Important Issue for the Experienced Members on this Forum

[AAA240SX]

I was talking to my g/f of 3 years on the phone. She was bringing up college, and starting a family. She's been saying in 2-3 years when college is nearing it's end she wants to get a place and everything.

But, when I said: "I'm hoping the place will have a huge garage, so I can play w/ my toys." She FREAKED out! "It's always about ur car recently, get off that shit," she says.

Also, my brother has been modding his car since he was 17 years old. 99 GSR that is fully stacked exterior to interior. But, now he's looking for another car. A 4-Door sedan that he doesn't want to work on (just a nice sound system).

My childhood friend, who has also been a car enthus., just recently bought a 04 TL. Said he was moving away from the modding and just chillen out...

It seems that every1 around me, even the ones I love, are moving away or want me to move away from this hobby.

I'm going to be finishing off my body work. But, i dunno if i should dive into the $2000+ expense for finishing the install/paint. the investment is making me conscience. As you can see in my sig, its not done. If I decide not to, it'll go back to stock and the $1k I spent on the kit/paint/accessories will be lost. I'll be selling it for less on eBay or here on the forums. The car will be fixed to stock with no more mods than it has now.

I know many of you, if not some, are in your 20's. Some with families, some not. But, I want to know:

Have you looked back on your projects and thought it was a good investment and time worthy? Although the money could have been saved towards your upcoming child's college tuition?

Also, do you guys garage your cars after they are finished or do you sell and move on?

It's been a major issue and I just need help finding it in myself, if this hobby is worth it...

I'm very serious about this situation. Please no ridiculous comments.

[nismo skyline]

i'm only 19, but I can chime in on this. recently i realized it isn't really worth it. it never actually is if you think about it, but thats what being an enthusiast is all about. people like different things, my thing will always be cars, i enjoyed them ever since i was like 5 yrs old.

For some people other priorities come up. Marriage, Home, Career, etc. But whatever it is it shouldnt stop you from enjoying your thing. Thats what life is all about, enjoying it. whats the point of living life if ur not happy.

As far as keeping the car after modifying it really depends. My 240 I plan to keep until I no longer find it a thrill, which will be a long time from now, maybe even never. My e46 330i I plan to sell to upgrade to something else, but the 330 is all done and got old real quick. So it really depends i guess

[ralphyboy]

Cars are never a good investment from a financal standpoint ever, having said that you need time to yourself away from the kids and the woman Your car is you not the both of you. If you spend enough time with your g/f then she should have no problems with the fact that you have a hobby, that being said it should never go past hobby status, bills and food and stuff of that nature always come first no matter what ( sometimes that part sucks the most ) if you have some left over then enjoy the fruits of your labor. I do not spend my money wisely all the time and I have come to be ok with that, you should to. She probably talks about the clothes she bought from the mall all the time to and you put up with that, she should understand car parts are our clothes and we are as proud of them as she is her wardrobe. There is a middle ground where "we can all get along" :barf: car people and non car people just have learn the barriers and stay within them.

I friggan sound like Dear Abby :wtf:

[DRFT]

i thought abotu this for a long time, cars are not wworth a penny to put into but tis fun. its a hobby, an expensive hobby that is.

my theory is just do as much as you can and be happy then start looking forward besides the car.

[Toahk]

Yeah its all just a hobby, I dont intend to ever get what I put into my car. I think the biggest thrill in car modding is what I Plan to do. Im not about to save my money for the future at this point in life, I wanna blow it and have fun.

[SilviaDriver]

coming from somebody i know..my half bro..he spent 10k into his LS back in 95..hez about mid 20s now and says its a waste of money

[Buffalo Daughter]

It's called "growing up". Its all fun and games to fix up you car and drift, race or what not but it hits everyone when you finally need to grow up. The only way this will ever stay with you is in the backseat as a hobby when you get yoru life straight and finish school or have a job career where you become an adult and still have to fix up your car while living your life. OR you somehow have a career based on car's i.e mechanic, bodyshop etc etc.

Your GF is just telling you to open your eyes. You cannot be stuck fixing up your car forever while living at home with no house and all that good stuff. Shes just looking toward teh future and not wanting to be stuck with someone who isnt on the same track as her. She wants you to be on the same level as her as well as being headstrong about yourself and your future.
Welcome to becoming an adult kids. Its a rude awakening if you dont live your life now and prepare for the future. A car will always be there for you but will your gf always be there if you always choose your car? You can always come back to fixing up a car. Establish your life first then do what you love to do.

[Buffalo Daughter]

Oh i also forgot to add so im not bullshitting no one....

I'm in my 21 going on 22 almost finish with college. Been a hard knock life since ive been working most of my life and should have been done along time ago. Never found my path in life until this year. Money has always been an issue and in my 3 year relationship w/gf we talked about our future. It's a big eye opener to abandon the things you love to grasp the future. I've been in the whole import scene before it was even a scene. I was in it in 1995 when it began in berreyess, when honda civics and integras used to be the only car's out with just a poke hole in there exhaust and homemade intakes made out of cereal box's with stockings on it and ducting. i was 14 at the time riding shot gun learning the way in an integ. 99-2001 dragging with my 95 240 and learning how to drift when no one even knew what drifting was and presently i can tell you this much. I have seen people dump so much money into car's and abandon so much of there life just for a hobby not take them anywhere but just for that breif limelight. It's a great hobby and all dont get me wrong we all love our car's but what im saying we all just need not to lose sight of what we need to do in our lives. We need to put our lives first before our hobbies.

[elevator]

You CAN still be an old fart and like cars. (don't ask me how I know) The trick is, that as you mature your priorities must change while you and your situation change. You may have periods where you cut back. You may have periods where you spend more time with your cars. Everyone NEEDS a hobby. I happen to hobby with my son. It makes for good father/son time. I spend more time with cars now than I have in years.

[MakotoS13]

as a 21 year old single guy college graduate who has dumped thousands of dollars into cars before i can say that it is definately worth it. why? cause it makes you happy. your car never nags you or cheats on you or leaves you or gets pissed when you get sidetracked for a while.

if anyone is stupid enough to give up something they love for someone that can't understand why its ann important part of you doesn't deserve to have such a blessing to begin with.

i'll have my cars and my garage and if it takes me a decade to find a chick that's totally cool with it i'm down with that. steady g/f's only eat mod money anyhow.

[aznpoopy]

hmmm as alot of people have said, it's just for fun. i do it b/c it's fun. i also do it b/c i don't have money to buy a new car so I really need to maintain this one.

if you look at it from another perspective, most enthusiasts don't spend as much on their car compared to people who buy a car brand new. a 240sx needs liability insurance only. that saves money. on top of that it doesn't have a 20k+ pricetag. even if you bought a s13 and dumped 5k into basic maintenance, repairs and a few upgrades you'd still be a good 10k+ under a new car, and you would be able to fix most problems yourself.

i totally agree with makoto... why would a girl try to make you walk away from something you really love. seems to me like she doesn't understand you at all... it's not about the money. it's probably about the time invested and emotional commitment. 2-3 year when college is over? you're gf is a little nuts IMO. you guys must be like 18-19. around here ppl dont stand having kids until they are 27+.

[Replicant_S14]

You CAN still be an old fart and like cars. (don't ask me how I know) The trick is, that as you mature your priorities must change while you and your situation change. You may have periods where you cut back.

Ha, you're not kidding. I essentially stopped having hobbies when I started college. I'm 36 now and I feel like I'm just now able to afford the time and money for a "fun" car. I bought my 240 a few years back and it's the first non-practical car I've ever owned even though I've loved cars and racing since I was a kid. I do stuff to it, but it's concentrated on motorsports (no appearance mods) and I only do it once I have every possible responsibility taken care of. I have a wife...a home...a business. It's a huge list so sometimes the car is not even on my radar screen. Sure, I wish I could spend more time/$$$ on it, but I also sleep pretty good at night knowing that I've got my shit handled.

So anyway...AAA240SX, maybe you girl just needs to know you got it under control. I wouldn't view it as nagging or "cracking the whip".

