ive got $1800ish...and this is one of those threads

[94cylcamry]

Hey guys...I've got a bone stock 94 Camry LE 5SFE Auto Sedan...with the exception of a cheap SRI, a Gen4 dogbone mount, and some better speakers. She's got about 156,500 miles on her.

I've been looking forever for something more sporty...yeah shoot me for saying it, I'm a stupid teenager. Thing is though...most of the things I've been looking at...are two seater...beater cars. Aka a 92 Firebird V6, so on.

Thing is though...I don't know last night sort of woke me up. I've got a lot of friends, we all piled into my car which COMFORTABLY sat us all, and had a great time. So I guess you can have a fun time in a 4dr car that you can't quite do in a 2dr. Well...sort of anyway.

So while part of me still yearns for the Firebird, I look at the Camry and see what I have. The engine probably has another 150,000 miles on it, the paint is pristine, there's nothing wrong with it, and for a family sedan, it's comfy and really does have a lot of room. My main beef with the car is that it's got an automatic transmission, but hey.

In short, you've got the above car, and you've got about $1800 dollars. Don't worry, that's not my entire savings, just a portion of it. SO what do you do??

Thanks guys.

[MyFreeCamry]

Depends on what you wanna do with it. Wheels and suspension are a great start.

[xtremeskier97]

It will last much longer than 150,000 miles more. (see sig) All you have to do is maintain it.

You could do a 5spd swap, but not much is going to get you a sportier ride with the exception of shocks, springs, and RSB.

[jaybur_racing]

continue to save it, its just a car, and you can look back on this later and think wow that guy on the forum was right.

2nd, its a camry with 150k miles on it., not dogging the camry, but it is what it is. Mine has 337k on it and still going, but its still a camry, hardly a rare car thats worth dumping some extra money into.

3rd, no matter what you do, dropping $1800 into it will not raise the value of the car $1800. people drop 10 grand into a car, and a year later sell it for half that.

I know, I know. This isn't what you asked for, and it is YOUR money, so if you want to burn it, then burn it. Just speaking from experience here, I have owned nearly 96 cars, and finally figured out, that as long as it runs good, why bother doing anything to it. you already said you are having fun with the car, right?

with the economy as crappy as it is, having $1800 (more) in savings is a great thing.


Just my 2 cents. (by the way I am 29, not some 50 year old grandpa)

['_']

Like others said, I'd start out with the suspension first (springs, struts, RSB, strut bar) if you want to spend money on the car.

[bigbird]

with the car you have the only thing that would be worth money would be suspension and visual mods. but you gonna want somthing faster. 5 speed swap will make it alot more fun but it will still be very slow. in my honest opinion...in your case id have to agree with jaybur_racing on this.

while i love modding my camrys cuz its just a rare thing and a challenge, ive always started with the V6 or coupe. with an auto 5sfe sedan theres alot that can be done but not much that id say would really be worth all that money. at the most id say maby lower it, TRD RSB, tint and a nice set of wheels. get it lookin good handeling better and with that intake it sounds as good as the 5sfe can get.

now if you want a fast fun car, consider buing a project car with the money, near 2K can go along way with a stripped out civic hatch or coupe with a blow mortor. just an idea.

[touringcamry]

I gotta agree with jaybur_racing here. It's your money, but it's better that you save it. If you don't already have an emergency fund, consider starting one; or save the money towards the purchase of your next car.

If you're going to get rims, you might spend close to $300-400 each for decent ones and that's without tires. Given the 5S-FE, cheap cast rims are heavy and you will definitely feel your car become more sliggish - I know from experience. I put 17" that weighed 21lbs each on my 2000 and right away I could feel the car become more sluggish.

Suspension mods...I've only installed sway bars which were about $190 each with labor done myself. Well worth it, but I totaled the car 3 months later due to someone else's negligence and I did not get the cost of those back when insurance paid out. Just something to think about.

[xet]

i would save it as well. i didnt spend anywhere near what many people did when i was driving my cam and once i changed i was glad. hold out as long as you can and hopefully you can get some other car to put the mods into and it will be much more worthwhile

[Zviator]

Dont burn them all at a time. Small project at a time and eventually you 'll know where to stop...

[DarkMastyr]

Spend it on maintenance and nothing else. Making this car sporty can be a neat learning experience, but is ultimately a lost cause. Save up some more cash and get yourself an old school 5-series for hauling around your friends in luxury with some decent get-up-and-go.

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by DarkMastyr

Spend it on maintenance and nothing else. Making this car sporty can be a neat learning experience, but is ultimately a lost cause. Save up some more cash and get yourself an old school 5-series for hauling around your friends in luxury with some decent get-up-and-go.

Oh man...you got the right idea. E39 540 touring

[94cylcamry]

I'm starting to agree with this "just save it" attitude...bleh. There are some things I still may do, such as tinting the windows and adding a front sway bar, but yeah, this seems more like a lost cause again.

What's this 5 series you speak of?

[Venom_5]

didnt read the replies, just fyi ... too lazy

but i read the OP, and this is what i would do - exactly what im doing ... Suspension + Wheels and be done with it - regular maintenance, and little cosmetic things that you can pay for with spare change basically (like my little diys and painted pieces, blahblahblah)

once i get the wheels, i wont put any more big money into the car - a TRD RSB for $150 for once i start taking the car out to the track ... and then it will just be maintenance until the next car comes along ... im sure if i track it more than a few times a year, a fair amount of money will go into tires too

[touringcamry]

Originally Posted by 94cylcamry

I'm starting to agree with this "just save it" attitude...bleh. There are some things I still may do, such as tinting the windows and adding a front sway bar, but yeah, this seems more like a lost cause again.

What's this 5 series you speak of?

How about a E39 M5

[groovemasterodi]

invest it in the black market, double+ your money ^_^