My car never used to be a chequebook car, but you could say that now it is.

I tried everything myself the first time round, but a number of things changed.

1. Now that I've finished uni I don't have time to do anything to my car

2. I've decided I want to build a show car, and I don't have the skills to make it show standard, I have to rely on the professionals.

3. I really really like the peace of mind of getting something done professionally because if something goes wrong you can always go back to them and have it put right.

I really like that Red G40 above, and I love Toby's MK3, because it's one of the few matt/satin paint jobs that looks completely smooth! Can tell a lot of effort has gone into it!

I think something must be wrong with me, because the two cars I've mentioned are MK3's And I'm supposed to hate them!

Just a little over £500 modding (car cost me £350! :-D )

Now that is a REAL budget build :)

It is!!!

And it even won a few awards too

I generally mix it up, i'm a student studying motorsport engineering so i like to have a go at most mods on my car, but then every now and then i'm very happy to hand over my hard earned dosh when it requires specialist skill/tools or whatever. I'll often weigh it up against how many hours it would take to do a job and how many days wages would pay for the work ( I dont earn that much! )

For example, i've done two sets of wheel refurbs , but i very happily paid someone else to fit my dampers and springs because i didnt have the knowledge/tools to do the geometry set up , and it got done by my "tame mechanic" , so i didnt mind handing him my moneys!

There are certain things that HAVE to be done for a car to be liked at all. These are the basics, such as having well fitting wheels and having a killer stance, which usually means being low.

If you don't agree, then your in the tiny minority for the VW Scene as a whole which is why there are loads of cars around which to you might look the same. It's because most people have the same views of what's "right" and "wrong" in terms of modifying a Dub!

i would say that people with 'killa stance' and well fitting wheels are in a very small minority within the vw scene, and a lot of car's with neither of these get a lot of love, why? Because a modified car is about a lot more than the way it sits on it's wheels.

there is also no right and wrong way to mod a dub, or any make of car for that matter. I feel sorry for any one that thinks there is. After all modifying your car is about having fun and expressing yourself, and not about trying to impress others. How can you express yourself when your doing things to conform to other peoples vision of how your car should look?

3. I really really like the peace of mind of getting something done professionally because if something goes wrong you can always go back to them and have it put right.

Two sides to this coin. Personally I take the opposite approach. I'd rather do a job myself, therefore I know it has been done properly.. or if it hasn't then at least I know every detail and why it went wrong etc.

Can't always trust "professionals" no matter how good their reputation, they're in it to make money at the end of the day.

A mate got his golf resprayed by someone, hoping to get a top job.. turned out he could have done a better job. It is swings and roundabouts and certain jobs you have to entrust to someone else (lack of skills/tools/time).. but just because you gave them money doesn't mean they'll sort it out if you have a problem.

People will always try and side-step a problem if they can, blaming it on other factors.

I know there are people/businesses out there that really do look after their customers, it's just finding them and building a good relationship with them.. at your wallets expense!

I know what your saying,

the professionals though who I'm using at the moment have a good track record working on cars within my own family and close family friends, so I know I can trust them.

The professionals I don't tend to trust are mechanics and garages etc because they're full of bullshit most of the time.

next installment - spent £500 on new wheels and wound the coilovers down notched the chassis and fitted engine spacers to raise the sump

total spend £550

Its very rare you see a budget build on a more expensive and newer car like this, mostly just old polos and golfs. On edition there must be loads of s3's that have spent 10x what you have and still don't look as nice.

Very nice, and good value for money

Ollys got skillz yo

I have done alot of my car on a budget and done all the work myself.

Its the things like wheels and interior that bumps it all up.

when my valver was black it was pretty much done on a budget of about £500 on the outside, most of that on paint,coilovers and wheels.

it was my ideas etc that changed the look of the car and doing the work myself saved loads of money.

but as soon as it was matt grey, i fitted my schmidts (£1500) and the interior in the car was all in etc (£1300)

a pic of how i bought it. £0 spent on mods

a pic of when it was black. ~£500 spent on mods

and then when it was matt grey. I dont like to think of the price spent :S

i fitted my schmidts (£1500) and the interior in the car was all in etc (£1300)

^

hardly a budget build thats atleast 2k

My car never used to be a chequebook car, but you could say that now it is.

I tried everything myself the first time round, but a number of things changed.

1. Now that I've finished uni I don't have time to do anything to my car

2. I've decided I want to build a show car, and I don't have the skills to make it show standard, I have to rely on the professionals.

3. I really really like the peace of mind of getting something done professionally because if something goes wrong you can always go back to them and have it put right.

I really like that Red G40 above, and I love Toby's MK3, because it's one of the few matt/satin paint jobs that looks completely smooth! Can tell a lot of effort has gone into it!

