first place. Having said that, Shifty would probably modded the 123D to 250Bhp and chucked the satnav in to a skip to save weight

 

I do think that modding can leave you with an inferior car to one you could have bought if you had saved all the 'Mod' money up in the first place and put it to buying a ready built car with the extra performance built in. But there again, there's no fun in that for some people. Horses for courses

Erm.. hello. Worth every single penny in that instance. Smiles per mile. Still in all my years, the most fun I've had in a car, every day, whilst it worked, for 3 years.

I cant remember the last time I had a stock car , our Superb had a K&N filter almost immediatly and is remapped, I fitted eibach springs and whiteline sway bars to my Fabia with 800miles on the clock and my 370z has a full exhaust, intakes and a few interior mods and I've not had it a year yet

 

Bikes are the same , they have all been modified and often tuned

 

Same as the poster above old enough to know better really but less its certainly more imo. Whilst tuning is a waste of money so is buying new cars , I've lost 5 times more in depreciation then I've ever spent on tuning

 

My Evo 6 before

 

After lowered with Evo 9 wheels and much modified engine about 8k "invested"

 

My Skyline GTST (stock just wheels and bodykit)

 

After (Too much to list, stopped adding up the spend after £18k)

 

My R34 (Before in need of tlc)

 

After (I actually made a profit on this one)

I forget who it was who spent £11k on their Fabia vrs, and couldn't shift it as it was overpriced at the £14k they wanted for it.

Stripped it to standard and sold straight away - about £6k iirc. I assume they sold the tuning bits and made their money back that way.

That's what I would have to do with the mongrel.  Worth perhaps £500 - £700 given age and mileage.  My front brakes are worth that!

And the spend.....?

And the spend.....?

I'm going to hazard a guess at at least 9K

And the spend.....?

 

Over 10 years it's easily north of £20k.

It is a waste of money. But it's fun and that's why we do it.

Better than spending on beer, cigs or gambling IMHO.

It only becomes a waste when I can't use it.  I use it, it's worth it.

I've lost £8k on my VRS in 11,000 miles and two years!

That's one bonus of just tuning and maintaining an old crapper.  Depreciation no longer an issue.

Its only worth the enjoyment it gives to the owner.

As a general rule, mods lose money dont they, so with a financially stable head on, its usually more viable to just sell up and buy a faster car.

However, i know many that have modded and love their cars, have modded them just how they want them and thats that.

Its all about smiles per mile IMO.

Yes, and whilst I was testing my nitrous before my failed dyno run at the weekend, I was grinning like a cheshire cat!  I best not say what speeds I got up to, but it was effin quick how it got there!

Yes, and whilst I was testing my nitrous before my failed dyno run at the weekend, I was grinning like a cheshire cat! I best not say what speeds I got up to, but it was effin quick how it got there!

This was all on a private road of course howcome the failed dyno run?

Car got confused and thought it was doing zero MPH on the dyno as I think launch control means rear wheels sense the speed.   So, as it was going "nowhere" it kicked in the launch control at 3000rpm on the dyno in every gear!  FAIL.   Need to get a map with no launch control just for dynos.

I forget who it was who spent £11k on their Fabia vrs, and couldn't shift it as it was overpriced at the £14k they wanted for it.

Stripped it to standard and sold straight away - about £6k iirc. I assume they sold the tuning bits and made their money back that way.

 

 

 Its a real killer on the VAG scene. The buckets that have had a bit of cash thrown at them up for sale at way over their worth is frightening. I remember seeing a Mk2 with an R36 engine in it, a master-piece of engineering on Ebay for £10k. The chap had spent many times this amount in its creation but was fully aware that money spent doesn't equal a motor worth £40k, snapped up in hours. Alas there are far too many out there who think a bit of slap raises the value of a car to the ionosphere. The eldest's boyfriend has dropped a 1.4 16v into mk2 Polo and it hasn't run right since. Asking £2k for it and wonders why he can't shift it.

For me it's the fun of doing the work. It's customising the car into something that I like. Adding features it never had from the factory, increasing performance. Adding silly stickers for no good reason etc.

 

Every time I drive my car it makes me smile.

It's ten years old.

I bought it new for GBP16k or $32k in NZ dollars at current rate. I've spent around $40k in ten years on mods, servicing, replacement parts, tuning etc.

It's worth maybe $8k at NZ prices

 

So it has cost me an average $600 (300 quid) a month over its lifetime. Not bad I think considering the number of mods, extra ~100bhp of performance, better stopping power, LSD etc.

For me it's the fun of doing the work. It's customising the car into something that I like. Adding features it never had from the factory, increasing performance. Adding silly stickers for no good reason etc.

Every time I drive my car it makes me smile.

It's ten years old.

I bought it new for GBP16k or $32k in NZ dollars at current rate. I've spent around $40k in ten years on mods, servicing, replacement parts, tuning etc.

It's worth maybe $8k at NZ prices

So it has cost me an average $600 (300 quid) a month over its lifetime. Not bad I think considering the number of mods, extra ~100bhp of performance, better stopping power, LSD etc.

£300 a month is alot of money IMO, how much is the finance on a golf R a month?

But then we return to the personalisation thing n each to their own etc .

£300 a month is alot of money IMO, how much is the finance on a golf R a month?

But then we return to the personalisation thing n each to their own etc .

 

I think a Golf R would be a fair bit, plus you never really own the car, then there's insurance which is probably a fair bit.  I am free to do what I like which is something I appreciate.

£300 a month is alot of money IMO, how much is the finance on a golf R a month?

But then we return to the personalisation thing n each to their own etc .

 

Oh I agree it's not cheap, and I could have kept it standard and probably chopped it in for an older RS4 or something by now for the same money, but I'd rather stick with a car that does everything I need and improve on what I can than keep changing cars all the time.

As you say, each to their own