spending money on car some ?'s

[FishKid]

i got about $500 comming in and it was hard let me tell you but ive decided not to spend it on fish. instead i was thinking of adding to my car. I've been told that there isnt much i can do in the way of suping it up, besides adding nos which i wont. i was thinking more along the lines of a stereo system, my mom blew all of the speakers listening to nsync (ironic huh?) any tips on what to get in the way of amps and preamps?

mark

[GregD]

FishKid,

I am a big fan of the head units made by Eclipse. These have some of the best sound quality of any in-dash units. They are a bit expensive though, and you could easily spend most/all of your $500 on this component alone. This would not leave much for anything else (speakers, amps, etc.).

As for speakers, try to listen to as many different kinds as you can before you purchase, even if you eventually order them online. If you are looking for speakers on a budget I have found the Pioneer speakers a good speaker (quality, sound, etc.) for the price. Upwards from there I would recommend HarmonKardon's or maybe Boston's. (Speakers really tend to be a matter of personal preference)

BTW- Good for you not to take the "ribbing" on this board too seriously! I think it's great too find a board where folks still can joke with each other, keeping it light-hearted and not turn it into a flame-fest

With that said....I can't wait to see Reinhold's response...your mother listening to N'Sync blowing the speakers out...I mean that's just a "soft-pitch" over the plate!



Greg D

[Iron Crab]

NOT SPENDING IT ON FISH!??!!

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!??

[asmith]

Fishkid,

$500 won't get you a lot in the way of a high end sound system. I agree with Eclipse as a great Head Unit. I have one in my car now, and it is great. If you buy one, then you will most likely use up most of the $500 there. I also run Boston speakers in my cars. If you are looking for bang for the buck, you might want to consider JBL Speakers. They are made by the same company that makes infinity speakers and are pretty decent for the price. You can find good JBL speakers for $50 - $75 a pair. Boston also has some speakers in that price range.

One thing to consider is the manufacturer. Some manufacturers highly over rate the output and powerhandeling of their products. I paid about $200 for an MTX amplifier rated at 40 watts per channel and it is far more powerfull than Amplifiers that Jenson claims push 500+ watts per channel.

Listen to as many different systems as you can. Speakers that one person likes, may sound terrible to the next person. What kind of car do you have? Different car styles will determine audio requirements. For example, my Toyota Celica Hatchback produces more sound than a car without a hatch back can given the same system.

Do a little research and present us with some of your findings (brands available to you and prices). We should be able to help you get the best sound system for the money.

Good luck and have fun shopping. Sound systems are almost as big of a money pit as our reefs.

Andrew

[Justler]

Why dont you look into mp3 head units... I got one from Aiwa, only $299... Kenwood also makes them, along with Sony. Cool gadgets... I recommend Boston Acoustic midranges if you can afford components and an amp for them, go for it... otherwise get the coaxials.

[Reinhold]

GregD:

You are right. This one is too easy!

FishKid:

This is the same lady who did a water change on your piranha tank with freezing chlorinated tap water while on high on drugs? Who bought you a one-eyed Firemouth for Christmas? Who conceived and bore you? Now she's listening to N'Sync and blowing speakers? COOL!!!

BTW, do you know the difference between a bucket of sh*t and an N'Sync song? The bucket!

[FishKid]

the $500 is money im getting back from income taxes when i used to work at the lfs. my bday is comming up and i should be getting more $$.

my cars a '95 Saturn SCII ---

a thought popped into my head the other day, if i can get a descent job, trade in the saturn, i was thinking about leasing a
Toyota MR2 Spyder would definatly be sweet. of course since i dont have a credit rating ill have my parents sign for me ill have to do some serious brown nosing

mark

[schrocat]

I just bought a Pioneer DEH-430 deck (X-FM ready)w/ a Pioneer speaker package for around 4 bills. The 8" bazooka sublow (powered) and install got me to 7 and some change.
50w x 4...I don't know if I'll even bother to get another amp.
The deck is LOUD by itself...

