I'm looking over the work order for my Dinan mods at $6K+ and I just got an email notification that $3K+ worth of carbon fiber bits have shipped from England (with another $500+ backordered!). The FedEx truck dropped off my Eisenmann sway bars today, which I plan on getting installed at the same time as the UUC Rasp-X pipe (nearly another $2k combined for all those parts and labor).

Factor in all the other goodies I've bought since joining this forum which I hadn't even heard of before and add them to the ever growing wish list of items to be added later and I come back to the original question...

Are we nuts? Who else spends such a high percentage of the acquisition cost of an already expensive car on aftermarket items which not only don't add to its value but actually (in most cases) detract from it?

Maybe we need a 12-step program, not a forum!

Gordon

yea, you are nuts!!!!!!
then again, i see the rides listed in your sig. you have money to burn. so burn it.

welcome to the mod. club

Well, you do have a Cayenne and an M3, then you also have your wife's cars. I think it's normal with all males to want to mod their car, and make it just that much cooler and fast than the other M3 that you see down the street.
I already have a savings account for my car, and then another for my mods.:) I switch back a forth. One weeks paycheck goes into the car, then next week's goes to the mods.

quit bragging ... haha

Even with a deep repository of monetary funds, it does not justify or make certain expenditures reasonable.

The question here is, what else would/could you have done with that money? If you value your modifications, then so be it. I know I would :)

I already have a savings account for my car, and then another for my mods.:) I switch back a forth. One weeks paycheck goes into the car, then next week's goes to the mods.
I can learn a thing or two from you... how did your wife ever let you create a savings account for your car? You must be a great persuader. :thumbsup:

well, most ppl who got M3 are semi loaded and able to do mods as well, I just got mine no more then 2 month now and alrdy spend 5500 on mods, lol and stereo system will come in april and thats another 10k at least man. And then I am going down to aston martin to deposite for the new DB9 in May if one deal goes thru for me in april. LOL, we r nuts of course, it all begins with "M" power!!

Gordon

congrats on the mods. judging by your fleet money is not scarce, so enjoy. To make you feel better I remember a board member in December bought around 20-24k in mods in one afternoon.

I feel you. On a comparison note, a few combined mods alone on a M3 can purchase you a nice used car. Sounds strange doesn't it...The value of the dollar spent on the M3 is much less than the value of a dollar spent on something else. We ought to come up with currency name for modding money, i.e $100 dollars = $1 dollar in CM or car mods...

so, "how much did you spend on that exhaust?"..answer " only $10 CM "...hehehe ;)

I can learn a thing or two from you... how did your wife ever let you create a savings account for your car? You must be a great persuader. :thumbsup:


Haha. I'm only 14. I don't really have anything that I need to buy, so I guess I can spend it how I want. I just got a gf though. I work at my parents store helping out every once in a while, when I'm not busy, and it pays pretty well.

How do you like your Cayenne Turbo?

-In purly clinical terms compulsive spending is a form of addiction. We live in time when many people are addicted to spending and are not aware that it is a disorder (the massive consumer culture machine driving us on the buy, buy & buy.)
-Do we actually need mods on our M3's?
-Is our self-esteem tied to our cars, power mods & abstract ideas of "status".
-Is it smart to pour money into a depreciating asset?
-Will the cost vs. performance ratio ever justify pricy M3 mods?
-Does anyone expect to recoupe thet cost of AM mods when they sell their M3 for the next & newest car-toy?
I think not!!!!

I have a personal solution:
-I just said "No" to my M3 addiction. I stopped modding my car (no more mods for my M3.) I went out & bought a new BMW Cooper S with every mod known to man (Works kit, Brembos, suspension, SSR's, aero kit, CAI, etc..)
-All of this cost a mere $35K and I would have spent 60% of this on my M3.
I am so clever and now I have a car to commute in (an M3.)

Just say no!

PS This is my 2nd Cooper S (sold the 1st one months ago.)

But you can't put a price tag on happiness...buying a car period is a depreciating asset...so, you are already jacked from the start ;)...

Buying a cheaper car is more practical...if you are just trying to get to point a & b...that's not what the M3 is all about, but it's multifunctional...

modding your car and planning to sell isn't advantageoous, but each his own; but to put it all in perspective, that's why we work...

-In purly clinical terms compulsive spending is a form of addiction. We live in time when many people are addicted to spending and are not aware that it is a disorder (the massive consumer culture machine driving us on the buy, buy & buy.)
-Do we actually need mods on our M3's?
-Is our self-esteem tied to our cars, power mods & abstract ideas of "status".
-Is it smart to pour money into a depreciating asset?
-Will the cost vs. performance ratio ever justify pricy M3 mods?
-Does anyone expect to recoupe thet cost of AM mods when they sell their M3 for the next & newest car-toy?
I think not!!!!

I have a personal solution:
-I just said "No" to my M3 addiction. I stopped modding my car (no more mods for my M3.) I went out & bought a new BMW Cooper S with every mod known to man (Works kit, Brembos, suspension, SSR's, aero kit, CAI, etc..)
-All of this cost a mere $35K and I would have spent 60% of this on my M3.
I am so clever and now I have a car to commute in (an M3.)

Just say no!

PS This is my 2nd Cooper S (sold the 1st one months ago.)

Haha. I'm only 14. I don't really have anything that I need to buy, so I guess I can spend it how I want. I just got a gf though. I work at my parents store helping out every once in a while, when I'm not busy, and it pays pretty well.
Ah, you're a young man... I hope I didn't show you the disappointing reality of married life. ;)

Well, Dinan is probably the MOST expensive aftermarket parts dealer as far as tuning your M3 goes...so yea.....nuts is the right word.

