Logic717

Maybe its just me, but why is it that so many people want to turn their Ac's into sports cars? I was big into the modding scene on my previous car (95 Accord). Wasted alot of money until I had a header that the bolt broke off in the block and made my car sound like a V8 after the gasket began to open up. I say that to say this... no matter what I did the car was still just an accord.

I love my TL-P, but no matter how many mods I do to it, it will still be at best a sports sedan, so what is up with the SC and Turboing? No problem with dropping the car, or even bigger rims... go for what you know. Personally, that's just a waste of money to me because for every dollar you spend, that's like 10-15 dollars more to maintain. Not to mention depreciation.

I realize that some will flame me for this, but I'm just curious as to why some of you do it. By "it" I mean, try to turn your Ac's into something it just wasn't meant to be.

stiletto

The same reason that some will use a perfectly good kitchen knife to unscrew a screw. Because they can. Brand Loyalty. STOOPIDNESS. 'cause a TL can whoop some serious azz when SC'ed or Turbo'ed. The reasons are endless. Just like your opinion it is a waste of money, so do some think toothpaste is also. Life ain't that complicated. there is variety and that is what makes it interesting (that and phat bottomed girls). In most peoples minds (the un-aware, of course), no matter how many mods you do to it, it will still be at best a glorified accord.

Welcome to the board. Enjoy your kickazz, ultrafast, superconfy 4door family mover. I know I have every single 50K miles I have driven it.

mkeevil

most people don't do mods and upgrades because they want the car to be something else. They do them because it interests them and they have fun doing them. It is like collecting baseball cards, some people just like collecting them and putting them in order and seeing how many they have..ect they know they are never going to make a profit on the cards, but it is just interesting for them to collect. Same with mod'ing there car, it's more of a hobbie and no so much trying to make the car into something it's never going to be.

Logic717

I still just doesn't make sense, spend all that time and money and for what? To be unique? Its not gonna increase the cars value... maybe to you... but somehow I doubt that everyone who does the modding is going to keep their cars till they break down.. eventually 90%+ of you are gonna sell your cars for a loss... will it be worth it then? Doubt it.

ou sig

its called personalization. I bet your house is just plain white with a chair and no TV, no dog or anything...Do you think that people who make their house the way they like it are going to be able to live there till they die? probably not, and not all work on a house increases its resale value - some does.

not all of us like to the plain, so we put money into something that we can enjoy. I drive my car everyday like most people so it makes sense to make it how I like it, so I wont waste money and get something else every year.

2003TL-S

To me its partly about beinf unique, but its more of a hobbie than anything. It is more or less a given that when you buy a car and a few years later you sell it you are going to lose money, matter of fact you drive the car off the lot after you bought it and you already have lost money on it. Modifying cars has been something the men in my family have done going back a couple generations, its just somehting that is part of my up bringing. Will I lose money, yes, have I? Yes. But I am doing something I enjoy.

Oh yeah, and stilleto, you are right, just like phat bottom girls, it makes life interesting!

StanMan

i fixed up my ride and sold the car and probably all the parts too at a loss but i have no regrets! it's funny how you can make this comment considering your past; it's not like you never fixed up any of your cars. what is there to explain???

Logic717

I never said I didn't understand why people do it...and I think 2003 TL-S hit the nail on the head. Its all a matter of personalization. For me fixing up the car isnt worth it... because I lost so much on my first car. I love my Ac, and yeah I see some cars on here that are dropped with the nice wheels and I can say that its hot.

What I'm talking about are those people who try to turn the AC into something its not. IE taking the personalization to the extreme... that's a whole different ball game IMO...

You spend 5,000 on a SC for a car that is worth 15k and you actually decrease the value of the car itself... which translates to an even greater net loss.

Logic717

And hell yeah I agree with you here... I married one!

ou sig

true, but very few on here actually have put a SC on their cars...maybe a handfull.

BTW congrats on the 03Type S!

goldendragon576

I personally do it because I love it. I enjoy it and consider it a hobbie. Some people collect baseball cards, some like gardening...I think most people do it because they enjoy it and it makes them feel good to have a car that's different. I've done quite a bit to my car but I know that my car will never be a race car. I guess it's all about what you like. Do it to be different, ya know?

BlackShadow

Let me ask you a question...if you didn't have the header that the bolt broke off in the block, would you be asking this question? Maybe you should answer your own question.

Personally, I mod my car because I want it to be different from all the other TLs on the road. Plus, it makes me happy doing it.

If anything, you should be asking this questions to all the ricers out there who thinks that by putting something on their car will make it a different car.

Remember, even M5 owners have put turbo in their car. So what does that mean to you?

jayhawk815

Like others have said previously, I think of modding as a hobby. I don't mod my car thinking I going to make money out of it, just like I don't when I spend $100+ to go to a KU Basketball game(sorry had to throw that in there). I love them both, and I enjoy and am entertained when I spend money on them. I love my TL, there's just a couple of things that I want to improve on, performance and appearance, which aren't too shabby already. If this is something you aren't interested in, then you won't ever understand it. And besides when ya die, you can't exactly take the money with ya. Do what makes ya happy, unless you are sadist, etc., etc....

