I guess i'm having just one of those days, but at one point is this not worth it anymore?

I'm not talking about engine swaps, turbo kits, and etc, thats very understandable wanting to go fast. But like "restoring" the 16 or so year old cars and body work...

I just droped of my hood at a paint shop, to get new paint for the "boser" hood, and shave windshield squirters, with the price of the hood thats 275$ right there.

Ill pay about 200$ a side to get my honda cancer fixed (cut and welded)

I'll need 2 new fenders... about 300$

I'm getting a 90/91 bumper painted ... 150$ with new bumper, thats about 1K$ worth of stuff that i'll never even see again, and its not even all the rust thats on the car *more inside doors)

Basically almost everything i make is going into the car, thats so old, not liked by anyone but honda enthusiasts, while my friends are driving around in their newer cars...

I'm not expecting any responces, because i know that i decided to do this myself, im doing to myself, the whole scene is a big money pit, and i should have expected it, i just felt like getting this in print and making me feel a little bit easier.

Thank you for your time.

My crx -




Edit : I know i'm never selling the car, so increased resale is meaningless to me.

Edit x2: I think this is the first time i posted a pic of my car on H-T, what you think?
Yeah i know rims gotta go... and it needs a drop, those are last years pics.

 

The second you buy it.

 

love makes you do crazy things

 

if you have a true love for hondas then i guess you will put money into it til theres nothin left to do, you wreck it, or it just cant be maintained as a daily driver.

 

I know how it is almost everything i make goes to my car but i know it will all be worth it when its done. Im the same way my friends are driving new nissans and new acuras. Just stick with it. Its a slow but worth it process.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stocker2shocker91 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">love makes you do crazy things</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wise words, lol.

My EF has some nasty rust and everytime I look at it, it seriously makes me think twice about restoring it.. but I know in the end it'll be worth it.

 

i usually get pissed at my car and wonder why the hell i mod the thing and say im never buying anything after market for it anymore and then the next day ill be ordering parts.

 

i know how you feel man, i love my rex but i don't have alot of money to spend, i live on my own with my girl, only 22 and any spare money i get i seem to spend on my rex instead of saving it which seems the wiser choice. but i feel if i don't spend all the money to fuel the project than the car is just a piece of **** that i don't want anything to do with. i have an LS motor for it but i don't know wheter i should keep it for the car or just sell it because i have to spend a grand to finish the rest of the swap, and when the swap is done what is the point anyway, your not supposed to speed, i'm not gonna go to the track so why am i doing all this, just to look cool or have a nice car to show off? i dunno if its all worth it sometimes either.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by stocker2shocker91 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">love makes you do crazy things</TD></TR></TABLE>


Modding a car is one of the worst ways to spend money. Buying a car to fix and drive is also often a loss in the long run.

I spend what I can burn on my cars. Saving for retirement and a house are where I put my $$$.

It's a hobby but one we *HTers* hold very dear and spend a ton on. Just don't go insane about it.

 

At what point does modding the EF's become not worth it?

The moment when you no longer have love for the EF...

If anything, the opposite is true for me. Started off with an EF in '92 which I had bit of a love/hate relationship with along the way. It was touch and go, I remember wanting to get rid of it a few times.
And now I hear you ask? Today own 4 EFs and don't care much for any another make...I still have my first CR-X, love her dearly, and picked up another 2 CR-Xs along the way and a sedan (for cruisin about)
EF's have been my foundation and my love for them is deep.. (I may pick up an EG or an NSX sometime in the future but I'd still keep my EFs)...

 

NEVER...

 

love the honda . . keep it . . a honda or a import is always worth keepingz . .