Don't mean to pour cold water over this thread but Ced is right, u can't put a pricetag on happiness, if u can afford it, who cares if it's a depreciating asset, go for it, life is short. I just lost my Dad a few months ago and a friend just 3 weeks ago, he was just 38, strong as a horse, and just decided to checkout one day. Both of those guys wanted to do so much but somehow "didn't" because it was "unwise". When ur faced with something like that, all this is trivial. Make urself happy and those around u. MOD!!!

Well, Dinan is probably the MOST expensive aftermarket parts dealer as far as tuning your M3 goes...so yea.....nuts is the right word.

If you check Dinan prices individually, they are not any higher than the rest, perhaps less expensive w/ a warranty. If you look at "tuners" in the category of Dinan in Europe, you will see prices that exceed the price of the S2 M3...

I'm looking over the work order for my Dinan mods at $6K+ and I just got an email notification that $3K+ worth of carbon fiber bits have shipped from England (with another $500+ backordered!). The FedEx truck dropped off my Eisenmann sway bars today, which I plan on getting installed at the same time as the UUC Rasp-X pipe (nearly another $2k combined for all those parts and labor).

Factor in all the other goodies I've bought since joining this forum which I hadn't even heard of before and add them to the ever growing wish list of items to be added later and I come back to the original question...

Are we nuts? Who else spends such a high percentage of the acquisition cost of an already expensive car on aftermarket items which not only don't add to its value but actually (in most cases) detract from it?

Maybe we need a 12-step program, not a forum!

Gordon

Call it a character flaw, yes we are nuts :D

Don't mean to pour cold water over this thread but Ced is right, u can't put a pricetag on happiness, if u can afford it, who cares if it's a depreciating asset, go for it, life is short. I just lost my Dad a few months ago and a friend just 3 weeks ago, he was just 38, strong as a horse, and just decided to checkout one day. Both of those guys wanted to do so much but somehow "didn't" because it was "unwise". When ur faced with something like that, all this is trivial. Make urself happy and those around u. MOD!!!


Damn right man. I couldn't agree with that more. People just need to do what makes them happy. If you can afford it, do it.

Somethings Are Priceless, For Everything Else There's Mastercard!!!!

Modding your car is just a form of self-expression. Being from La, more people refer to me by what kind of car I drive...for instance "Tony..?? Tony who?? The one with the M3 right?" They're more comfortable referring to what kind of car I drive rather than just using my last name. :( . In addition, since I usually see 5 other silver M3s on the road just on my way to work and back each day (only a 6 mile drive I might add) putting on a set of wheels and other goodies is a great way to make my and your M3 unique for you... I hate pulling up to a my local starbucks and seeing 5 exact carbon copies of my car :(

Comments were meant to be ironic (funny) and not serious at all. No Mini, curbed consumerism , happy as it is etc.
-I do think mods are a "money pit" proposition w/ limited outcomes but we still do it anyway....

Modding your car is just a form of self-expression. Being from La, more people refer to me by what kind of car I drive...for instance "Tony..?? Tony who?? The one with the M3 right?" They're more comfortable referring to what kind of car I drive rather than just using my last name. :( . In addition, since I usually see 5 other silver M3s on the road just on my way to work and back each day (only a 6 mile drive I might add) putting on a set of wheels and other goodies is a great way to make my and your M3 unique for you... I hate pulling up to a my local starbucks and seeing 5 exact carbon copies of my car :(

Tony:
We have got to see photos of your car with the 20 inchers!

Tony:
We have got to see photos of your car with the 20 inchers!

Here you go...sitting on dubs
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/5/web/449000-449999/449741_18_full.jpg

Sorry for the poor image quality, its not my photography skills but its the crappy made in Taiwan digicam I got. It somehow manages to turn even the most photogenic subjects under the most ideal lighting conditions into a blurry mess :roll:

the jury is still out... need more pics ;)

Here you go...sitting on dubs
http://images.cardomain.com/member_images/5/web/449000-449999/449741_18_full.jpg

Sorry for the poor image quality, its not my photography skills but its the crappy made in Taiwan digicam I got. It somehow manages to turn even the most photogenic subjects under the most ideal lighting conditions into a blurry mess :roll:

Ah, you're a young man... I hope I didn't show you the disappointing reality of married life. ;)

I am still young, but I think being married would be great. You'll always have someone there that'll stand by you, except when it comes to buy cars.;)

With that said, I don't think the M3 has the best band for the buck when it comes to mods. Owners have to spend like $1k just for an air intake box. But you have an M3, I'm sure you have the money, and the manufactures are probably thinking that way too trying to get some of the money. Mods do make you happy though, so don't ask yourself if your mods are worth it, but is happyness worth it.:)

Life is all about love at the end of the day, and loving a human being surpasses all, but why not have your cake and eat it too :)...hehehe ;)

I am still young, but I think being married would be great. You'll always have someone there that'll stand by you, except when it comes to buy cars.;)

With that said, I don't think the M3 has the best band for the buck when it comes to mods. Owners have to spend like $1k just for an air intake box. But you have an M3, I'm sure you have the money, and the manufactures are probably thinking that way too trying to get some of the money. Mods do make you happy though, so don't ask yourself if your mods are worth it, but is happyness worth it.:)

Life is all about love at the end of the day, and loving a human being surpasses all, but why not have your cake and eat it too :)...hehehe ;)


It is always nice to have someone there to care about you, some that loves you, and you love them.
It does take money to have that cake. It always leads back to money.