YourNorthSid3r

Abyss Blue Pearl front end, featuring my photo taking stance shadow.
Rear end. (See that JDM leaf on the rear windshield?)
A really crappy picture of my some-what, painted engine bay. Professionally done by me with a spray can

Hi, if you read the title, then you know that I'm 16 years old and have almost no money, as my job only pays me such much every week. I got this 2005 Acura TL (Base 3.2) back in March as my mother got a brand new 2017 Mustang GT and gave me good ol' reliable "Daily Blue". (that's our nickname for the car.) the color is Abyss Blue Pearl with grey interior and has an automatic transmission. Everything on the car works, except the navigation is acting a little funny, which is weird since I bought the 2015 navigation dvd about two weeks ago. It also has some wicked hail damage from a storm and my parents agreed that it wasn't worth spending so much money on repairing it, so I'm stuck with that. so far what I've done with the car is add two decals on the rear windshield, put a dash mat on the dash board, and painted my heat covers in gold paint, because I was bored. I'm currently working on installing LED strips under the dash so they'll shine on the floor, and replace the dome, reverse, trunk, door and vanity lights in wherever a bulb should go and replace those with LED's as well. Other than that and keeping it constantly clean, as I do a thorough cleaning every weekend in and out, I have no idea what to do for the car with MY budget. My goal is to get the A-Spec lip kit and paint the car in a theme of black and gold with gold aftermarket rims. Very expensive right now, so that dream will have to wait. But does anybody know any good ideas for a young car enthusiast? Share some of the things you have done when you got your first Acura TL. (Or any Acura in general.) Any recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks! (Oh yeah, when I say "Budget", think about a $600 range.)

MyGuti

here are some mods that are light on the wallet (there is a thread on here somewhere with more ideas)
-black out grill, emblems etc
-paint your break callipers
-for the hail damage, not much you can do...........don't know how severe the damage is.............you can refresh your paint by clay barring and applying a good wax to your car
-paint your wheels

that's pretty much all I can think of right now, besides the cosmetic mods, I would tackle the maintenance stuff first.
- how much mileage is currently on your car? look into saving for the 105k service (if it hasn't been done) and swapping out spark plugs and doing the 3x3 transmission drain and fill.
- plus youll eventually have to throw brakes and rotors on the car......
- if I were you, I would swap the interior lights and clay bar your car....then just save for the maintenance stuff. nothing like having the peace of mind of having that stuff covered.

mike_engr

Get some (simulated) carbon fiber vinyl wrap (flea bay, etc) and start wrapping interior and exterior accents.... Watch YouTube to learn surface prep and heat & squeegee techniques! Be very careful not to cut paint!
before you know it maybe you can turn a hobby into a part-time money making enterprise!
Check out plastidip too!