Well, Im bored and thought maybe I can see what all the 4th gen guys (and gals) are saying about buying mods with there money, and how its affecting them.

Well, lets start off with me. I have a 93 Maxima (first car) then updated to a 98 Maxima GLE, what I have now. Im still paying for my other max and im tryna sell it. So Im paying, $216 a month for that max. Im 19 years old and both maxes are in my dads name, he has excilent credit. My Insurance for the 98 Max is $2400 a year, so thats $280 a month. Plus the 98 Payment of $340 a month. Im on a tight budget, of making $6.50 an hour flipping pizzas all day. So I discover Maxima.org (the home of maxima enthusiasts). And My pockets drain Like crazy. I buy this, I buy that. Now Im backed up on ALL of my bills big time. IM tryna NOT to do this, and I dont wanna mess up my dads credit. Anyone else feel the same way? Are Mods Draining out YOUR pockets for your bills? Im just wondering to see how many ppl are in the same Conflict that im in.

PS. I work 51 Hours a week, and bring home about $280 a week (after taxes taken out of check). And Paying for 2 cars is a BIZNITCH, so please......dont get yourself cought up in my scinerio.

All Comments welcome, and how its affecting you.

 

I usly dont like to spend money that i dont have, but why dont you just sell your 93 maxima

 

I'm not in your exact same scenario but it's unfortunate that you have to work that much. I'm a 20 yr. old college student and owning 1 car and modding it pretty much maxes out my credit cards and owing family members money. Good thing I stop modding for a while and sold everything, but am planning on getting a Max (97-01) soon so, I will be in debt once again. It's good that you decided to sell your 93 because I don't really see the point of having two cars while "we" are still so young. I acutally thought about buying a S13 also just for fun but decided it wasn't the best finanicial move. Anyways good luck!

 

mods are definitely taking a chunk outta the bank account. im 19 as well and going to university.
jet, not to sound like your dad, but you should really continue that education.
when i graduate in 4 years, the avg graduate from my program makes $47k in canada, which isn't really comparable to the states, cause wages, expenses and currency are higher down there. but thats a damn good starting salary over here. so i have a crappy job at sportchek now, and i barely work with all the school work (maybe once a month). but thats what the summers are for.

anyway, i don't spend what i don't have, and don't go into debt with the mods, because ill dig myself in a hole that way. i spend what i can, and the rest just has to wait.

 

its bad to use your last dollar on a kick panel or door inserts but even worst using that plastic to buy things u cant afford....i'm trying hard to avoid it but it keeps calling me....so many things i want, yet no money....i'm only working part time and bring home like 180 a week, i dont have any major bills besides insurance (1400 a year), car maintenance, and food, but i'm just about broke trying to pay off credit debt and this stupid forum keeps making me spend more....

 

Hey you dont happen to go to McMaster do you?

 

Always.

 

i always spent too much..

 

then why did you buy a Stillen body kit?

(inside joke) sup dude it's me!

 

Y'all are crazy. It's very simple. If you can't afford it then don't buy it.


As much as I'd love to mod out my Maxima, spending all of my money on it would mean either...


a) I'm not getting out of my freakin apartment and into a HOUSE as soon, and/or...
b) Less money for a newer and better car in a few years.
c) Less money for other hobbies/needs in my life right now.


I still don't even have so much as an intake or y-pipe on my car even after owning it for a year and being on this forum for close to TWO years because I know if I get laid off in a few months (still a very real possibility), the money I spend on mods now would be worth another month or two of car payments and some change if worse comes to worse.

Don't end up like some other people I've seen (not on this forum) who lose their job unexpectedly and then all of a sudden have to immediately sell all of their mods at a great loss just to pay their monthly bills because they've been putting nearly all of their paycheck straight into their car and have ZERO savings


That's not cool.

 

no, being unemployed is draining my pockets. My monthly car payment is $280, and my insurance is $180, so i don't have it as bad as you, but i was in the same situation: working 50+ hours a week @ $6.50 an hour at some stupid-*** job, just to make ends meet. The worst part is that i'm qualified to make more money, it's just that there aren't any decent paying jobs around here.

 

what pockets? i don't have any pockets. time to get a job.

