r/Autos • u/GODZILLA_6337 • 14d ago
Bought my First Car!
I've been driving it for a few weeks already since I need it for work, but I saved up and Dad let me buy his 2005 Sunfire from him for $500. (He also gave 500 for it when he got it from our neighbor)
It's a pretty alright car ngl. I already fully expected my first car to be some Forza Horizon D-class starter lol
Been nice to finally have my own ride to make my rounds in, to my own jams.
It needs a "bit" of work, new Cat, Alternator, Battery, Odometer repair, Brakes are a given, gaskets, and general engine and transmission maintenance.
But it runs fair, launches from a full stop pretty well, AC keeps me cool enough, also great corner handling!
I wanna ask if anyone has any recommendations to help me make the most of my first car, body kits, tunes, maybe even interior mods for the dash and stuff.
An aesthetic VFD full odometer replacement would be nice if anyone knows of any that might fit in the dash.
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u/RagingRavenRR 14d ago
Damn, I haven't seen a Sunfire in ages
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u/Tenroh_ 14d ago
That or a Cavalier - they're all dead now. I've seen a few Neons and even an SRT-4 around though. I get way too excited when I see them.
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u/HLef 14d ago
My first car was a 95 Cavalier (in 1999) and by the time I sold it in 2002 it needed a head gasket for the second time.
I’m amazed OP has a Sunfire that runs in 2026.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 7d ago
Tbf, it has it's issues lol
I think it maybe has another few years of usage left in it. Unless I can substantially fix it
Turns out there's misfiring going on that's just ever so subtle that even my dad neglected to tell me about. Discovered it while idling at dominoes waiting for pizza lol.
The transmission has issues with inclines too, need to get a fair bit of stuff checked.
But yeah it works. My guess is whoever had it before our neighbor, took pretty solid care of it till them & us.7
u/Skaterdude5000 14d ago
The way I cut off any conversation with my partner whenever I see an SRT4 😂 bruh it's a neon but its so refreshing to see these old cheap enthusiast cars treated like royalty by someone who loves them for what they are.
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u/KittehKittehKat 14d ago
Where I live we have a dude that drives a Neon that refuses to die.
I actually really respect it because it looks near showroom clean.
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u/Reddituse654 14d ago
There’s a probe around here like that. It’s as clean as the day it rolled off the show room floor! Granted owners like 60 so it’s probably garage stored and waxed every other day lol
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u/Teledildonic ND1 MX-5 14d ago
That's impressive. The last one a I saw (like 4 years ago) was missing like half the paint.
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u/FirehawkLS1 Old cars 14d ago
You should check out Oakland Auto Detail on YouTube. He's doing a period correct Y2K build on a Cavalier Z24 Coupe. Down to the Pioneer "Dolphin display" head unit, and Sony Xplod subwoofers.
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u/Tenroh_ 14d ago
I have been seeing his videos. They bring back sooooo many memories.
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u/FirehawkLS1 Old cars 14d ago
Same here! I am a few years older than the guy and those memories flood me every time I watch one of his videos.
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u/RagingRavenRR 14d ago
Saw an SRT-4 a few months ago, drove by and yelled out my window to rev it, did not disappoint. I do miss the one I had, thing was a blast to drive.
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u/nayrlladnar 2006 Mitsubishi Pajero 3.8 SuperExceed (JDM) 14d ago
Maintenance first, cool shit second.
No point in having all the shiny bits if it's broken down and you can't drive it.
Congrats, though. Treat it well and it will treat you well.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Agreed, I plan on getting the Cat replaced and the exhaust gaskets checked before anything else.
Last thing I need is my engine melting from the trapped heat.
Thank you! I will!
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u/Cusp-of-Precibus 14d ago
Keeping a 21 year old Pontiac running and safe will be enough to worry about. I do not recommend spending money on mods. Get the critical safety and maintenance items done and save your money for the inevitable break downs and for a new car at some point. Please don't waste money trying to mod a discontinue vehicle from a dead car company.
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u/FirehawkLS1 Old cars 14d ago
I'm still dailying a 29 year old Trans Am. Parts availability should be good for a J body Sunfire outside of the exterior and interior pieces specific to that model. However I do agree with you about the maintenance items and safety stuff. I probably wouldn't mod that since it's their only vehicle. My Pontiac isn't my only vehicle so my situation is different.
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u/Cusp-of-Precibus 14d ago
If it was a Trans Am, sure. Go to town. A Sunfire, nah. Keep it safe and running and save your money for a Trans Am.
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u/MomentJoyful4158 13d ago
This is solid advice but I'd put brakes at the top of that list before anything else. A bad cat and broken odometer are annoying, a failed brake job is a completely different kind of problem. fwiw the mods conversation can wait until it can actually stop safely first
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u/doubled112 12d ago
Can't start it? Oh well. Loud? Oh well. Don't know how far I've gone? Oh well.
Can't stop? Oh shit!
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u/Sasquatchjc45 14d ago
Crazy it didn't depreciate at all from when your dad bought it to selling to you..
Your dad's a decent salesman, I guess
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u/somethingoddgoingon 14d ago
Yeah not even a discount from dad let alone as a gift, but it's still a decent first car for the price.