[AAA240SX]

you guys are really helping me out here. i'm gunna talk to her about being more understanding about this hobby. the major problem was the money. in 2-3 years here parents are retiring and moving home to the Philippines. this is forcing her to move out; so she had been making plans. she wants me with her obviously, but money matters don't see it happening for me.

we're both going into nursing: me a nurse anesthesiologist, and her a registered nurse to work at the er. we have helped each other plan or futures. matter of fact, one of my friends (Antonio) was the only male nurse that worked at the nursing home I work at now. he said he was singled out for being a guy. but he was supporting his family. i've always seen him as a person to follow. a good example.

one of the things he told me was,"Try to stay under your parents' wings for a while at their house. Once you move out, all the expenses are yours and you may regret it later on. That ride of yours won't be lookin so pretty any more. haha."

I've taken that to heart and seen it as a reality. I guess that's why i rather not get i place of my own with my g/f.

I'm blabbing. I guess for maturity's sake, I'm going to open a savings account at the bank and start to fill it up bi-weekly. For whatever situation may be coming.

If anyone else has some suggestions/stories/advise please post, it would be really helpful for me...

[the head]

I have some friends doing the same things right now (leaving hobby)

If you are worried about it being a good investmnet then sell it you will never get the money and time back from your project, you have to do it because you love it and for no other reason

I am 23 my las g/f had no issues with my car habit, she even liked to work on it with me

i don't really plan to have a family and never plan on growing up

i have worked on cars since i was 12, no matter waht my friends do i wll continue to do so as long as i am able

whent it all comes down to it you need to make your own decision; do you enjoy this enough to continue with your project, or do you feel that it is time to move on?

[sciamop]

If you are sensible with the modifications to your car, you will get almost all the money back that you put into it. The 4 rules of affordable car modification:

1) Do all the work yourself.
2) Start with a cheap car. It helps if it has a blown engine/trans/major problem.
3) Buy used shit when possible. There is always someone getting out of 'the hobby'.
4) Stay away from body kits and wild paint jobs.

As AznPoopy pointed out, you can also laugh at all the suckers driving 2004 cars that took a $2500 to $7000 hit the moment their front wheels left the new car dealer's parking lot -- And this is considered the reasonable thing to do!???

Todd

[AAA240SX]

hmm...i'm already on the ground effects route. i was thinking of getting a more reasonable paint though. I'm using the House of Kolor Cobalt Blue Metallic. It looks like the Corvette's blue. It's kinda wild, I was thinking of getting a more down to earth oem nissan paint like the midnight purple, or millenium jade from the Skyline. I'd still be using the 3 stage clear coat but I'd sell the cobalt blue. what you guys think?

i don't want to look back at my car when I'm older and think of it as my "juvenile" stages of tuning. I'm suffering from anxiety...

[aznpoopy]

hmm...i'm already on the ground effects route. i was thinking of getting a more reasonable paint though. I'm using the House of Kolor Cobalt Blue Metallic. It looks like the Corvette's blue. It's kinda wild, I was thinking of getting a more down to earth oem nissan paint like the midnight purple, or millenium jade from the Skyline. I'd still be using the 3 stage clear coat but I'd sell the cobalt blue. what you guys think?

i don't want to look back at my car when I'm older and think of it as my "juvenile" stages of tuning. I'm suffering from anxiety...

i think you think too much, especially for a 20 year old. if you're really worried about your future, save a little bit now. while you are a sophmore in college, get your MAJOR DOWN FIRM. and get GOOD GRADES. yes, it does matter. work is competition and every little bit that you can put over the other guy helps you land a cushy job. finally, and this is probably the most important, get internships and jobs and never stop working all through college. assuming you have the proper educational requirements, JOB EXP = #1 CRITERIA. you should have a real job landed by the middle of senior year. if you do this, you can blow as much money as you want on a car until you are graduated from college; i guarantee you the money you spend now is really peanuts compared to the shit you have to pay for when you are out of school and living on your own.

[240meowth]

i have my car for ha ha's, i spent all that i had in it for about a year, than i looked back and went... should of went w/ stock everything! nothing fits better than oem stuff. but yah, again, cars are for ha ha's it is fun to work with them and on them, just don't expect to get anything back from it.

[Var]

i don't want to look back at my car when I'm older and think of it as my "juvenile" stages of tuning. I'm suffering from anxiety...



#1-Paint doesnt count as tuning

#2-if putting 2 grand in your car is a big deal for you , then you shouldnt do it. Living on your own costs a lot of money, and it should make 2 grand look like chump change unless you're so damn broke that you're gonna be selling ass just to make ends meet.

If you asked me if my cars are "worth it" . i'd say: If i didnt race my cars, they would be piles of shit. I dont care about how cool it is to have a 240. It's a waste of money if it's just sitting there with all these performance mods. Your car on the other hand, seems to have only body work, which makes it ok. Since you want a nice looking car, and you want to have a body kit and nice paint, just finish your paintjob, keep it clean and drive around in a nice looking car. If you keep going with "show car" mods i'm afraid you will regret it in the end. I would just rather have a better car, like a stock civic.

[Andrew Bohan]

when i first got into cars, i thought it was cool and fun to make em look cool and go fast. then after a while, i thought, "why am i doing this? all i do is drive fast to work/school and back."
then i went to watch illegal drag racing with my roommate once, and even though i thought it was gay, i realized that the people doing it had a goal, and that was someting i didn't have. there was nothing i was trying to acheive by modding my car other than having a modded car.

if you race or drift with some goal in mind (getting better, winning, whatever), it helps you focus your hobby's priorities and gives it some kind of purpose, and that makes it much more fulfilling and worth the effort.

[tastyratz]

not much to gain with my opinion over the other guys because like everyone else said its a hobby. its an expensive hobby but its better than spending all your money on cocain or hookers so its not that bad. what you need is your priorities and thats it. you need to spend time with the things you love. that means your girlfriend, your family whatever your car etc. having a nice car is like having an nice house. are your priorities wrong when you paint your living room or buy a tv? what about a new couch? you spend alot of time in your car whether driving it to work or whatever. why shouldnt you raise your level of enjoyment with your car like you would your house? whats different between the 2 besides the fact that 1 is more fun unless you think curtains are fun then you have your own issues. if you have to give up your car then she has to give up her shopping. if she cant understand you have a hobby you enjoy as well shes not right for you, period. she starts by "taking away" what you do for fun then who knows where she goes less. dont be whipped, dont let her run everything because you will just find yourself miserable. if you are irrational and blow the rent on coilovers then thats one thing but if kept within a decent check and all the bills get paid then there shouldnt (and tell her it will not) be an issue. talk about her having too many shoes and all of a sudden its different lol. reckless carelessness is seperate, drinking gambling whatever same thing in the end. just keep whats a priority first, dont drop your own priorities, then it will all work out in the end.

[240meowth]

when i first got into cars, i thought it was cool and fun to make em look cool and go fast. then after a while, i thought, "why am i doing this? all i do is drive fast to work/school and back."
then i went to watch illegal drag racing with my roommate once, and even though i thought it was gay, i realized that the people doing it had a goal, and that was someting i didn't have. there was nothing i was trying to acheive by modding my car other than having a modded car.

if you race or drift with some goal in mind (getting better, winning, whatever), it helps you focus your hobby's priorities and gives it some kind of purpose, and that makes it much more fulfilling and worth the effort.


ahh, well spoken. that's how i feel too. When i first got the car i exhaust my money on mods expecting to go to the track one day, than i realized i'm too poor for track, so now i suffer daily w/ some stupid super stiff suspension mods that hurts my back... :smash:

[Toahk]

but its better than spending all your money on cocain or hookers

Who says? :bigok:

[cali240sxdrifter]

i hate the word growing up. I like the word getting more mature than what you were in highschool.
Am going into about 5grand right now maybe a little more into my car. Was it worth it yup. Getting into cars is my way into getting socaliable with people, am a very shy guy that won't talk to anyone. I gotton to know tons of people at meets and so on. So to me this is worth it.

Girls, ehh, i was in love, heart broken, shit, 2 years down the drain, now that wasn't worth it! Kids, ehh i think i'll adopte a kid and raise him on my own.

