Overhaulin'

what are the first steps involved to modify my car?

I have a 2002 Chevy Cavalier, and recently decided i want to make some modifications to it. is there a general rule for a starting point? how much should i be willing to spend for rims, tires, body kit, and a new paint job? also does anyone know of any websites that has the cheapest products especially for rims and the body kit?

Public Comments

1. you should find out what you CAN spend and start from there. You can put countless amounts of money in a car. the stuff that looks good costs alot. Do the work yourself if you want to save money.
2. Start with suspension and brakes. There's no point making the car faster if it can't stop or turn. And even less point making the car look fast if it isn't actually fast. And wheels should really be last, since you need to be sure what size will fit on the car after the suspension has been done, and what tyre will compliment the handling once the work has been done. Of course, if you're just into looks and image, then a cheap body kit (maybe $500 - $800), rims ($120 to $140 each), tyres ($140 to $180 each for something decent, but not really great) and paint (maybe $1000 - $1500 for a decent job) is about all you need. That gives you a total of $2500 to $3500, plus tax, labour, unforeseen extras...you can probably assume about $5000 for it to look decent (but it'll go no better than before.) Remember, good body kits are fairly expensive, but cheap ones cost a lot more to install, since they don't fit properly. Expect a fair amount of custom work to make all the parts actually fit on the car. Good luck!
3. Try "Cardomain.com". You can look at different peoples cars that are the same model as yours and their mods to get some ideas. If you become a member (its free) you can ask other owners for advice and tips...
4. Ok 1st you should set a price on exactly what you want to spend on modifications. For me and my 2000 monte carlo SS this is what I spent: 22" rims Lexani Firestar $2500 SS Banshee Type spoiler $ 700 4 15" Alpine Sub's 179 each Custom box $200 2 Alpine 7 inch monitors W/ custom headrest $500 Custom Midnight Blue/Lime Paint (blue with a lime streak that appears only under lights) $1250 HdTv, cd, dvd reciever $1000 Custom Molded Body kit $1500 Goodyear sensatrac All season P255 $1000 Spark plugs $60 I am working on my dual stage transmission by HKS There is still my Supercharger, Nos, and I'm gonna do a custom suspension If you work anywhere better than walmart 8.50 hr you should be able to invest a pretty penny but expect to put at least 10K into it. That'll make it look and sound the way you'll like it 1. Try Ebay for parts that was my only mistake i'd wish i could have done. 2. scout what you want only at mom & pop stores no big stores 3. bring a friend with you and markdown their item $20-30 Seperate your money from the markdown money and tell the clerk you want this but you only have.. (ie speakers $150, my markdown price $125 hey I want these but I only got 125. clerk: sorry its 149.99, your friend "c'mon man best buy is cheaper than that. If they are business minded they will take the hit as opposed to risking you spending cash elsewhere. Hope this helps