 

damn im only 17 and my max is being paid for with a house we rent out and im trying to give my max a few mods with taco bell money is taking a long time..im being pretty patient about it this time around..except when i first go my license and got lighted washer nozzles and thought i was mr. big shizzle..ive learned better...anyway..always try to find the hook up...this guy i know has an uncle that has a body shop and hes getting his mirage painted baby blue..the whole thing for 500 bucks..cuz he owes him or something...i dont know that mirage is a stock..and that guy talks smack about my max like its a big slow car..ok sorry off topic

 

I hear that. I've gone into work one day and 15 minutes & a severance package meeting later, walked out with no job. So I try to plan very conservatively compared to most people my age...wouldn't move out of my parents place until I saved up like, 4 grand to sit on, both for miscellaneous living expenses, and for car maintenence. I mean, I do work all the time, but I'm part-time (25-28hrs a week) for 8 mos because of school. It's fun being 21 and convincing myself that I'm broke when I have that "in-case-****" money in the bank.

So to me, modding your daily driver if you're my age and close to my financial situation is real risky business. Of course if your parents paid for your car or something, or the mods, or other crap, I can see that bein fine. With my car having 100k, I'd rather use any extra money I have at the end of the month towards saving for maintenence issues than buying small bolt-ons. I'd rather wait til I'm out of school on a full-time salary to come with some mods, and if it's my daily driver, I'd rather have it be newer.

 

i'm 17 and payin my insurance and mods, i work at starbux gettin paid nearly $10/hr, i don't work tat much... only makin $400/month...

watever u do it's all about oppertunity cost, if ur lookin for performance sty-o then u'll have a bit of hard time, but if ur lookin for show then it'll be easier on ur budget...

for me so far here is some cheap mods i have been doin:
- clear corners: $20
- FSTB: $20
- altezza tail: $41
- all superwhite/blue lights around: $20
- popcharger: $30

those are essential mods, i don't c the need of buyin brands... it's not like my car is gonna go superfast or watever, well...at least i'm satisfied =)

 

...cha. Try owning a home in the great frozen north where fuel oil for the furnace costs $1.60/gal, with an average consumption of over 150 gal/mo. That on top of the car payment, tractor payment, insurance, mortgage, other stupid *** bills, etc. Life is expensive, but I don't own a credit card, and have a sizable amount in the bank for those "oh ****" emergencys. I also have money left over to play with my car and my truck, but this is because I don't have kids, and the bills in the house are split 3 ways. I'm a mechanical engineer, and don't know how I'd get by with a job paying $6/hr...oh yeah...I'd be totally screwed!

Spence

 

Amen!

I bought a house this July, and totally stopped modding for several months, because I had more important things to spend my money on. Then, I quit my descent paying job. That left me close to broke for several months ('cause don't you know owning a home is expensive), so I still didn't mod my car.

Now I've got a new high(er) paying job, and started back up again. The key is to do so in moderation...you can't have all your money going into something as silly as a car.

 

I guess that's why I saw you stealing an ATM machine from 7-Eleven last week. You had it chained to your altezzas.

 

These guys are going to learn the hard way, sorry to say.

 

I hate modding. What a waste of my money and my time

 

I agree with SteVTEC

I've had my Max for about 1-1/2 years now, and not even an intake or y-pipe.

Only red clears and clear corners, but my priority now is moving out of my apartment in to a house (with a garage!!!!)
Car is paid off, no bills ... just saving for that grand chunk of downpayment!

By the way, $2400 seems like a lot for insurance. If you're a good student, check out State Farm. If you haven't sold your 93 Max, you should ask them to quote liability on the 93 Max (primary) and full on the 98 (secondary vehicle) and see what quotes you can get. Of course, you actually have to use your 93 Max as your 'primary' vehicle!

 

You guys are really young and are still on time to avoid the mistakes other people have made. We are in the information age (or was that the last millenium?). Any way, there are many resources that can help you organize your finances. (my personal recommendation is www.fool.com )

Having a low income doesn't mean you can't mod your car. But you should slow down if you are maxing your cards and owing money to your folks. Paying interest is not a smart thing and owing money will just give you troubles. On the other hand you won't be 17 or 19 again (enjoy it reponsibly). After college comes full time work, and believe me a full time job with all its responsibilities is so bad they actually pay you to do it. Then comes the wife who doesn't like the mods and then the kids who won't let you afford it. So, what to do?

Act with moderation, set a budget and live by it. Start by establishing your incomes and your expenses, see what's left. Then divide it between reasonable savings and car mods. Of course this is too simplistic but you can use your common sense to figure out a way that works for you. Making a plan to pay your debts as soon as possible is very important and you can motivate your self since every monthly payment that you can eliminate means you have more money to first pay other debts, save a little bit more and some new mods for the Max.