Just have control on where your money goes. Your car should be the last thing on your list that gets the money. First its house, food, bills, insurance, gas, car. Well thats my opinion, good luck.

[GlacierFreeze]

Just have control on where your money goes. Your car should be the last thing on your list that gets the money. First its house, food, bills, insurance, gas, car. Well thats my opinion, good luck.

I agree.

#1. Make sure you have your priorities in order.
#2. Other people around you should have some consideration of you that you like to mess around with/fix up cars and accept it. It's something that you enjoy doing and no one should be able to ruin that as long as it doesn't interefere with #1.

[tastyratz]

yip yip. i still dont understand how modifying a car has anything to do with maturity and growing up. manipulating your priorities is part of growing up bit you dont have to be a kid whether mentally or physically to enjoy a hobby such as working on/building/modifying/etc cars. if the girl asked the kid to ditch his ninja turtle doll battlethons with the local littles or still couldnt get to bed without a good old fashioned game of pogs thats one thing. cars are a mature hobby and a 2k$ car with 5k$ into it that makes someone happy is alot better than a boring car for 7k$ stock that doesnt. its a form of art like painting or sculpture where you form your own self expression (except when your a civic with altezzas and a big wing with stickers then your just forming everyone elses self expression)

[AKADriver]

I'm always baffled why people think cars are a kid's hobby when keeping up with them requires an adult income. The happiest, coolest car guys I know are 40, 50, 60+ years old. A lot of them are married and have kids and houses and lots of responsibility. They also have enough money and experience to afford the good stuff and do things right the first time.

Starting a family, even if that just means getting a place with your S/O and moving out of your parents house, does require tightening your belt. But it doesn't have to be bad, if you plan. You sound like you both have excellent careers ahead of you, so you'll be okay. I think your gf is overreacting a bit - I'm sure she has hobbies and things she likes to spend money on, and I'm sure she wants a place to put them, too. Let her know you understand that cars are a hobby - one you're passionate about, but one you won't let stand in the way of your life together. No more eating top ramen for a month to afford the parts you want... you'll just wait longer. As long as she knows you're just as serious about real life as you are about cars (and it sounds like you are), you're golden.

[MakotoS13]

2 grand? if 2K is a lot of money to drop on the car then you need to take up model airplanes cause you get what you pay for. to the guy that says he wished he wouldn't have modded all i can say is "your car can only be as good as the effort/money, knowledge, and taste of its owner".

this sounds like blasphemy to me. you guys are talking like this is just some little thing that doesn't matter. if you take care of a car it will take care of you. do the same with a girl? she'll eventually call you a pussy and elope with the pool boy.

that's the problem with women today. they want to get hitched and start a family so they don't have to put out anymore, have you by the nuts, and can strip everything you love only to replace it with what they want.

no thanks, i like my nuts just where they are.

[HyperTek]

im thinking this now.. im 20.. ive spent soo much on parts for my car that im waiting to put in.. and now my car has been getting beat up by unfortunite happenings like dents etc... and im getting fustrated that I gotta fix it back up before i drop these parts on it.

im getting sick that as much as u drop into ur car, you can easily loose it. I mean i love my car and done alot of stuff already, but I cant take it to some places, I dont trust leaving it at malls etc. And I know it wont do much for me while attending school and work, but its still a personal goal of mine. Another thing that gets to me is the sudden rush of people into cars now, which is a big turn off for me. Cars should be a hobby and experience, not a lifestyle.

[MakotoS13]

Cars should be a hobby and experience, not a lifestyle.

for the people in it for the right reasons it isn't a lifestyle. its in their blood. these people that wear a car like a new Fall jacket that'll just fall by the wayside once their fickle minds find other interests are the individuals that bother me.

motorsports isn't something you just grow out of. its like skating. you love it enough to sacrifice stuff in order to do it or you don't.

posers

[Var]

motorsports isn't something you just grow out of

A lot of people on this forum arent into motorsports. Like the guys that do rims body kit exhaust paintjob shift knob tints etc etc before they do suspension or anything else relevant.

[BSeay]

I know from my experience any woman that is going to ask me to give up something i love isnt the woman for me... i dont tell her how to spend her money she doesnt tell me how to spend mine..

The woman i marry will just have to accept the fact that i'm gonna modify all the cars we own no matter what...lol

BUT priorities are a huge part, sometimes you dont have the money for parts then you have to wait on them, but dont make it so you're forgetting bills to mod your car...next thing you know you miss a car payment and your 400 RWHP corvette eater is in the impound lot and your credit is fucked...

[ZK]

Here's my 2 cents.

I'm in my late 20s and been modding cars and racing for the past 8 years or so.

Being my age, I see a lot of people I know who once built great cars sell them and go buy a house, get married etc.

A friend of mine bought a 94 Supra for 30K, blew 30K in modifications on it. 700RWHP, show winner and it is now for sale for 35K. What does he have now? A 91 Integra. Why? because he got tired of it and wants to move on...

Another friend who is 40 years old - he has a 91 240SX S13 Silvia conversion he is the original owner of the car, he did the conversion 8 years ago and he still has the car. A lot of the parts he brought from Japan since he grew up there. It mostly sits around the garage now and he complains about the rough ride and it being loud but I see him going through car magazines and buying stuff for it. We talk about car parts and he keeps up on the Japanese drifting scene. And he supports his wife, 2 kids and a house...

It really depends on you - what you want in life and what you can do financially.

As for me, I'm going to keep driving and racing. Things have changed though. I used to think dead old people drove Lexus and Benz... now a new Lexus doesn't sound that bad to me anymore.

[AAA240SX]

$2K isn't a lot of money to me, but it just makes me think more about where my money goes. to me i know this hobby isn't worth it in the long run. I just do it cuz it's fun. My major plans for my car are not for track use, shows, auto x, wutever. I'm just doing it for the experience and cruising.

I'll be working it out soon enough.

I just don't like how people think that those who do body mods first are less than those who do performance mods first. does it really matter?

[thx247]

I try to spend money only on consumables and goto the track as often as I can. If its not on the track I can't drive the car to the limit where it becomes fun. So far I've almost made money if you consider what I got the cars for and what I've sold them for later on. Spending 300 bucks on tires every 3 months and another 300 on pads every 6 months get old, I could afford a kick ass car with a payment like I'm making on consumables right now but I can't afford to wreck such a car.

Next step is to get a lighter car thats faster and easier on tires and brakes...at that point I'll know if I'm really commited to tracking a car. If I find I'm not, then I'm getting out of the sports car thing and getting a nice quiet 4 door sedan. Hopefully I'll have only lost money on tires gas and brakes.

[ralphyboy]

I just don't like how people think that those who do body mods first are less than those who do performance mods first. does it really matter?


For the record I'm 29 and have an awsome fiance who lets me keep our money seperate. The reason people who do performance mods tend not to like body mods because they are heavy, not areodynamic, and tend to give a driver in the car no reward while driving. I too would pay more attn to a performace modded car than a body mod one but that does not mean one is better than the other it just means thats what I like. Some people think there way is the only way, I let them it's easier :)

[TheSnail]

Its a disease! I have a gf of 4+ years, and now long dis. All I talk about is 240240240... everyday is a new conversation of progress on my car or something with my car. She says that I love my car more then her, but still keeps her calm. As for me, its driving me crazy. Every thought has some relation to my car. I just dropped out of collage to spend more time with the car. Actualy, I spent so much time with the car that I did not study and failed most classes, untill I just gave up and went all to working on the car. This is no ferrari I'm talking about. This is the same car that I bought for $1500, 93 coupe se with no broken speedo, broken odometer, no radio, blown speakers, no ac, leaking oil as fast as you could pour it in, all complimented by some exterior dents. So 3 years later, $11,000 in performance mods in just the past 40 days, I have a car that a crack head could not sell. Yet I veiw it as a dream car. Inless you are a person like myself, no body would buy a car that has nothing. I can see the engine, through the firewall, from the drivers seat. The car is beyond stripped. It is just a metal box on wheels, with an engine. It does not even have seat belts, or windsheild wipers, or p/s, just to name a few. I love the car, But many people think I a missing a few screws. I have invested around 20k in an old beat up s13. I dont regreat it one bit. Even though the car is 4+ colors, it will most likly stomp any $100k+ car. I have a problem, it is realy driving me mad. I am now rain man, but just on cars. Out of all you mother fuckers, I think I need the help, but I will take my hollow 240 to the grave. I will most likely die in the thing within the year. Cheers!, Stay away, I wish I did, Damn...