Logic717

Two things I'm gonna respond to... first of all, by the time the Header issue happened, I was at the end of my rope. I was done modding the car because I realized no matter what i did (Engine swap, Turbo, Nitros), it was going to be enough. And it was already costing me enuf to replace the tires when the sidewalls got bubbles in them. Not to mention tire wear and the crappy ride I got from "performance" springs.

Secondly, People who mod the m5's or any other "sports sedans" have the same problem we do... yeah the M5 is a much better starting point, but it still ends up being just another people hauler that is worth less than stock after they have made all those $$$$ changes.

As for your opinion on why you do it, I can respect that. Don't and probably never will understand it, but I respect it.

Logic717

I feel ya man... all this came from reading about kids spending so much money on mods and working extra hours to by headers or coilovers... blah blah blah... if you got it like that then go ahead and do what u want to, just like those people who's cars get jazzed up on Rides... who the hell is gonna pay to maintain that? lol, not those po bastids...

My point is that, some of the people here see the cars with tha 19's tucked under the OEM bodykit, with tha mugen spoiler, sittin on high performance tires and coilovers not thinking about just how much it costs to own that stuff over the life of the car.... Again, this is all my opinion to some its worth it, I'm just not one of em. To each his/her own

EH03TL

I think I know what he is talking about, perhaps people over-modding their cars? I have modded mine a little in the form of a trailer hitch (yeah, I know), hard wired radar detector/cell phone charger and NAVI. Oh and XM radio too. I didn't do any mechanical mods nor do I plan to but I have made it perfect for me and it all works great. I have seen many ricer cars out there, real pieces of shit with 2 foot spoilers and light up washer nozzles but no matter how bad they look, its their ride and they can do what they want, it does make me laugh, though. Wanna know why I don't have light up washer nozzles? Because TL has the washer nozzles mounted under the hood. Know why? because its a classy, clean look and that's why I chose a TL to begin with. And it hauls ass and is a blast to drive. I don't see many modded TL's around here but most TL people don't rice them out anyway, just make them the way they want them. I had an 88 Grand Marquis with dual exhaust all the way out and a 4 barrel carb/Mustang upper end and it was fun to drive and got 20 MPG and no matter how much people made fun of me, it was just the way I wanted it. Same with our TL's, we just want them the way we want them. Eric.

darkfox12

You do it because you want too. Thats the only reason that matters. We have 1 life that i know of on this earth and I like to try new things. You say that, yea you can mod it all you want, and itll just be a TL or an accord, but its still wont be a stock tl, something that may get boring day after day, and these few mods, while cheaper than getting a new car help give you new memories every day, because its something different. Do what you enjoy doing, its your hard earned money.

BLaCk Acc

First of all, buying a car isnt suppose to be an investment so ur car is going to depprieate either way modding or no modding. As far as the modding goes, some people got the money to do it, if u got that extra money y not??, r u one of those people who like save up a lot of money and not spend it?? people work hard for their money, y not spend it on something that makes u happy rather then die with a shit load of money in the bank account??
Also when i do plan on selling my car i'm most likely going to put it back to stock and sell all the aftermarket parts, im gonna loose money but not like its going to be alot, but i dont regret any of it!

medic

cause it's easier to find in a parking lot full of vanilla

Logic717

Come on man... Do I really sound like the type to stack cheese and not spend? I'm not saying there is anything wrong with spending money on your car, or even personalizing it. What I'm talking about is those people who do so much to the car with the intent of making it something it was never designed to be. I think EH03TL understood what I was trying to say. I'm not asking to be flamed, or flaming anyone...

But I'd rather spend my money on something that is going to last longer than that TL in my life.... truth is as I stated earlier... you'll keep your TL for maybe another 3-5 years Max... Not one of us is going to keep these cars forever, and for just about every dollar you spend modding the car, that's 10 dollars you just threw away when you get ready to move on to the next car... I'd rather take that 10 and get something nicer when I'm ready to move on.

55M2G7L

um

ndawood

u mean i cant turn my tl-s into a ferrari.......

Revanche

You can turn anything into a ferrari.... just ask this guy with the Supra





More here...

El pana/TL32

Great!!!

ndawood

that looks sooo bad....

SONNYS99TL

this guy should be for even attempting to do such a thing and for saying this......... "So I'm paying insurrance and mantainents of a supra but I got the attention of a Ferrari." My A$$!

What a tool!

Logic717

Yeah... that's kinda sad... thanks for the thread hi-jack, but it was about dead anyway Anyway, how about I saw a mercury convertable tured Z3 on the highway... .was pretty sad that amount of bondo that was used... poor thing even had BMW badging, but stock mercury wheels...

Too bad I couldn't get to the camera phone and snap a pic