So over the last 15-20 years I have noticed a pattern and it extends into the "super car" world as well. We have all probably seen it...someone buys a 911TT or a GTR or Lambo, spends an additional 30k-100k modifying it and then within 2-3 months of getting the modifications complete, they sell it. You can check the cars for sale section here and without fail there is one or two cars that have just completed major modification for sale....its impolite to ask in a for sale thread and frankly most wouldnt give the honest answer any way, so I figured I would ask.....

Why? I just dont get it....although I have done it myself with other builds I have done in the past on a smaller $$ scale.

A 911TT or GTR or Lambo with 1000+whp sounds like the perfect car so why do so many folks (virtually all of them) sell within 6 months of completeing the project?

Do people enjoy the journey more than the destination?

Is the grass always greener?

Are the cars no longer reliable or enjoyable?

I just dont get it. Seems like the folks that stick with cars the longest are those that never modify or stick to simple basic mods and avoid the "big" projects and the headaches that surround them.

 

I've done it with watercraft on a larger scale then I have done it with cars.
Probably the 2 greatest scenarios are:

1) The journey is greater than the destination. Except my Porsche, I've always enjoyed the build more. Once I have nothing left to tinker with, I tend to get bored and move on
2) It becomes less reliable or enjoyable sometimes. When you have a car/watercraft/whatever on the edge 24/7 you tend to drive it less, then it gets to a point that there is no point

 

Some people just have short attention spans. Like with my car, I had a ton of money put into it and modified it a lot. But I'm ready for something else.

I started with a GTR, then went to an R8, then went to a 997 turbo. All within two years. Modified each of them, it's always on to something different. Variety is the spice of life

 

I've done it with several cars, and its just a matter of enjoying the process more so than the final product. If I ever found the 'nirvana' car then I might keep it... but I really just enjoy spending time at the shops, changing, tweaking, etc etc. Once the car is in the final state I wanted, I honestly lose half of my enjoyment of it. I'm a tinkerer at heart I suppose

 

Simple. Once its done, you have nothing else to do but to find another project to build again with hopes of making it as good or better than the last.


-Vin

 

well you get bored with the car after 1 year and you think double the horse power will help and make it a new car .And yes you enjoy it for a couple of week or months but you still want an entirely new car-interior . My sugestion unless you race dont put to much money on the car , its like throwing them.

 

I am a bone stock guy now. Why? Because over the years modifying cars has taught me to leave them alone. Yes the Mods were great and awesome, fun to talk about but were in constant need of fixing it, or other parts that were not made for the extra performance. In the end I ruined 2 perfectly good street cars by modding them.


They just became too unreliable and from here on in I am buying what I want out of the box form the manufacturer. Many will fight me but my experience has led me to the conclusion that the manufactures know what their cars are designed ot reliably withstand and every time I have uped the performance it has had a negative effect on reliability.


That is why you see so many cars for sale after a mod. People either run out of $ to keep up with the fix, or decide it is not worth it. I also bet there are a lot of guys with a ton of $ who keep after all the issues. I was tired of getting stuck/stranded or frustrated.

 

I'll give you some insight into my purchase habits. I enjoy the connection with the car and always look forward to enhancing it the way "I think it should have been built from the factory" then I move on. My last few purchases looks like this. Lotus, BMW, Porsche, BMW, Porsche.

BMW
Drive it
Enjoy the warranty
Sell when warranty ends

Porsche
Upgrade all weak links mechanically (learn the car)
Get bored... sell it
Drive a sedan for a while...repeat

 

There may be folks in these buckets, but to assume every modified car is for sale because it breaks down all the time is fairly insulting to the owners.

 

Some people just want to spend money on cars, don't own any thing of real value and live vicariously through what people for a brief moment think. Then they grow up and realize that most people don't give a Sh*t. I think it's a big ego thing personally. Something is missing from their lives and they some how need to validate themselves. It's sad but true. Not all mind you but more then you think. JMHO.

 

It's no different from audio and wine. With wine it's the research, the searching out the beauties, the finding, and the buying, cataloging. Oh and once in a while you get to drink some, lol. With audio I have so many audio buddies (we're in an "audiophile" group) that keep changing the cables, turntable cartridges, this, that, the other thing. I honestly don't think some of them are looking for higher enjoyment but just enjoy the tinkering, buying, and selling process.


I, on the other hand, enjoy researching the wine, I buy it, and I drink it (when it's ready). I've spent a lot of time and money on the audio system and I enjoy it - haven't changed equipment in quite a while - I only change it if I feel there's something better that I want.


With the car, I agree with what the other poster's say - they seem to get bored of it (no matter what state of modification it is in). I've dreamed of this car for a long time and sure it wouldn't break me to sell it and buy a new one but four years later I still love it and have no regrets. With the current mods the driveability just plodding around is so enjoyable that it's almost like a new car. The increased power is super fun too. Not much point in chasing after an even faster car with the draconian speed limits anyway. I doubt I'd spend much more on a car than what I did on this one but I'd sure spend more money on an even bigger home theatre screen and projector, even bigger speakers/subs etc for the simple reason that I can make use of it...

 

Think more than anything else a lot of times the journey is greater than the destination. When it comes to cars that are specifically TOYS (997tt, gallardos, R8s), they are treated as a hobby and each time it gives a new platform to work with...and as soon as theres no more to tinker on or improve (according to ones taste)...you move on. Sometimes cars are sold tuned/modded but if its more of the simple bolt ons that can be easily removed - you are not losing too much $$ in the process. Yes some go upwards of $30K to modify - but I would assume most people spend way < $10K.

It is VERY easy to sell of many popular mods after you are done (for example) on a platform like the 997 for as much as 75% of original price paid. Or as an example get a NEW set of aftermarket wheels and sell your ORIGINAL for 1K (always a no brainer for me) - so not much investment in many mods that can be done. I doubt very many times there is anything 'wrong' with the car, but I would agree that sometimes you can do so much that it becomes unusable unless strictly for a specific use (such as the track).

 

How much is your happiness worth? When you don't spend money in your wife, you expend it on your car.

In the same way, love doesn't last forever

 

People blow money on gambling, booze, bad business deals, drugs, divorces, etc.

In the big scope of things, is spending it on cars really that bad?

I really don't make judgments on what people do with their money. It's theirs, they can do with it as they please.

We should be happy that guys do this, it always ends up as a deal to the next buyer!

 

I wish more people would buy cars and sell them after six months or one year!