Get one of the following and call it quits. M3, 850R, 850ci, Viggen, old 500sl. Somthing that you can just relax and take a trip to Destin with your gf, like normal people. I will do the same, I just need to lock up my 240 and through away the key. Its a curse,
-Snail

[elevator]

Call Charter.




:D

[240Stilo]

Bored with all the recent threads so I brought up this oldie but goodie. I recently calculated how much I've spent on the car last two year ($9k) and asked myself...was it worth it?

Most definetly yes! It took me a second to come up with why but it came to me. Learning all this info about suspension, turbocharging and basically dipping into every car aspect I can think of makes me more competative in the career I choose to have. The Mechanical Engineering field is where I plan on being, specifically automotive. Ideally I would love to work with Nissan, since it's the mothership to my expensive hobby but only time will tell. Before Cali winter is over I plan on having my car complete and it'll not only be my biggest accomplishment ever but I will have tested a fuel setup for the KA-T. Stay tuned Zilvia junkies. :x:

[s13silady]

for the people in it for the right reasons it isn't a lifestyle. its in their blood. these people that wear a car like a new Fall jacket that'll just fall by the wayside once their fickle minds find other interests are the individuals that bother me.

motorsports isn't something you just grow out of. its like skating. you love it enough to sacrifice stuff in order to do it or you don't.

posers

im 21... i still skate (rollerblade) yes i fruitboot. hehe.. everyone always ask me your still into that shit? sure it may seem like a hobby to other people.. but to me its different... ive been skating since i was in 5th grade..11 years.. before the hype...(maybe i love it still cause i get payed to do it. i dont know) i wanted my 240 since the same time... sometimes its not worth the money... but thats why you should limit yourself to what your hobby is...
just cuz you have a whole future ahead of you doesnt mean you have to give up the present... but just calm down on it a bit...if there were no hobbies... life would be boring... basically everything is a hobby... whether its sports to skating to cars to video games to being on crappy zilvia talking about nothing (hehe.. just kidding).. basically all hobbies.. why? something you love to do..

-ryan

[SimpleS14]

welp...I'm 21 and I realize that modding my car is a waste of money. However, I still mod my car...I just spend money on it sparsely compared to the past. I have my mind set on higher prorities and the only reason why I have not moved on to another car is because my lifestyle (work, school, social) does not demand for it.

Right now I don't intend on selling my car, even when I get married. If and when that happens (me getting married)....the car will become a toy and sparsely driven. It will be garaged or at a storage excluded from harm and temptation for me to take it out for a late night drive. If the car becomes a burden, then I will consider selling it. Right now I've worked out possible annoyances, but with the age of the car (taxing purposes) and my HUGE decrease in insurance rate....its become less and less of a cost to simply keep the car and sparsely use it for some fun.

[nismo2491]

dude think of it this way: some guys spend their money on model trains, other guys spend their money on landscape around their house, other guys collect weird antique things, other guys spend their money on different computer things, we build cars. in the long run its not going to matter what you spend your money on, the big thing is spend it on something that makes you happy.
KEvin

disclaimer: used guys as a general term, not specifically referring the to male gender.

[v8blakdak]

it all boils down to money, if u have alot of it, u can afford to mod a car and still have enough to save for a house etc. if ur riding the thin line - spendin money on food or car parts, then u have a problem.

if ur going to college and u know u will graduate and get a good paying job and start saving for a house blah blah then your car mod wasted money shouldnt really be a problem.

[urbanimpakt]

im 21... i still skate (rollerblade) yes i fruitboot. hehe.. everyone always ask me your still into that shit? sure it may seem like a hobby to other people.. but to me its different... ive been skating since i was in 5th grade..11 years.. before the hype...(maybe i love it still cause i get payed to do it. i dont know) i wanted my 240 since the same time... sometimes its not worth the money... but thats why you should limit yourself to what your hobby is...
just cuz you have a whole future ahead of you doesnt mean you have to give up the present... but just calm down on it a bit...if there were no hobbies... life would be boring... basically everything is a hobby... whether its sports to skating to cars to video games to being on crappy zilvia talking about nothing (hehe.. just kidding).. basically all hobbies.. why? something you love to do..

-ryan

Dude I agree 100 f-ing percent! I feel the same way about my bike i've been riding since the 8th grade and neighbors always ask why i still ride such a small bike around and let myself get hurt on a day to day basis. (but I dont get paid for it) Then when my bike got stolen and my friends heard I was collecting insurance money from it (1200), all my car friends asked if I was putting it towards replacing my BTS 240sx I just looked at them like they had 3 heads. Don't get me wrong there will be another one in the near future but I've had that bike, that frame, for four years it brought me joy, pain, and my own clothing company. It needs to be replaced it comes before the car. So I say rock out w/ your cock out! Do what you love hobby or not. If it keeps you happy forget what other people say.

[brianglawson]

havnt read all the posts, and granted im 16, think about it this way, the car, time, money, labor, troubles, injuries, and messes you have had happen to you are only worthless in the eyes of the beholder, a bottle cap to someone could be worth just as much as a house to someone else. If you like your hobby, then youl ike your hobby, that is you, and only you should decide whether you stick with it or not, granted you may have priorities coming up in the future, the automotive hobby can still stay with you, just have to find ways to manage all of it together.

[weirdstyles.net]

It conversation/threads like this on zilvia.net that make me realize I didnt just leave my project, I left a community. You guys kick ass just for having topics like this. The replies and comments Ive read are really tight, good on all of you...

I dont think there is even a nessecity to discuss this though, if you really look at the responces from each age group you can draw a direct line of maturity.

I was gonna write something really cool, but I cant phrase it right. So, being that we have alot of College head here, ill do the cliff notes...

Maturity prevails eventually

We all love this, but we all know when to stop

Some people are doing this for a possible career and their project is more of an investment than to others...

I cant write...

[SR240DET]

i would probly be dead if it wasnt for my g/f and my 240 :p

[hellion240sx]

this has got to be on of the most serious threads i have read in a while! well i have been saving up and manage to save up about $12,000 about $9 is going to go to my car... i am 23 now. i started "modding" my car around 99/00 when i was in an accident for the first time my car was parked lady backed into it. with that i bought my kit and saved up some more for a paint job. little by little i started buying other things rims, alarm, maintenence, and tickets. now i have had this car since 98, my first car. when i got this car is was in the worst of conditions. bullet holes, rust, suspension, engine probs. well i gave it its first paint job $1000. new shocks ($400). exhaust($400). fixed the interior with new seats ($530). as of right now redoing the interior fiberglassing ($???), sound system ($???) roll bar (($300). taillights ($450) rims ($1400) kit ($630) custom body work molding, repairing, and shaving ($1500). viper alarm ($650). tint ($120). i havent done anything to the ka24de because i said why fix up the ka if im gonna swap, right? [that and i started on the show path first] so i have been saving up the money for the swap. well i have been working for as long as i can remember and have been in college since i got out of high school always with my car in mind. i am $17,000 in loans. and i am basically in the same situation of spending the money on the car. i have to pay that money back. i live with my parents dont have that many bills. no girlfriend either (fukin stupid females! thats a diff thread!!!). i am just a good procrastinator i guess thats why i havent done the swap. i have everything planned out to reach my goal of 12 sec and around 320+rwhp. i ask myself everytime i think about spending money on my car. i have busted my ballz getting the money i have.its just hard to let go i guess. but i think of how much time i spend in my car. i spend an hour in traffic going to school then going home. work is a 15 min drive only cuz i cant go any faster cuz i have no turbo yet :D but sometimes i do think its worth it. when i think about how many times i drive my car when im upset, or at the track autocrossing, soon down the 1/4 mile, or just cruising. recently i have appreciated my exhaust and just the satisfaction of driving my car more because i have no radio, i have an electrical problem fuse keeps busting!! so i ride with my windows down listening to my exhaust and just think about what it would be like if i had that turbo. spoolin as i am speeding up, changing lanes on the i-10, down shiftin, hearing that unmistakeable Greddy Type S BOV!!! Grin from ear to ear ahhhhhhhh. like a cigg after sex. wait i dont smoke... nevermind but you get the idea. does anyone feel that way when they drive there car? stock or modded? or am i crazy? this thread has made me see some things now that i think about it. and it should help other ppl see what they are doing as well, instead of just following the crowd. for every aspect of your life you should have goals and a plan of action to achieve those goals. many good points were brought up by everyone. really tired now going to sleep
peace

review of thread commin in a sec tho

[hellion240sx]