If you achieve the goal of graduating without debt, and having even a small sum in savings, well, you will be ahead in the road of life. On the contrary a stain in your credit will haunt you for a long time.

wow this was long!

 

I got bitten this summer, and went crazy buying the big dawg things:

S/C V2,
18's
Exhaust,
Act Clutch

When I started realizing that there are other things to do than spending insane amounts of $ that I need to be using for other things (like getting a house, etc). I have actually reversed the process.

I sold off everything:
S/C
18's
Exhaust

and now am free of payments. Car is now payed, and I'm enjoying being debt free.....

Although the though of some Evo's are pecking at the back of my head

Just do what you think is comfortable, and don't strap yourself. It's not worth it for a car.... it really isn't.

As many wisemen have told me: A car is a depreciating asset. No matter how much $ you put in, you'll never get your $ back.

 

 

Man to be 19 again. I am 27 and love my 95 SE 5Spd. I had a 2001 Lexus IS300 until 2 weeks ago because I was tired of the payments. I make good money for my age so I can afford to buy just about anything for my Maxima. However unlike some of the people on the formum I don't buy it unless I have nothing else that month to pay for. Don't ruin you credit or ruin your dad's credit just cuz you want a new 12" woofer or new 18" rims. They are cool but you need to have priorities. House, Food, School, then car.

 

wow you a busy man hehe, but yeah, I'm 18 and my parents bought me my car for a graduation gift... it was a 4 door economy car... parents didn't think it'd become what i made it into lol. We needed another car in the family anyways... only way to commute to school. I have a job, but I don't get a paycheck from it... rather they pay all my "college expenses"... basically give em the receipt and they reimburst me. No gas money from there tho

To pay off my gas expenses tho, i tutor a couple kids for 12 bucks an hour now... and let's just say doin that for about 5-6 hours a week pays off gas which I pay $40 (full tank) every 5 days... ******* california and it's ******* high prices.

All in all, I don't think I can mod out my car any more than it already has w/ a tight economy right now and... yeah i'm poor as hell now lol

 

Like everyone says - Don't spend money you don't have. Bad credit will haunt you for the rest of your life.

 

You can only spend what you have.
Heck, I bought a fix-r-upper townhouse last fall to help pay for this cash-drain habit. Thanks .org

 

nah, i have a couple friends that go there.
im at the Schulich School of Business at York.

 

I am 28 and make $61,000 a year, and still have 5k in CC debt, of which 50% of it is mods.

But then talking to other people I know my age, 5k in CC debt isn't very much. But it sure freaks me out - which is why I've stopped modding for a long while.

 

Wait until you buy a house and see that you owe hundreds of thousands of dollars.

You think 5k feels like a lot.

(I know they are totally different...)

 

Im 27 have a wife and 2 kids that dont let me spend much on mods...heheheh... House and other priorities are more important.

I just was able to snag a chance at mods and spent a good chunk on knock sensors, ngk spark plugs, o2 sensors, strut bar, sway bar, new rotors and pads clears and reverse indiglo gauge.... next will be tokico shocks and an Air intake (maybe a budget home made one). that will be it for a while

 

i waited 2.5 long years b4 i even went in the net to look for mods, cause i knew i had to pay off the car b4 i put as much as clear bumpers on it.. i was making 500 to 1000 dollar monthly payments to get that monkey off my back.. now that i'm debt free i figure i can set myself a budget of 50 to 100 dollars a month to buy toys.. i have a wittle piggie bank where i put 20 or 30 bux each paycheck.. by the summer time that **** is going to be real fat.. and i'm going to break it open and go nuts!

CF dash kit 200
tint 50
suspension 600 to 700
y pipe 160
rims 500

i'll round it off to 2 large... oh i'll just charge it all again now!!

 

I have one credit card and I have only used it a couple of times otherwise it sits in a safe in Dallas. Credit Card debt has always scared me and I cut up any that come to me.

Just budget, find out how much each of these costs you a month

Home or Rent -X
Electricity - X
Phone - X
Food - X
Car Payment - X
Insurance - X
Debt - X

These you will need to pay each month. The typical person will be paid each week or two weeks. Now divide each of the X's by the amount of times you get paid in a month. That is how much money you will have to put away each paycheck to each of these, pretend that you do not have that money because you do not.

