Knowing When to Stop

Perhaps the most important mistake novice enthusiasts make in modifying

their cars is not recognizing when to step back and leave it alone. Modifications

are a tricky business. They can bring out the very best in your car, and set it

apart from the crowd in a good way, or they can bring out the very worst and

make you the subject of ridicule. Even the best and most experienced car

modders strike out once in a while, so if your last few mods have been home

runs knocked straight out of the park, don’t feel pressure to swing and miss.

Experience teaches that, with rare exceptions, the most impressive cars from

both a performance and cosmetic standpoint came together over a long

stretch of time. The 1992 E30 BMW M3 that looks so terrific today may have

been in the works for over 12 years. Odds are that it did not come together in

a flurry of activity in a couple months. Cars that are built quickly fail to pro-

vide a sense of perspective on the overall project. They often have stronger

elements thrown together with weaker elements in an overall project that

carries a tinge of mediocrity.

Time is your friend. So is experience. Know that it’s okay to step back and

take a breather. You’ll both enjoy your mods more, having seen what each

brings to the table before adding the next, and you’ll better be able to get

a clear picture of where you are ultimately headed. Best of all, the prospect

of a suddenly bankrupted project can be kept at bay by stretching out the

process over a longer period of time. When someone buys a new car, there

is no taking a break from the sting of monthly car payments. Of course, the

beauty of car mods is that you can and should take a break. Let a month go

by without spending anything. Let a few months slide. Wait and see if you

feel as strongly about your next mod after sleeping on it for a while as you

did when you were first ready to pick up the phone and charge it to plastic.

Fighting the urge to mod is one of the most difficult battles of all, but if you

learn to savor the wait and enjoy what you have now without getting ahead

of yourself, you’ll come to enjoy years of modding more than by getting

ahead of yourself and trying to build Rome in a day.

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