>>>>>>***CLIFF NOTES TO THIS THREAD FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SKIP THROUGH ***<<<<<<<

--whatever it is it shouldnt stop you from enjoying your thing. Thats what life is all about, enjoying it. whats the point of living life if ur not happy

--If you spend enough time with your g/f then she should have no problems with the fact that you have a hobby, that being said it should never go past hobby status, bills and food and stuff of that nature always come first no matter what ( sometimes that part sucks the most ) if you have some left over then enjoy the fruits of your labor. I do not spend my money wisely all the time and I have come to be ok with that, you should to.

--its a hobby, an expensive hobby that is. my theory is just do as much as you can and be happy then start looking forward besides the car.

--You can always come back to fixing up a car. Establish your life first then do what you love to do.

--The only way this will ever stay with you is in the backseat as a hobby when you get yoru life straight and finish school or have a job career where you become an adult and still have to fix up your car while living your life.

--I have seen people dump so much money into car's and abandon so much of there life just for a hobby not take them anywhere but just for that breif limelight. It's a great hobby and all dont get me wrong we all love our car's but what im saying we all just need not to lose sight of what we need to do in our lives. We need to put our lives first before our hobbies.

--You CAN still be an old fart and like cars. (don't ask me how I know) The trick is, that as you mature your priorities must change while you and your situation change. You may have periods where you cut back. You may have periods where you spend more time with your cars. Everyone NEEDS a hobby.

--as a 21 year old single guy college graduate who has dumped thousands of dollars into cars before i can say that it is definately worth it. why? cause it makes you happy. your car never nags you or cheats on you or leaves you or gets pissed when you get sidetracked for a while.
if anyone is stupid enough to give up something they love for someone that can't understand why its ann important part of you doesn't deserve to have such a blessing to begin with.
i'll have my cars and my garage and if it takes me a decade to find a chick that's totally cool with it i'm down with that. steady g/f's only eat mod money anyhow.

--i also do it b/c i don't have money to buy a new car so I really need to maintain this one.
if you look at it from another perspective, most enthusiasts don't spend as much on their car compared to people who buy a car brand new. a 240sx needs liability insurance only. that saves money. on top of that it doesn't have a 20k+ pricetag. even if you bought a s13 and dumped 5k into basic maintenance, repairs and a few upgrades you'd still be a good 10k+ under a new car, and you would be able to fix most problems yourself.

--maybe you girl just needs to know you got it under control. I wouldn't view it as nagging or "cracking the whip".

--If you are worried about it being a good investmnet then sell it you will never get the money and time back from your project, you have to do it because you love it and for no other reason

-- you can also laugh at all the suckers driving 2004 cars that took a $2500 to $7000 hit the moment their front wheels left the new car dealer's parking lot -- And this is considered the reasonable thing to do!???

--if you're really worried about your future, save a little bit now. while you are a sophmore in college, get your MAJOR DOWN FIRM. and get GOOD GRADES. yes, it does matter. work is competition and every little bit that you can put over the other guy helps you land a cushy job. finally, and this is probably the most important, get internships and jobs and never stop working all through college.

--If you asked me if my cars are "worth it" . i'd say: If i didnt race my cars, they would be piles of shit. I dont care about how cool it is to have a 240. It's a waste of money if it's just sitting there with all these performance mods.

--i realized that the people doing it had a goal, and that was someting i didn't have. there was nothing i was trying to acheive by modding my car other than having a modded car.
if you race or drift with some goal in mind (getting better, winning, whatever), it helps you focus your hobby's priorities and gives it some kind of purpose, and that makes it much more fulfilling and worth the effort.

I THINK I CHOSE THIS ONE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS HEH :D

--to the guy that says he wished he wouldn't have modded all i can say is "your car can only be as good as the effort/money, knowledge, and taste of its owner".
this sounds like blasphemy to me. you guys are talking like this is just some little thing that doesn't matter. if you take care of a car it will take care of you. do the same with a girl? she'll eventually call you a pussy and elope with the pool boy.
that's the problem with women today. they want to get hitched and start a family so they don't have to put out anymore, have you by the nuts, and can strip everything you love only to replace it with what they want.
no thanks, i like my nuts just where they are.

--motorsports isn't something you just grow out of. its like skating. you love it enough to sacrifice stuff in order to do it or you don't. posers

--I know from my experience any woman that is going to ask me to give up something i love isnt the woman for me... i dont tell her how to spend her money she doesnt tell me how to spend mine..
The woman i marry will just have to accept the fact that i'm gonna modify all the cars we own no matter what...lol
BUT priorities are a huge part, sometimes you dont have the money for parts then you have to wait on them, but dont make it so you're forgetting bills to mod your car...next thing you know you miss a car payment and your 400 RWHP corvette eater is in the impound lot and your credit is fucked...

--It really depends on you - what you want in life and what you can do financially.

--This is no ferrari I'm talking about. This is the same car that I bought for $1500, 93 coupe se with no broken speedo, broken odometer, no radio, blown speakers, no ac, leaking oil as fast as you could pour it in, all complimented by some exterior dents. So 3 years later, $11,000 in performance mods in just the past 40 days, I have a car that a crack head could not sell. Yet I veiw it as a dream car. I love the car, But many people think I a missing a few screws. I have invested around 20k in an old beat up s13. I dont regreat it one bit. Even though the car is 4+ colors, it will most likly stomp any $100k+ car. I think I need the help, but I will take my hollow 240 to the grave. I will most likely die in the thing within the year. Cheers!

--Bored with all the recent threads so I brought up this oldie but goodie. I recently calculated how much I've spent on the car last two year ($9k) and asked myself...was it worth it?
Most definetly yes! It took me a second to come up with why but it came to me. Learning all this info about suspension, turbocharging and basically dipping into every car aspect I can think of makes me more competative in the career I choose to have.

--sometimes its not worth the money... but thats why you should limit yourself to what your hobby is...
just cuz you have a whole future ahead of you doesnt mean you have to give up the present... but just calm down on it a bit...if there were no hobbies... life would be boring... basically everything is a hobby... whether its sports to skating to cars to video games to being on crappy zilvia talking about nothing (hehe.. just kidding).. basically all hobbies.. why? something you love to do..

--I realize that modding my car is a waste of money. However, I still mod my car...I just spend money on it sparsely compared to the past. I have my mind set on higher prorities and the only reason why I have not moved on to another car is because my lifestyle (work, school, social) does not demand for it.

--dude think of it this way: some guys spend their money on model trains, other guys spend their money on landscape around their house, other guys collect weird antique things, other guys spend their money on different computer things, we build cars. in the long run its not going to matter what you spend your money on, the big thing is spend it on something that makes you happy.

--it all boils down to money, if u have alot of it, u can afford to mod a car and still have enough to save for a house etc. if ur riding the thin line - spendin money on food or car parts, then u have a problem.
if ur going to college and u know u will graduate and get a good paying job and start saving for a house blah blah then your car mod wasted money shouldnt really be a problem.

--Do what you love hobby or not. If it keeps you happy forget what other people say.

