Puuting some money into my VL

[KLatham]

Okay, so I owned myself a VL for about 5-6 years, and I haven't had any money to do anything to it. I figure here would be a good place for some recommendations on what I should invest in for my car.

Some things I have thought of:
- Rims
- Window tinting, not sure how much this would cost approx, anyone had it done before?
- Auto to manual conversion sounds good, but it also sounds like a lot of effort and a lot of dollars.
- New audio system
- Replacing the plastic bumper etc...

Of course my car has a few wear and tear issues like any 20 year old car, but for the most part it is in good nick so i'm happy to spend some dollars on it.

Not really looking for any performance or engine mods, unless they are kind of cheap.

Suggest away!

[Holdfast]

If you plan on keeping it for quite a few years I'd check the following:

There's no rust or leaks in the rear window or front window.

If there is rust anywhere maybe fix that first.

Check to ensure the car is safe; ie good brakes, shocks and rubber.

Conversions are expensive.

Having said that, if you have a good VL body, buy ya self a good Repair manual and save up those dollars for a new transmission etc.

Check all the hoses on the car and have a decent look at the condition of the radiator.

And, I know you like your car heaps but sometimes it's better to upgrade if possible.

I'm running a 5 speed VL RB30 at the moment plus a VE.

The price of some of the the later models should drop in price a fair bit if fuel stays high. You may pick up a bargain.

Personally, if you have any body work to do that you can't do yourself, just go for safety, save ya bucks and hunt around for something else?

Sorry for the somewhat mixed advice.

Best of luck with whatever you decide mate

[harry3]

the auto is good but if you want a manual then swap car for a manual VL, remember you will be lucky to get back half of what you spend when you get tired of the car and sell it, also sound systems dont increase the value at all

[VL_5SPEED]

Remove rust, clean up body and turbo charge it.

[jatsvl]

Rims, any price depends where you get em and what type you want.
tinting, RETAIL from $300, again depends who does it and what grade you want.
auto to manual, do it yourself and with mates any one else will rape your a!s! $$$$$$$
audio as you know get what you pay for!
bumpers, front ones seem to be hard to come buy, however there are aftermarket ones available.
extractors, 2.25inch sports exhaust, and maybe a pod filter and your done.

[KLatham]

im thinking about some interceptor rims...

[ucwepn]

Rims are always a good start and change the personality of a car quite a bit.
Some calais bits for you're interior are always a good thing too.
Stereo is nice too.

These are things that are not permanent and you can remove to sell if you get rid of the car or keep for your next commo.

More permanent things like extractors/sports exhaust, paint, suspension kits (shocks and springs) are not good value in my opinion, so make sure you plan to keep the car if you do things like these or it can burn the finances at sale time. spending $2-3k on permanent mods does very little if nothing for the value of the car.