I think something must be wrong with me, because the two cars I've mentioned are MK3's And I'm supposed to hate them!

i think indy this reply says alot about the difference between cheque book cars!! some folk just buy a car then get it all done professionally without even trying anything (nothing wrong with that, different strokes and all that!) you tried! thats the main thing some people can do thing others cant and its nothing to be laughed, neither is someone buying a car and making it a budget build! some of these motors are sick just like cheque book cars, others arent so nice, again like cheque book cars they may all have the basics but wether they work or not is a different matter!

tbh if someone wants to fritter away thousands on a polo thats up to them (theres worse things you could spend money on). I could have done the same, but decided to buy a house instead.

I cant say i have any interest in cheque-book cars, they lack character, they just look clinical and flash. With a lot of diy built cars you can really see the effort that has gone into them (that doesnt just apply to low budget builds, theres been pleanty of more expensive builds that have been done) ok they may not be perfect, but i think that adds to the character of them.

I've owned my g40 for 5 maybe 6 years and the only things i have payed someone else to do have been front wheel bearings, bespoke exhuast system and mots. everything else, from respraying the c pillars, rebuilding the charger, lowering it, servicing it, taking pics of it, I've done myself. The reason has never been down to cash. I could afford to pay someone to do all the bits I've done, but its my hobby. i enjoy hunting on ebay for the bargains, i love ripping the car apart in order to fix something, thats 90% of the fun for me. Once I've done a car to the spec i want it, 9/10 it gets sold on, then i buy another shitter to do up.

A lot of these 'show cars' appear to me to be nothing more than a fashion item, which often get broke for parts once the owners bored of them.

nail on the head there mate

as for the home build v's cheque book car's, for me there is no contest, it's home build all the way. one car that has to be mentioned here is youngprodigys G40, he has built that car from the ground up leaving the absolute bare minimum to professionals (basically the paint iirc). and this shows when you talk to him about the car, he can tell you every single problem he came across and go into detail about how he got around these problems, which makes for a much more interesting conversation than some one saying 'yeah, so i dropped it off and it came back like this.'

home build car's also seem to have a lot more of the person that built it's personality in them which makes them more interesting to look at imo.

home build car's also seem to have a lot more of the person that built it's personality in them which makes them more interesting to look at imo.

Depends how interesting the person is

home build car's also seem to have a lot more of the person that built it's personality in them which makes them more interesting to look at imo.

Depends how interesting the person is

That's not good if your building a rat look car.

Your basically saying in reality your a badly groomed tramp lol.

9 times out of 10, if someone is building a rat look car there an idiot

Perfect expression of personality haha!

Your basically saying in reality your a badly groomed tramp lol.

Word!

9 times out of 10, if someone is building a rat look car there an idiot

Perfect expression of personality haha!

I love you more and more everyday

i fitted my schmidts (£1500) and the interior in the car was all in etc (£1300)

^

hardly a budget build thats atleast 2k

Why would you say its at least £2k when actually nearly £3k? Its quite obvious its more than £2k.

i fitted my schmidts (£1500) and the interior in the car was all in etc (£1300)

^

hardly a budget build thats atleast 2k

Why would you say its at least £2k when actually nearly £3k? Its quite obvious its more than £2k.

Talk about being pedantic..

definately less than 500 for my old car..

Edited 6 November, 201015 yr by richoco

i know i know. its not a polo but this owes me about £350 so far. including buying it .

1800 auto lazy beast.

red oxide and lowering springs just my winter daily while the bay takes a breather.

hmm arguments about these budget builds are pointless.. i always though modifying a car was it being personalised not perfect :S my car is far from perfect or show standard obvs but its a budget box and i think it looks good

Unfinished but who said it was a finished build!

9 times out of 10, if someone is building a rat look car there an idiot

Perfect expression of personality haha!

oh?

to be honest i beleive the best thing you can do with your car if you're on a budget is to restore it to as close to showroom condition as possible, and then start from there. i.e. if the paint is flaky or there's bits of rust... don't be a nob and paint it flourescent yellow with paint that costs £2.50 a can from home bargains, repair the rust, dents and laquer peel and restore it to standard.

there is no skill whatsoever in buying cheap paint and painting a car...

granted its cheap, but it ALWAYS looks shit unless you're a pro, using professional tools.

if you buy a shitter for £100 with a few dents and rust spots, is it not money well spent to fix up the bodywork?

it is very unfortunate that someone who spends a tenner on a matt black paint job gets more respect than someone who spends £100 fixing up all minor dents and scratches etc.

for example...

my little brother has his mk3, a couple of weeks ago he was reversing with his door open and crashed into a wall with the door.

since then, i helped him bash it out and start fillering it and he said he'd finish it off... maybe a couple hours work...

since then he has bought and fitted a lowering kit.

how pointless it is to lower a car with so many bodywork issues. that car of his could have been showroom condition 6 months ago if he'd spent some time on doing the right things... but no.... he's more interested on sticking red tape on the bumpers so it looks like a GT.

barmy.

the reason that red 6n with pslots is getting so much respect on here is because its bodywork looks mint, and the wheels arent too overpowering... notice how the car looks so smooth?

my best tip for 'modding':

get rid of the imperfections

stop adding them