--think about it this way, the car, time, money, labor, troubles, injuries, and messes you have had happen to you are only worthless in the eyes of the beholder, a bottle cap to someone could be worth just as much as a house to someone else. If you like your hobby, then youl ike your hobby, that is you, and only you should decide whether you stick with it or not, granted you may have priorities coming up in the future, the automotive hobby can still stay with you, just have to find ways to manage all of it together.

--better than spending all your money on cocain or hookers so its not that bad. what you need is your priorities and thats it. you need to spend time with the things you love. that means your girlfriend, your family whatever your car etc. having a nice car is like having an nice house. are your priorities wrong when you paint your living room or buy a tv? what about a new couch? you spend alot of time in your car whether driving it to work or whatever. why shouldnt you raise your level of enjoyment with your car like you would your house? whats different between the 2 besides the fact that 1 is more fun unless you think curtains are fun then you have your own issues. if you have to give up your car then she has to give up her shopping. if she cant understand you have a hobby you enjoy as well shes not right for you, period. she starts by "taking away" what you do for fun then who knows where she goes less. dont be whipped, dont let her run everything because you will just find yourself miserable. if you are irrational and blow the rent on coilovers then thats one thing but if kept within a decent check and all the bills get paid then there shouldnt (and tell her it will not) be an issue.

--I like the word getting more mature than what you were in highschool.
Am going into about 5grand right now maybe a little more into my car. Was it worth it yup. Getting into cars is my way into getting socaliable with people, am a very shy guy that won't talk to anyone. I gotton to know tons of people at meets and so on. So to me this is worth it.
Girls, ehh, i was in love, heart broken, shit, 2 years down the drain, now that wasn't worth it!

--1. Make sure you have your priorities in order.
#2. Other people around you should have some consideration of you that you like to mess around with/fix up cars and accept it. It's something that you enjoy doing and no one should be able to ruin that as long as it doesn't interefere with #1.

--manipulating your priorities is part of growing up. its a form of art like painting or sculpture where you form your own self expression

--I'm always baffled why people think cars are a kid's hobby when keeping up with them requires an adult income. The happiest, coolest car guys I know are 40, 50, 60+ years old.

--lets review!

>>>>>>***CLIFF NOTES TO THIS THREAD FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SKIP THROUGH ***<<<<<<<

--whatever it is it shouldnt stop you from enjoying your thing. Thats what life is all about, enjoying it. whats the point of living life if ur not happy

--If you spend enough time with your g/f then she should have no problems with the fact that you have a hobby, that being said it should never go past hobby status, bills and food and stuff of that nature always come first no matter what ( sometimes that part sucks the most ) if you have some left over then enjoy the fruits of your labor. I do not spend my money wisely all the time and I have come to be ok with that, you should to.

--its a hobby, an expensive hobby that is. my theory is just do as much as you can and be happy then start looking forward besides the car.

--You can always come back to fixing up a car. Establish your life first then do what you love to do.

--The only way this will ever stay with you is in the backseat as a hobby when you get yoru life straight and finish school or have a job career where you become an adult and still have to fix up your car while living your life.

--I have seen people dump so much money into car's and abandon so much of there life just for a hobby not take them anywhere but just for that breif limelight. It's a great hobby and all dont get me wrong we all love our car's but what im saying we all just need not to lose sight of what we need to do in our lives. We need to put our lives first before our hobbies.

--You CAN still be an old fart and like cars. (don't ask me how I know) The trick is, that as you mature your priorities must change while you and your situation change. You may have periods where you cut back. You may have periods where you spend more time with your cars. Everyone NEEDS a hobby.

--as a 21 year old single guy college graduate who has dumped thousands of dollars into cars before i can say that it is definately worth it. why? cause it makes you happy. your car never nags you or cheats on you or leaves you or gets pissed when you get sidetracked for a while.
if anyone is stupid enough to give up something they love for someone that can't understand why its ann important part of you doesn't deserve to have such a blessing to begin with.
i'll have my cars and my garage and if it takes me a decade to find a chick that's totally cool with it i'm down with that. steady g/f's only eat mod money anyhow.

--i also do it b/c i don't have money to buy a new car so I really need to maintain this one.
if you look at it from another perspective, most enthusiasts don't spend as much on their car compared to people who buy a car brand new. a 240sx needs liability insurance only. that saves money. on top of that it doesn't have a 20k+ pricetag. even if you bought a s13 and dumped 5k into basic maintenance, repairs and a few upgrades you'd still be a good 10k+ under a new car, and you would be able to fix most problems yourself.

--maybe you girl just needs to know you got it under control. I wouldn't view it as nagging or "cracking the whip".

--If you are worried about it being a good investmnet then sell it you will never get the money and time back from your project, you have to do it because you love it and for no other reason

-- you can also laugh at all the suckers driving 2004 cars that took a $2500 to $7000 hit the moment their front wheels left the new car dealer's parking lot -- And this is considered the reasonable thing to do!???

--if you're really worried about your future, save a little bit now. while you are a sophmore in college, get your MAJOR DOWN FIRM. and get GOOD GRADES. yes, it does matter. work is competition and every little bit that you can put over the other guy helps you land a cushy job. finally, and this is probably the most important, get internships and jobs and never stop working all through college.

--If you asked me if my cars are "worth it" . i'd say: If i didnt race my cars, they would be piles of shit. I dont care about how cool it is to have a 240. It's a waste of money if it's just sitting there with all these performance mods.

--i realized that the people doing it had a goal, and that was someting i didn't have. there was nothing i was trying to acheive by modding my car other than having a modded car.
if you race or drift with some goal in mind (getting better, winning, whatever), it helps you focus your hobby's priorities and gives it some kind of purpose, and that makes it much more fulfilling and worth the effort.

[hellion240sx]

I THINK I CHOSE THIS ONE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS HEH :D

--to the guy that says he wished he wouldn't have modded all i can say is "your car can only be as good as the effort/money, knowledge, and taste of its owner".
this sounds like blasphemy to me. you guys are talking like this is just some little thing that doesn't matter. if you take care of a car it will take care of you. do the same with a girl? she'll eventually call you a pussy and elope with the pool boy.
that's the problem with women today. they want to get hitched and start a family so they don't have to put out anymore, have you by the nuts, and can strip everything you love only to replace it with what they want.
no thanks, i like my nuts just where they are.

--motorsports isn't something you just grow out of. its like skating. you love it enough to sacrifice stuff in order to do it or you don't. posers

--I know from my experience any woman that is going to ask me to give up something i love isnt the woman for me... i dont tell her how to spend her money she doesnt tell me how to spend mine..
The woman i marry will just have to accept the fact that i'm gonna modify all the cars we own no matter what...lol
BUT priorities are a huge part, sometimes you dont have the money for parts then you have to wait on them, but dont make it so you're forgetting bills to mod your car...next thing you know you miss a car payment and your 400 RWHP corvette eater is in the impound lot and your credit is fucked...

--It really depends on you - what you want in life and what you can do financially.

--This is no ferrari I'm talking about. This is the same car that I bought for $1500, 93 coupe se with no broken speedo, broken odometer, no radio, blown speakers, no ac, leaking oil as fast as you could pour it in, all complimented by some exterior dents. So 3 years later, $11,000 in performance mods in just the past 40 days, I have a car that a crack head could not sell. Yet I veiw it as a dream car. I love the car, But many people think I a missing a few screws. I have invested around 20k in an old beat up s13. I dont regreat it one bit. Even though the car is 4+ colors, it will most likly stomp any $100k+ car. I think I need the help, but I will take my hollow 240 to the grave. I will most likely die in the thing within the year. Cheers!

--Bored with all the recent threads so I brought up this oldie but goodie. I recently calculated how much I've spent on the car last two year ($9k) and asked myself...was it worth it?
Most definetly yes! It took me a second to come up with why but it came to me. Learning all this info about suspension, turbocharging and basically dipping into every car aspect I can think of makes me more competative in the career I choose to have.

--sometimes its not worth the money... but thats why you should limit yourself to what your hobby is...
just cuz you have a whole future ahead of you doesnt mean you have to give up the present... but just calm down on it a bit...if there were no hobbies... life would be boring... basically everything is a hobby... whether its sports to skating to cars to video games to being on crappy zilvia talking about nothing (hehe.. just kidding).. basically all hobbies.. why? something you love to do..