Any money that is left over can be put towards other interests, try and keep these the same for each month so that they are easier to keep track of.

Savings - X
Mods - X (hopefully this will be less than the amount for savings)
Women - X (this is typically a large chunk but well worth it, remember to priorities these payments.)
Etc. - X

Now figure how long it will take you to get what ever aftermarket part you want and only get it when that time has passed. Do not stray from the budget, and if you do, don't take it out of any high priority budgeted item. Work with what you have, and you can have what you want, a game plan is key.

 

recently i had a litlle spin out on the expressway , and I hit the median, damage to the car was very minimal ( front corner light,bent hood, bent lower right control arm, broken tailight , needs new quaterpanel ) overall 6500 in repairs ( estimate by Gerber network)
car is 97 se fully loaded with 117K miles.
The point here - they tried to total it and give me 7800
I said NO !!!!
paid 9000 10 moths ago , and put in over 3K in "most essential "
upgrades.
I had to argue with my insurance that I'm totally against totalling the vehicle.
anyway - it's being fixed

Save Your money for better things !!!
just my 0.2 cents

Nick

97 SE black on black
noisy frankencar/rusty budget y-pipe/fart can muffler
saggy sprints/blown kyb agx/bent FSTB/salty RSB/
illegal tints all around/clear corners and tails
shaved butt.

 

This is great everyone, super great advice. Oh yeah BTW. I dont have to worry about losing my job because my dad OWNS the pizzaria. Its our place. But I cant run to the man for money anymore, because he has his own problems. But Job is no kee in loosing, it will probably be my place one day. BUT.....with the debt thing. The thing is, im still very young. I wanna try and enjoy my time while its here because once its gone, its gone forever. My Dad says, NICKY!!!! WHY ARE YOU BUYING THIS SH*T ALL THE TIME< FOR THAT POS CAR OF YOURS. All this and all that! I said, BECAUSE DAD, ITS THE SAME REASON WHY YOU BOUGHT ALL THAT STUFF FOR YOUR 77 CHEVELE THAT RAN 12.9'S IN THE 1/4 MILE. lol, he goes no son, My car was a real race car (which it was) he goes, YOu have a little family car and no family of yours to put in it. Now I think I have 4 years to pay this car, or 5. And ive only had it scince last april. So I got a long way to go to get off that, but its Full Coverage with the insurrance on it. The other max is tryna be sold, and I dont have to pay insurrence on it because its insurred on a lot that its at (god bless) Please someone, if your in South Jersey, Come by and buy a maxima. Its a good car, and you would do me a super Big favor

But anyway. yeah I gotta stop this for awhile. (tax return just came, and what Do I do? Yup, just like Metalic GXE said, I bought the Stillen Kit from alex, I just had to have it man, ive been waiting and it was my only opertunity to do it.) Could I REALLY AFFORD IT? no, but I had to get it anyway. Im gonna stop completely now, and Just wait till I catch back up, and hopefully when this max sells, I can save 200$ a week, and thats a good amount for the budget im on. Thanx guys

Nick

 

A little, I got a carried away with my system, Spent about 1500 total for my sub, amp, box, wiring, speakers, head unit - installed. It sounds nice though. I also just bought a Cattman FTSB (should be here soon). I dont spend more than I have, but it feels good to buy a nice bolt on for your car.

-Wisky

 

at least you walked out with a severance package. I was kicked out and told that a police officer would be getting in touch with me....

 

so young, so fortunate and so likely to take things for granted...

yes, I am 34 and have had only one job for the last 15 years but it sustains my modding habit for the last four years, (about $12,000 later) but it is all about how you use the money you have and take care of the things you do have...remember we all started with a stock Maxima and enjoyed it like it was made, so there is no shame in not modding...they are still great cars...

 

Very true. I don't understand all of these guys who say they "only have 1 credit card" and "lock it in a safe" for "emergencies." I've got 3 credit cards and charge everything from groceries to taxes on them for free airline mileage, 2-5% cash back, etc. At the same time, I know how much money I make (c'mon, you get a reminder every two weeks, right?), and don't charge more than I can afford to pay. It's not all that complicated. I mean, if not having a credit card in your wallet helps in the decision making process, then more power to you. But realistically you should have a pretty good idea of what you can afford to charge, and then just don't charge more than that amount. Not that complicated boys and girls....