Disadvantages to Modifying your Car

22nd
April 2011

Suppose you are interested in buying a Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. The V12 Vanquish has a 6.0 liter V-12 engine that generates 520 horsepower (460 horsepower in the ‘base’ model). This is your dream come true, but did you really think this out? If you had, you would have considered the fact that the V12′s EPA Fuel Economy of 11 mpg in the city and 17 mpg on the highway. You already knew that a car making 520 horsepower would not get good gas mileage didn’t you?

Upon closer inspection, you discover that the V12 Vanquish has a price tag of $234,250 to $255,000. You ask the dealer how much routine maintenance and replacement parts would cost. She proceed to tell you that because the V12 Vanquish is made in limited quantities, there is an atrocious waiting list for the car. As a result, parts are uncommon and very expensive. Not to mention finding, a local dealer who can service the V12 Vanquish is going to be next to impossible.

Not such a dream after all, huh?

The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish example was quite an exaggeration, but the idea can be applied to planning the modification of your import car. The advantages to modifying your import vehicle is that it looks good and goes faster. The positive attention that you can attracted is surprising!

The disadvantage to modifying your import car can be unwanted attention from the police, unwanted attention at in appropriate times (graveside funeral services, outside graduations). Modifying your import could even cause other stock parts to fail. Installing a new exhaust has been known to cause catalytic converter to fail.

There are other realities of import car modification, such as costs, that are not made clear and apparent during the initial purchase. For example, a shady shop may not tell you upfront that if you purchase a turbocharger, it would behoove you to upgrade to a performance clutch, engine and fuel management system, gauges, and monitors.

Import car modifications also hurt the resale value of you car because many people assume that modified imports have been used and abused.

Food for thought.