--I realize that modding my car is a waste of money. However, I still mod my car...I just spend money on it sparsely compared to the past. I have my mind set on higher prorities and the only reason why I have not moved on to another car is because my lifestyle (work, school, social) does not demand for it.

--dude think of it this way: some guys spend their money on model trains, other guys spend their money on landscape around their house, other guys collect weird antique things, other guys spend their money on different computer things, we build cars. in the long run its not going to matter what you spend your money on, the big thing is spend it on something that makes you happy.

--it all boils down to money, if u have alot of it, u can afford to mod a car and still have enough to save for a house etc. if ur riding the thin line - spendin money on food or car parts, then u have a problem.
if ur going to college and u know u will graduate and get a good paying job and start saving for a house blah blah then your car mod wasted money shouldnt really be a problem.

--Do what you love hobby or not. If it keeps you happy forget what other people say.

--think about it this way, the car, time, money, labor, troubles, injuries, and messes you have had happen to you are only worthless in the eyes of the beholder, a bottle cap to someone could be worth just as much as a house to someone else. If you like your hobby, then youl ike your hobby, that is you, and only you should decide whether you stick with it or not, granted you may have priorities coming up in the future, the automotive hobby can still stay with you, just have to find ways to manage all of it together.

--better than spending all your money on cocain or hookers so its not that bad. what you need is your priorities and thats it. you need to spend time with the things you love. that means your girlfriend, your family whatever your car etc. having a nice car is like having an nice house. are your priorities wrong when you paint your living room or buy a tv? what about a new couch? you spend alot of time in your car whether driving it to work or whatever. why shouldnt you raise your level of enjoyment with your car like you would your house? whats different between the 2 besides the fact that 1 is more fun unless you think curtains are fun then you have your own issues. if you have to give up your car then she has to give up her shopping. if she cant understand you have a hobby you enjoy as well shes not right for you, period. she starts by "taking away" what you do for fun then who knows where she goes less. dont be whipped, dont let her run everything because you will just find yourself miserable. if you are irrational and blow the rent on coilovers then thats one thing but if kept within a decent check and all the bills get paid then there shouldnt (and tell her it will not) be an issue.

--I like the word getting more mature than what you were in highschool.
Am going into about 5grand right now maybe a little more into my car. Was it worth it yup. Getting into cars is my way into getting socaliable with people, am a very shy guy that won't talk to anyone. I gotton to know tons of people at meets and so on. So to me this is worth it.
Girls, ehh, i was in love, heart broken, shit, 2 years down the drain, now that wasn't worth it!

--1. Make sure you have your priorities in order.
#2. Other people around you should have some consideration of you that you like to mess around with/fix up cars and accept it. It's something that you enjoy doing and no one should be able to ruin that as long as it doesn't interefere with #1.

--manipulating your priorities is part of growing up. its a form of art like painting or sculpture where you form your own self expression

--I'm always baffled why people think cars are a kid's hobby when keeping up with them requires an adult income. The happiest, coolest car guys I know are 40, 50, 60+ years old.

--lets review!

>>>>>>***CLIFF NOTES TO THIS THREAD FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO SKIP THROUGH ***<<<<<<<

--whatever it is it shouldnt stop you from enjoying your thing. Thats what life is all about, enjoying it. whats the point of living life if ur not happy

--If you spend enough time with your g/f then she should have no problems with the fact that you have a hobby, that being said it should never go past hobby status, bills and food and stuff of that nature always come first no matter what ( sometimes that part sucks the most ) if you have some left over then enjoy the fruits of your labor. I do not spend my money wisely all the time and I have come to be ok with that, you should to.

--its a hobby, an expensive hobby that is. my theory is just do as much as you can and be happy then start looking forward besides the car.

--You can always come back to fixing up a car. Establish your life first then do what you love to do.

--The only way this will ever stay with you is in the backseat as a hobby when you get yoru life straight and finish school or have a job career where you become an adult and still have to fix up your car while living your life.

--I have seen people dump so much money into car's and abandon so much of there life just for a hobby not take them anywhere but just for that breif limelight. It's a great hobby and all dont get me wrong we all love our car's but what im saying we all just need not to lose sight of what we need to do in our lives. We need to put our lives first before our hobbies.

--You CAN still be an old fart and like cars. (don't ask me how I know) The trick is, that as you mature your priorities must change while you and your situation change. You may have periods where you cut back. You may have periods where you spend more time with your cars. Everyone NEEDS a hobby.

--as a 21 year old single guy college graduate who has dumped thousands of dollars into cars before i can say that it is definately worth it. why? cause it makes you happy. your car never nags you or cheats on you or leaves you or gets pissed when you get sidetracked for a while.
if anyone is stupid enough to give up something they love for someone that can't understand why its ann important part of you doesn't deserve to have such a blessing to begin with.
i'll have my cars and my garage and if it takes me a decade to find a chick that's totally cool with it i'm down with that. steady g/f's only eat mod money anyhow.

--i also do it b/c i don't have money to buy a new car so I really need to maintain this one.
if you look at it from another perspective, most enthusiasts don't spend as much on their car compared to people who buy a car brand new. a 240sx needs liability insurance only. that saves money. on top of that it doesn't have a 20k+ pricetag. even if you bought a s13 and dumped 5k into basic maintenance, repairs and a few upgrades you'd still be a good 10k+ under a new car, and you would be able to fix most problems yourself.

--maybe you girl just needs to know you got it under control. I wouldn't view it as nagging or "cracking the whip".

--If you are worried about it being a good investmnet then sell it you will never get the money and time back from your project, you have to do it because you love it and for no other reason

-- you can also laugh at all the suckers driving 2004 cars that took a $2500 to $7000 hit the moment their front wheels left the new car dealer's parking lot -- And this is considered the reasonable thing to do!???

--if you're really worried about your future, save a little bit now. while you are a sophmore in college, get your MAJOR DOWN FIRM. and get GOOD GRADES. yes, it does matter. work is competition and every little bit that you can put over the other guy helps you land a cushy job. finally, and this is probably the most important, get internships and jobs and never stop working all through college.

--If you asked me if my cars are "worth it" . i'd say: If i didnt race my cars, they would be piles of shit. I dont care about how cool it is to have a 240. It's a waste of money if it's just sitting there with all these performance mods.

--i realized that the people doing it had a goal, and that was someting i didn't have. there was nothing i was trying to acheive by modding my car other than having a modded car.
if you race or drift with some goal in mind (getting better, winning, whatever), it helps you focus your hobby's priorities and gives it some kind of purpose, and that makes it much more fulfilling and worth the effort.

I THINK I CHOSE THIS ONE FOR DIFFERENT REASONS HEH :D

--to the guy that says he wished he wouldn't have modded all i can say is "your car can only be as good as the effort/money, knowledge, and taste of its owner".
this sounds like blasphemy to me. you guys are talking like this is just some little thing that doesn't matter. if you take care of a car it will take care of you. do the same with a girl? she'll eventually call you a pussy and elope with the pool boy.
that's the problem with women today. they want to get hitched and start a family so they don't have to put out anymore, have you by the nuts, and can strip everything you love only to replace it with what they want.
no thanks, i like my nuts just where they are.

--motorsports isn't something you just grow out of. its like skating. you love it enough to sacrifice stuff in order to do it or you don't. posers

--I know from my experience any woman that is going to ask me to give up something i love isnt the woman for me... i dont tell her how to spend her money she doesnt tell me how to spend mine..
The woman i marry will just have to accept the fact that i'm gonna modify all the cars we own no matter what...lol
BUT priorities are a huge part, sometimes you dont have the money for parts then you have to wait on them, but dont make it so you're forgetting bills to mod your car...next thing you know you miss a car payment and your 400 RWHP corvette eater is in the impound lot and your credit is fucked...

--It really depends on you - what you want in life and what you can do financially.

