Why Minorities Need to Stop Pimpin' Their Rides!

The worst "investment" I ever made was purchasing a modified 1966 Corvair Monza for my 30th birthday.  I wanted a classic car something pretty bad back then.  And when I saw this bad boy on eBay, I fell in love.  It came just as you see it in the picture, with a molded spoiler and non-stock wheels/rims.  I paid $5,500 for the car and another $500 to have it shipped from Las Vegas to Oceanside.

I didn't have it inspected.  I didn't travel to Vegas to look at it.  I went off entirely on what the private seller stated in his eBay description.  I was very fortunate.  The car ran great.  The steering was horrible, however.  The car needed lower control arm and bushing work.  Once, one of the wheels fell off because the lugnuts holding it were not the right kind.  Luckily I was turning right, going very slow, so there was no damage.  I had to pay $300 to get it towed and fitted with the appropriate lugnuts on all four wheels to avoid another instance of this.

Of course, as soon as I received my "package," I wanted to make additional modifications.  I spent another $1,000 on a kick-ass stereo and sound system.  The trunk (front of the car) would open, and inside you'd see a subwoofer with cables leading to the interior and the 6-inch (front) and 12-inch (back) speakers.  After my divorce in 2007, I used the car to impress a few ladies, riding shotgun, on dates.  I kept the car until 2010.  My wife, Jessica, was the last "chic" who got a chance to ride my pimp mobile.

At the height of the Great Recession (2010), I had to raise cash for an engagement ring.  The Monza had to be sold.  I easily spent around $10K total on the car, and ended-up selling it for $3,500 to a private buyer from San Diego.  Unloading it was incredibly hard to do.

Buying this car was easily the worst money decision I ever made in my life.  I'm here to warn all of you today, but especially minorities, that buying classic cars doesn't always turn-up profits, and that modifying cars, i.e., pimpin' them out, is a terrible waste of money!  How, When, and Why to Modify Your Car is an excellent article written in 2014 that provides the only four reasons why you should even consider modifying your car:

1.  You don't care about money
2.  You're not going to sell your car
3.  Your car was a lost cause to begin with
4.  You know what you're doing

" Don't expect to make money on a modification. This is probably the most important piece of advice that I can give you. Figure out exactly why you want to modify your car and act accordingly, but don't tell yourself the lie that you're making a good investment. Sure, it's possible that a new set of upgraded Bilstein coilovers are going to increase the price of your BMW, but it won't be comparable to what you actually paid for them. If you want to modify your car, go ahead, but don't delude yourself with dreams of raking in the profit because you bought some parts on eBay."    

I took things a bit further and searched: "Should I pimp my ride" on Google and got Should I Pimp Out My Car from Yahoo!Answers.  This was what I considered the best response:

"I've "pimped" out a few rides in my day and it always turns out to be a pointless waisted investment. I would advise highly against spending any more money on a vehicle than you have to. Besides, all of the money you spend pimping it out you could put a down payment on a nicer, more respectable car like a BMW or Benz. (which would be more appealing and comfortable to the opposite sex and any pimped out car) 

I bought a Scion when they first came out and Immediately dropped like $15K on pimping it out and put $4K down ride on top of that. So here I am with a low rider Scion with a ridiculous stereo set up that get's me a lot of attention when I could have put that $19K as a down payment on a brand new Nissan 350Z or BMW 330ci and had the same payment! "

Exactly!  With the money you shell out swapping parts, you could have easily purchased a better ride, homie!  Like a Benz or Beamer.

Advice for young minority men:

Okay my young Black, Latino, and Asian homies...I know you love the Fast and the Furious series, Lowriders, making videos of yourself "ghost riding your whip" for YouTube, drifting around corners with your lowered Mazda, and being able to get that tail with your pimped out ride, but...

1.  You're wasting time (working on your ride) and money that could be put to better use such as taking college courses at the local junior college and getting a trade or career.  You could be putting that income into a investment Brokerage account so you don't have to live with your moms for the rest of your life.  There are so many options!

R.I.P. Paul Walker

2.  You could buy a better car if you don't want to do #1, and attract classy ladies instead of the groupies.  No self-respecting professional woman will ever want to marry a man who spends all of his money on cars.  Unless the man happens to be the owner of a dealership!

3.  You could avoid being profiled by the Po-po if you didn't tint all of your windows, blast your stereo, or look like cast members of the Fast and Furious on the road.  Ever hear of probable cause?  Just think, you being of color, and on the road with a modified (fast or slow) vehicle is an invitation for the boys in blue to stop and harass you.  Maybe even search your ride and catch you ridin' dirty!  Don't believe me?  Check the article below out:

Cars Likely To Get You Pulled Over

4.  You could save your own life.  Having a modified fast car makes drivers more willing to speed or race.  Many young men die each year doing illegal street racing.

The economics of owning a car are awful.  A car depreciates as soon as you drive off with it.  The Kelley Blue Book value of your vehicle is hardly what you'll end-up getting from a buyer, private or dealership.  Why?  Everyone is out there attempting to get a deal.

Minorities, do yourself a favor and do not be swayed by your partners or friends into getting into the car modification hobby.  Make your communities proud and strive for economic prosperity instead.  Save your hard earned money and put it to work on something that is constructive for you, learning a skill or getting an education.  I am by no means perfect, and made a mistake buying a classic car in 2010 that I still regret to this day, for I could have increased my net worth even more buying more stock at the start of the bull market.  Instead of three rental properties, who knows?--maybe I'd have four?

 Thanks for reading!  Share this article with your homies, cousins, whoever you feel needs this advice.  C-los out!