 

f new cars .......never for me 2

 

if you like the car theres no point to not make it better IMO, do what you want to it within your budget

i have a EA and i have almost 3x the price of the car in it, it wasnt a expensive car but still

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Vovchandr &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I guess i'm having just one of those days, but at one point is this not worth it anymore? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Modding cars is never worth it. The money you spend in modding your car you might as well **** down your leg. If you want to spend money wisely buy a House or a car that will appreciate in value and leave the car alone. It is never worth it, but it is such a great thing to waste money on, and I enjoy doing just that very much. It isn't worth it, never has been, but I enjoy it none the less.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 1320spCRX &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">NEVER...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly. But after trying to be economical in every other aspect in my life, I need to do something economically illogical. Now I MUST take this car and enjoy it as much as possible to try to get some kind of positives out of this money pit of a hobby.

I'm addicted though..........it will never end. Torture and stress for some satisfaction only to become unsatisfied and start the torture of a project again so I can be satisfied again. I hate my car.....errrr.....love my car....

 

Just remember those people tooling around in the new cars have no idea that what they are driving around in has succumbed to the same commercialization and cheap manufacturing that the rest of every market has in the last decade. Our cars are still in the time frame before the import manufacturers cut down on the parts in favor of a better bottom line. Taking apart the newer Hondas today, you can see a very clear lineage of less is more in Honda and other manufacturers. If theres only one great reason to do something its because you want to, if not then don't. Don't ever do something for someone else's praise, but there is a certain satisfaction in knowing that there are fewer and fewer of these cars on the road every year and that owning and driving one that is unique is respected.

 

the pics dont work

edit: i see it now.

 

Honestly, I know exactly how you are feeling right now. I have spent about atleast $600 dollars in the past 4 months on tires alone because of a recurring tie rod alignment problem. I ended up having a blowout on the highway and had it towed by AAA. I replaced the tire in the AAA parking lot and drove off to have my other tire blowout 20 feet down the road. So, I had to leave it in a movie parking lot at 11 at night only to come back the next morning with a brick through my passenger window thrown by some scumbag.

I didn't have enough money to replace the clutch when I put in my B16. Now I have that to deal with also.

I have many times over the last six months questioned whether or not to sell my car.
My number one deterrent is the fact that I have put over $5000 dollars into my car and would be lucky to see $2500 if I resold it. I think it is also the fact that I worked my *** off to get it. You don't see a 17 year old who has bought his own car and swapped an engine out with his own funds very often. To that effect I think it has a very sentimental value.

Cliffs: Yes, you aren't the only one, but stick with it.

 

After putting my ef on the back burner and buying a new corolla to drive....i can definatly say ef's are worth it. thats why i sold the corolla and bought a 91 sedan

 

the first mod. In all honestly cars are a complete waste of money and if it wasnt so entertaining/fun i wouldnt do it. Just keep it mind that it is still a car and still need to get you to where you need to go. Resale value will never increase to the point where you would yield a profit, they are a bad investment. Hopefully the happyness you have working on your car is worth the money.

Extreme tangent:
In buisness there is this introductory concept called oppurtunity cost. The opportunity cost is what you could be doing with your time/money rather than what you are doing. ie the opportunity cost of making 3 eggs is waxing car. I try and look at it like that and that is what keeps me sane about the amount of money i waste on the ef. I could be spending x dollars on the car or spending it on clothes at the mall. I choose the car.

 

<U>Its not worth it when you don't enjoy it anymore</U>


Even at its worse its not that expensive compared to everyone elses newer cars. Payments, interest and insurance on a new car no thanks.

 

don't forget depreciation on newer cars. i swear my ef's have been worth the same thing for the last 3 years.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Buy My Coolness &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You don't see a 17 year old who has bought his own car and swapped an engine out with his own funds very often. To that effect I think it has a very sentimental value.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not often, but I'm in that club too . I got really pissed when I replaced my rear main and it turned out it wasnt seated properly. Ah, the joys of learning.

 

the thing i try to remember is that all this stuff i deal with on a daily basis with my ef, from wondering whether ill get pulled over for my taillights "deciding for themselves" to come on, to getting beat by the occasional frat boy ricer in an sti, is gonna make having a nice new car at some point all the more enjoyable. i dont think ill ever get rid of my ef, unless someone crashes into me and takes it, and even then ill still just buy another one. im just doing the best i can with what i have at this point, and thank god i have an ef.