--This is no ferrari I'm talking about. This is the same car that I bought for $1500, 93 coupe se with no broken speedo, broken odometer, no radio, blown speakers, no ac, leaking oil as fast as you could pour it in, all complimented by some exterior dents. So 3 years later, $11,000 in performance mods in just the past 40 days, I have a car that a crack head could not sell. Yet I veiw it as a dream car. I love the car, But many people think I a missing a few screws. I have invested around 20k in an old beat up s13. I dont regreat it one bit. Even though the car is 4+ colors, it will most likly stomp any $100k+ car. I think I need the help, but I will take my hollow 240 to the grave. I will most likely die in the thing within the year. Cheers!

--Bored with all the recent threads so I brought up this oldie but goodie. I recently calculated how much I've spent on the car last two year ($9k) and asked myself...was it worth it?
Most definetly yes! It took me a second to come up with why but it came to me. Learning all this info about suspension, turbocharging and basically dipping into every car aspect I can think of makes me more competative in the career I choose to have.

--sometimes its not worth the money... but thats why you should limit yourself to what your hobby is...
just cuz you have a whole future ahead of you doesnt mean you have to give up the present... but just calm down on it a bit...if there were no hobbies... life would be boring... basically everything is a hobby... whether its sports to skating to cars to video games to being on crappy zilvia talking about nothing (hehe.. just kidding).. basically all hobbies.. why? something you love to do..

--I realize that modding my car is a waste of money. However, I still mod my car...I just spend money on it sparsely compared to the past. I have my mind set on higher prorities and the only reason why I have not moved on to another car is because my lifestyle (work, school, social) does not demand for it.

--dude think of it this way: some guys spend their money on model trains, other guys spend their money on landscape around their house, other guys collect weird antique things, other guys spend their money on different computer things, we build cars. in the long run its not going to matter what you spend your money on, the big thing is spend it on something that makes you happy.

--it all boils down to money, if u have alot of it, u can afford to mod a car and still have enough to save for a house etc. if ur riding the thin line - spendin money on food or car parts, then u have a problem.
if ur going to college and u know u will graduate and get a good paying job and start saving for a house blah blah then your car mod wasted money shouldnt really be a problem.

--Do what you love hobby or not. If it keeps you happy forget what other people say.

--think about it this way, the car, time, money, labor, troubles, injuries, and messes you have had happen to you are only worthless in the eyes of the beholder, a bottle cap to someone could be worth just as much as a house to someone else. If you like your hobby, then youl ike your hobby, that is you, and only you should decide whether you stick with it or not, granted you may have priorities coming up in the future, the automotive hobby can still stay with you, just have to find ways to manage all of it together.

--better than spending all your money on cocain or hookers so its not that bad. what you need is your priorities and thats it. you need to spend time with the things you love. that means your girlfriend, your family whatever your car etc. having a nice car is like having an nice house. are your priorities wrong when you paint your living room or buy a tv? what about a new couch? you spend alot of time in your car whether driving it to work or whatever. why shouldnt you raise your level of enjoyment with your car like you would your house? whats different between the 2 besides the fact that 1 is more fun unless you think curtains are fun then you have your own issues. if you have to give up your car then she has to give up her shopping. if she cant understand you have a hobby you enjoy as well shes not right for you, period. she starts by "taking away" what you do for fun then who knows where she goes less. dont be whipped, dont let her run everything because you will just find yourself miserable. if you are irrational and blow the rent on coilovers then thats one thing but if kept within a decent check and all the bills get paid then there shouldnt (and tell her it will not) be an issue.

--I like the word getting more mature than what you were in highschool.
Am going into about 5grand right now maybe a little more into my car. Was it worth it yup. Getting into cars is my way into getting socaliable with people, am a very shy guy that won't talk to anyone. I gotton to know tons of people at meets and so on. So to me this is worth it.
Girls, ehh, i was in love, heart broken, shit, 2 years down the drain, now that wasn't worth it!

--1. Make sure you have your priorities in order.
#2. Other people around you should have some consideration of you that you like to mess around with/fix up cars and accept it. It's something that you enjoy doing and no one should be able to ruin that as long as it doesn't interefere with #1.

--manipulating your priorities is part of growing up. its a form of art like painting or sculpture where you form your own self expression

--I'm always baffled why people think cars are a kid's hobby when keeping up with them requires an adult income. The happiest, coolest car guys I know are 40, 50, 60+ years old.

-- I didnt just leave my project, I left a community

--Maturity prevails eventually

We all love this, but we all know when to stop

Some people are doing this for a possible career and their project is more of an investment than to others...

aaa240sx lok for my next thread!!! hint: it will be priceless!!!!!

yeah i was bored

[nismo2491]

I think the cliffnotes were longer than the actual thread.
KEvin

[hellion240sx]

LOL!!! sorry...

[SimpleS14]

holy crap those are some long ass posts.....anyone want to give me a cliff note? :D

[matlock]

I still love cars as much as I always have I think peoples tastes change. I just recently sold my 240 and now im looking into a different car I still want rwd or awd. I just don't really care about modding cars because I will just be daily driving it. I personally can no longer justify having a fully build daily drive. If you race and stuff than that is awesome but putting tons of money into a car that will be drive the speed limit is wierd to me. Yeah I will have fun and go fast and stuff but I don;t need like 400 HP to get to work and stuff. I think its part of growing up and changing tastes. I am currently looking at a lexus sc300 5spd and the car will remain basically stock on the outside and I will work on the engine a little with some basic bolt on and possible internals but im just not too thrilled on engine swaps and stuff anymore. I think another part of it for me is the fact that I moved out of state and I don't have any of my tools anymore and my friend that had a garage is not here so I don't really get the chance to work on cars anymore. Well good luck man and hopefully all works out for you!

[nightwalker]

My 2 cents...

Been into motorsports since 16. Parents are asian immigrants, so they were totally against it from the start. I funded every single thing I ever did with cars; tools, parts, parafanelia, etc. Bought my own cars too. Eventually, my entire life became encompassed with cars. My friends were car fanatics, my brothers also became car fanatics, (my sister even owned a 240, before trading my brother for his EG)

I spend all my time thinking about how I can be a better driver/mechanic, and learning as much as I can about both. I'm very serious about motorsports and automotive. Call me an asshole, but I even told my girlfriend that she could leave if she didn't accept the fact that I will always be into motorsports. This is my love, and passion. It maybe a sport for you. I'm in my mid 20s, and my love has only gotten stronger. I see myself old and still racing/tuning cars.

[XxJaPxOxNeEs23xX]

yeh im with nightwalker i mean i think all the money i spent was worth it. im only 18 nd i dont make that much but i use all my money on my car. i still live with my parents and every dollar that i make either goes to insurance or my car. and my goal is to become a better racer. i still havnt gone autocrossing but i want to and i want to become better. my dad is i think 51? but he still spends money (whenever my mom lets him) on his car. hes into domestic cars because into drag, but the point is he still spends money on it. also hes been doing this since he was a kid too.

i could see myself being 50 too nd still be spending money on this same 240 i have. i plan to become more knowledgable and a better racer. pro wo mezase

[KA24DESOneThree]

I'm 18, but for the past four years, cars have been my life. My previous car was rolled, so I was always tinkering with it because it was a POS. (It ran fine and was incredible in the twisties, though) I didn't put much money into modifying it (brakes, tires, M3 control arm bushings, performance chip), but it gave me the bug. I had been looking for something new for a while and a 240 fit the bill perfectly. I spent EVERYTHING on my 240. I emptied my bank account and sold the e30. Then, I emptied my college account to pay for the mods on the 240. (It's not like I had much in there anyway) Now, I'm broke and content. For now, I'm fine with that. My car has only suspension mods and that's all I really wanted. It's fun to drive in the twisties (and sideways), but on highways I pay a price. My girlfriend hates the car because it's too stiff, but she lives with it because she doesn't have to ride in it for long. She also resents the amount of money I spend on it.

Cars are the fabric of my universe. I used to tell people that I'd either mature to be an accountant or a mechanic. I've found out I'm not much for accounting, but I do believe I'd be one of the only Literature teachers with a heavily modified import. (Yes, cars and books are my favorite things in life. I enjoy a good story as much as a good drive.) Life's too short to abandon what you love.