[toykilla]

Someone recently PMed me and asked something that got me thinking. Please feel free to add to this thread as it will benefit everyone.

Tricks to saving money while modding:

1. Learn to work on your car yourself! This will save more money than you can imagine. I have always done this.. Many times the inital job cost me more to do on my car because:

A. I had to buy extra tools
B. I overlooked something and wasted money.
C. I was still learning

BUT!.. the extra tools have allowed me to save money elsewhere, and the experience has let me do the same type of work on other peoples cars either for a price or for a trade.. or whatever!

2. Network!. Just help people out and they will be more than willing to help you out. Kind of like I will pat you back if you pat mine. For instance, I consider myself really good at car electronics type stuff (stereo, alarm, video, etc..) and I know people that are good with body work or whatever.. so we just help each other out and both end up saving money.

3. Never pay full price for anything (unless u find a great deal).. There is always someone selling it for cheaper or willing to cut you some kind of deal or trade, etc..

4. Plan out your mods.. One mod that you may do can cancel out another one. For instance if you are going to add a supercharger or turbo system, do not put a cold air intake on your car.. you will loose money ( i made this mistake =o( )

 

[jinxxycat]

Great tips TK! I'd also add make friends with someone that has a lift....my husband is friends with a guy who owns a small shop, and he lets us come down and use the lift for free on Sundays when he is not there, along with his air ratchet (or whatever you call the air gun) and any tools that we may not have. It's a really nice perk. Made it really easy to do the exhaust install...

Oh, and I agree NEVER pay full price for anything. I used to be the type of person who would walk onto a car lot and pay whatever they told me the car costs (did it 2 times, used cars tho). Not anymore, I saved about $1000 by haggling with about a dozen vendors for my wheels/tires.

 

[350ed]

I've saved money by doing the work myself (I had no prior car experience but with the various write ups it's easy), but also most of my mods were bought from the private classifieds and occasional group buy.
Do you really need the part now? Troll the classifieds for a while. Something will come up.

Find a cheap place to buy your tools. Try www.harborfreight.com
or something local. You'd be amazed how much you save versus home depot or autozone...

Now go out buy something cheap!

 

[steve350z]

also helps to have a good friend that owns a import car shop that does favors for you

also a good working knowlege of your car is very important before you do any work or attempt to do any work yourself.

 

[DiRN]

If only I knew a of shop nearby.

 

[Zxrage]

You can also check out ebay for anyone selling something that you are looking for. Keep in mind that there is a lot of junk that you have to sift through before you come upon something good. Also, make sure that when you buy anthing that you don't get cheap stuff unless you know firsthand what it is and whether or not it is actually worth it. Usually namebrands are the better way to go, or if you are the mechanical engineer (like me), then you can build it yourself and save even more. One last thing, you can get money from selling your old OEM stuff, if you really need to make/save some cash, its another option.

 

[gdojr]

ZxRage,
Reading your mods, it looks like you have some stories to add to the "What is it the BY?" thread in General 350z discussions...

 

[Zxrage]

Just did

 

[niZmo]

Do ALOT of research, you will find cheaper things, you will discover if the mod in question is worth the time and money, and you will learn how to do it right and quickly the first time.

 

[Nis350ZTT]

Get a turbo or supercharger kit first (has to have at least 380rwhp though), then do some research on banks near you, and find one with the most money and rob it, we could even do a 2F2F Z meet, one person robs the bank and goes to a huge garage and we let out all of the Z's

 

[DiRN]

Wouldn't you want to rob the bank, then get the TT/SC?

 

[dave079]

Originally posted by DiRN@Jun 12 2004, 03:23 PM
Wouldn't you want to rob the bank, then get the TT/SC?

Haha I definately have to agree. Unless you get a loan from the bank, then rob it, the repay it.

 

[DiRN]

Haha. That would be funny as **** Dave

 

[chaparro78]

When you buy online, try and buy from out of state so you do not have to pay taxes. Depending on costs, shipping is cheaper than paying for taxes

 

[Buff]

1. Shop the Classifieds - you can save a lot of $'s and help out another member in the process.

2. Find a Partner - by having more than one part being bought at the same time you'll be able to a pressure tool for the initial purchase, but better yet a helping hand for the install as well.

3. Join in GB's - There's a lot of power in large numbers & most companies realize this & will give better pricing and sometime packaging as well

4. Have a plan - (Should have made this #1) By knowing what the ultimate goal is you'll not spend $'s on un-needed useless mods.

 

[zach]

Easy Steps to saving money on MODS

Step 1) get in good with the guy on the forum that works for a Nissan Dealership

Step 2) give up your crack habit

Step 3) dont buy things that you will later want to change/upgrade/get rid of (like my stupid wheels I have had for a month and I am already buying new ones this week) - you never really make your money back selling used parts

Step 4) marry rich!

 

[Richard 350z]

Buy my used mods for way less than retail. Go to Classified Forum here or look for seller screen name "350zmods" on ebay.