What Is More Appealing?

"HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles" (hondasfordsvolvo)
12/01/2015 at 06:33 • Filed to: None

A car that needs you to modify it, or a car that is already good enough you’ll never need to.

For example here’s two car’s I really like.

The Corevette, I’m using the C4 just because, it is for me an attainable Corvette. I could realistically go get one if I reeeally wanted to. I mean you can pick up a manual C4 for 8-14k depending on year, condition, and color.

But anyway for me if I was to go buy a Corvette I just couldn’t see myself wanting or needing to Modify it. Maybe small things like updated brake pads, and an aftermarket steering wheel, And I’d have to get the wheels like the car pictured if It didn’t have them already.

On the Flip side we have a 4th gen Honda Civic.

This is a car that in OEM spec is entirely mundane. Just a >100hp ecobox, but could be a very cool, very quick, and very personalized car. Plus most of them are now rusted out with over 200,000 miles, so since have of the work you’ll be doing will be restoration no one is going to yell at you for “ruining a Civic” because to most people it’s “just a Civic.

Keep in mind i’m not asking “would you rather have a 25 year old Corvette, or a 25 year Old Civic?” more like “Would you rather have a car that special one it’s own, or a car that you have made special?”

DISCUSSION (18)

Wurrwulf > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 06:42

I have no interest in buying a car that I feel needs 5-, 10-, 20+ grand to be “special”. Wheels, tires, brakes? Sure. Twin-turbo kit, JDM stance tyte (yo), triple candy paint, 37 speaker stereo system? I’m good.

beardsbynelly - Rikerbeard > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 06:54

I’ve got a fairly modified car already. I think my next one will be stock.

until I modify it.

Tohru > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:01

I would rather have the car that is special on its own, as opposed to one I would have to put more money and time into to make it special.

505 - morphine not found > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:05

When it comes to used cars, I think it depends on the example at hand. If it’s nice, too nice to modify, you leave it alone. If it’s rusted out past 200.000 miles, then it’s just your piece of white fabric to paint on.

For example there’s the Toyota MR2 (AW11). My 1986 is pretty close to factory spec, so I will not mod it to my needs, instead I’m having the body rebuilt at great expense. However, I have driven it hard enough for long enough to know I would want to mod it, and I have also driven one built for the track, and I loved that. So if mine would be an already modified, or too-bad-to-rescue banger, I would modify it, heck maybe even swap another engine into it, even though the AW11 is glorious in factory spec.

It think the same logic applies to your original examples. If the Civic was the best, most pristine 1989 1,6 Si you’ve seen, you would keep it factory (and would still be able to hoon). And if the Corvette was a banged-out shitstorm with a “4+3” tranny, you would inevitably mod it, and mod it good.

But to answer your question. Once the MR2 is done, i go on a farewell roadtrip with it, and then sell it. I’m in the modder crowd, even if money keeps me from showing this properly.

shop-teacher > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:13

I’ll take the special car. I came damn close to buying a C4 Vette this fall. It was only my desire to be able to take my kids with me that kept me from doing it.

KnowsAboutCars > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:14

It depends on what purpose I’m buying it for. If it’s going to be a daily driver I want to keep it close to stock but if I’m buying a project car there’s a good chance I want to modify it.

Dunnik > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:29

Good question....hrmm.

I’d have to say “so good you don’t need to mod”. Certainly saves you the time and expense.

jkm7680 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:31

Tricky question, I’d like both honestly.

GhostZ > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:43

Given that I consider the C4 Corvette something that benefits from modifications I was surprised to see the Civic at the bottom.

I think what you’re getting at is the amount of effort needed to make something “special”. A Corvette is a big fish in a small pond already, people will always look at it as a corvette (albeit an old one) whereas the Civic really doesn’t stand out. So with only a little ingenuity applied in the right way (uniquely, not fast and furious schlock) the civic can be made interesting far more easily. It’s like people who put harlequin paint jobs on Golfs.

That being said, I also don’t see anything wrong with having a Corvette with tasteful modifications to make it both your own and more modernized.

In exchange for being easier to stand out, the Civic is going to be a crappier car. It’s an equivalent trade-off, really.

Driving an AMC Pacer gets you all of the smiles and Wayne’s World jokes you want, but you’re still in a pacer.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:47

One that's somewhat special already that you can make feel even more special.

Jake - Has Bad Luck So You Don't Have To > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:52

Honestly if I had $10k to spend on a car and I could buy a Corvette or a $2k civic and $8k worth of mods I’d probably go for the Honda.

f86sabre > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 07:57

I’m not a modder and tend to buy the cars that I like and leave them be. I trust the engineering that went into them from the factory. I have what is probably one of the few unmodified 2003 Evo VIIIs left around. I love the car just the way it is. It has good balance, good power and is reliable.

Aaron M - MasoFiST > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 08:01

I like the middle ground- the WRXs, BMWs, V8 Mustangs, middle-of-the-road vehicles that do something fairly well out of the box, but can really pop with a few tweaks. I guess I don’t want a car I need to modify...but I do want a car I want to modify, if that makes any sense.

jjhats > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 08:05

i prefer factory perfect

yamahog > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 08:30

Oooooh, good question. This mostly comes down to personal preference, and even then is subject to change based on usage and money situations.

For example, I got tired of having old beaters (and to some degree, a 10-year-old FZ6 modified by and for my dad) that needed lots of work to get where I wanted it to be. Bought a 1LE, which is slightly more “special” than the regular SS and plenty of fun stock... For now ;) whereas the next bike I buy will likely be track-only, and I’d prefer a used supersport to upgrade and dial in how I like it.

E92M3 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 08:37

The reason I’m on my 2nd M3 is they are good enough to do trackdays from the factory.

I’ve still done appearance mods to both of them, and Ichange the brake pads before I track. Had I got a 335i or BRZ I would of had to change the suspension, brakes, cooling, etc and it still wouldn’t be as good as the M3.

sm70- why not Duesenberg? > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 09:05

The people who make the car should know what they’re doing. I let them make it special.

jdrgoat - Ponticrack? > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles
12/01/2015 at 22:31

I would go for the car that required something in the way of modification to make it great, because I like the underdog. Your example is not a good gauge for me, however, because I would have to modify the Corvette’s suspension (springs and dampers and bushings) to really enjoy it... I even considered getting a C4 before I landed on Fiero. A real nice 6 speed L98 C4 should be buyable for about $5500. That, after new suspension pieces, would be more fun than almost anything in its cost range, including a B-swapped Civic with a turbo.