[FishKid]

What did I do? why did i say i wanted the spyder? cause now i really want it! think theres anyway on gods green earth i can afford it?

i asked my parents if i could use my next two bdays for insurance payments, and I applied for a job at mcdonalds so by august i would have around $2000 to put towards the down payment along with trading the saturn in. the monthly payments would be $450 if i finance it and $390 if i lease it. if i still need more money, my neighbor who is a mechanic and owns his own shop said he'd pay me $15 an hour (8 hours a week) for cleanup work.

anyone out there think my far-fetched daydream has a chance? im sure as hell hoping so...

also if my parents co-sign the paper work would it count towards there credit rating only?

mark

[Justler]

I wouldn't recommend doing this... you'll be living your life for your car. If your parents are nice enough to put you on their policy, your insurance will be cheap. If you're on your own policy, expect atleast $200 a month just for insurance, plus gas. McD's gives you maybe $6.50/hr... (Say you work 40 hours a week, which is not likely since you're still in HS... Max you can bring home is $260/week @ $6.50/hr... Then multiply $260*4=$1040, then, figure about 27-34% taxes get taken out... -$249.60 at the minimum, which leaves you with maybe ~$749 a month). Your car will literally own you. So.. say your car is $450/month, +$200/month insurance... and lets leave about $100/month or so for gas (fillup ~5-6 times/month)=$750... so, you'll go in debt ~$1 each month. Then you'll have 0 spending money. So how will you pay for your fun when you get to your destination in your brand new shiney Toyota MR2 Spyder? Anything is attainable... but at what price? I almost bought a 2001 Prelude Type SH... payments were ~$400/month... insurance was $900/month... Anything is attainable, but is everything really logical? Get a Golf GTI or something sporty and a little more affordable that's not $36k after taxes and tags. You could get a Lexus IS300 for the price of that two door MR2 Spyder, and the IS300 would probably turn more heads.

[Reinhold]

FishKid:

Isn't your dad in a coma as we speak?

[asmith]

Fishkid,

I highly recommend that you keep the car you have. You really don't want car payments. You will work away your high school years just trying to keep your car paid for. There is always time to drive a new car in the future. I am a college graduate with a good job and I drive a 1986 Toyota Celica. It is paid for, extremely reliable, and meets my needs. I refuse to ever make payments on a car. If I can't afford to pay it off when I buy it, then I won't be driving it.

Another thing to consider. You are still a new driver. It won't hurt nearly as bad when you put a dent into your used saturn as it will when you bang up a brand new MR2. If you do bang up your new car, the chances are that your insurance will be so expensive that you will have to get rid of it anyway.

Keep the older car. You will be able to enjoy yourself a whole lot more and have money to spend on entertainment.

Andrew

[FishKid]

i knew i'd have to keep the saturn, its still a sweet car, but i love the MR2...

Reinhold:
in that thread, but pops i ment my grandfather...


u guys are right
mark

[Iron Crab]

Fishkid,
I would say you are getting some great advice. I was going to come back on but other things kept me off-line.
Getting a good sound system would be great but myself I had a nice pair of speakers stolen from my truck years ago and my last car had my sound system ripped out of my dash. It was no fun jumping in my car and finding parts of the dashboard on my seat. Not to mention the damage to my door they did getting it open. Unless you want to spring for a good alarm I would keep it nice but not overboard.
I agree with asmith's last post. Good post.
Bill

[Bamm Bamm]

I never spend moneyu on my fish anymore it all goes into my car.


Stereo is always good and all.. I have a pretty sweet system in mine. But Power is always better!!!

[saltjunkie]

I know all about spending money on a car, who needs a bigger fish tank when you can have a bigger car.
By the way, I love my Sony mp3 player. And I have Infinity seperates in the doors, Infinity 6x9's in the rear deck. You can get a deck and 4 (speakers) like this for just a lil more than the 500 and it sounds good. If you get Co-Axial speakers for the front, it will save you a lil money.
Here is my new(er) money pit!