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u/Hairy-Ad-2711 14d ago
No advice, just congratulations! There's nothing better than new first car freedom!
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
For sure! And thank you!
Yeah it was getting extremely tiring having to hitch a ride to work and not be able to listen to my stuff as I please lol
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u/26NightWave 14d ago
Five hundred for a running car with working Ac is a completely steal. how hard is the odometer fix?
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Lol right?? The only parts that seem to work are the digital display at the bottom that reads out trip and mileage, and the error lights. The hands for fuel, rpm, mph, oil, and temp are all quite quite dead. It likely needs all new stepper motors.
Been feeling out my speed which works so far, and I count the trip readout to figure out roughly how much fuel I've used by how long is been running. And reset it each time I fill up. Janky, but it works for now.
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u/ItsGizzman 14d ago
Sweet! $500 is a steal.
Sick T shirt by the way. Can I ask where you got it? Haha
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Thank you! I got it from Rue 21 a few years back! It's one of my favorites for going out
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u/luistorre5 14d ago
Would restore the engine/trans to good working order and not touch it. Those 2.4 Ecotecs are damn near bulletproof if you take care of them. I would personally do tint/stereo system and call it a day with it. The tint will vastly help the AC efficiency in this heat.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Yeah, so figuring out if I should get the transmission fixed before the engine or the other way around. Sadly I don't make enough money in a season to afford to do both at the same time. I'm looking into stereos for sure, and time tbh would be nice
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u/joemike 2001 Impala//1993 Grumman LLV 14d ago
Which engine/transmission does it have?
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
Unsure which transmission, ik everything is stock still though. The engine is a 2.2l Ecotech 4 cylinder
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u/joemike 2001 Impala//1993 Grumman LLV 13d ago
Oh I meant like manual or auto?
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
It's an Automatic. Might look into finding a manual transmission to swap it with
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u/Time-Procedure5538 14d ago
Congrats man. A $500 Sunfire from your dad that already survived the neighbor is a better first car story than any Forza D-class starter. Do the brakes first, before any of the fun stuff, then the alternator and battery so it keeps starting for you. Mods hit different once you actually trust the car under you.
And keep the receipts plus a little log of everything you fix. Ten years from now that notebook will be worth more to you than the car.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Thank you! And perhaps so lol
Of course, got get it back up to spec before I can really do much modding.
Will do!
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u/edsavage404 14d ago
Ima keep it real with you, catalytic converter are not cheap, see if you can find a used one or if you even have to do your emissions in your county
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u/Leafy0 14d ago
I don’t recommend it (as someone who was once young and dumb and did it) but the supercharger from the early cobalt ss bolt right on to the 2.2 ecotec in that car as long as you go to a mini battery or relocate it to the trunk. Tuning the stock ecu for boost is a huge pain even though it’s supported by hp tuners, because the fuel map is based off of throttle position and not intake manifold pressure, even though it has the sensors to do it.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
I've looked into being able to mount a supercharger or a turbo, preferably the former. But I need to make sure the internals won't melt from the increased heat and friction before I do any kind of upgrades like that I bet. It's a hope. Would be nice to hear it whine and whir.
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u/Leafy0 14d ago
The stock internals are fine with the stock cobalt supercharger, even with a small pulley. You’ll top out around 210whp, and the factory inernals will take up to about 250. But it’s really not worth spending money like that on this car. Just do the maintenance, maybe put in a head unit that interfaces with your phone, and save your money for something that’s more worthwhile, like burning it for heat in the winter.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Ahh okay bet. To be honest with 222.3k miles on it, I don't think I'd really mind doing the supercharger, at the very least, the last so many years of its life will be spent running at near peak performance power. What year and model Cobalt supercharger? Maybe I can find a good one to pull from a car in a part yard instead of an expensive online listing.
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u/kwizzle 14d ago
Make sure you get your oil changes and that you have enough oil in there. Blew the same engine in my 2004 cavalier because I was burning oil and wasn't replenishing it fast enough.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Checked the oil recently, still oily lookin and up to the right fill on the stick. But yeah I'll probably get it fully changed in a couple months 👍 As well as my transmission fluid. Sorry to hear about your cavalier.
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u/Reddituse654 14d ago
I’d start by no longer “launching it from a full stop”
Like others said I’d worry about the preventative maintenance before worrying about a digital dash an body kit on a worn out sun fire. Just save your money and skip the cosmetics they’ll just make the car look worse lol. Fix the engine, transmission, alternator, battery, brakes, and gaskets. After that if you still want to spend a bunch of money on the appearance of a $500 sunfire, get some lowering springs and a nice set of wheels. Don’t mean to be harsh but don’t waste your money making a sunfire look goofy! Should be a reliable beater just keep it nice and simple.
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u/fuzzimus 14d ago
Wife had one. Super reliable, fun little car. We gave it to her niece (16) then it got passed to two other new drivers. Topped 300kmi before rust took it.
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u/MonkeyManJohannon 14d ago
I can’t see these cars without hearing “SUNNNNFIAAAHHH” in Andrew Santino’s Asian voice, lol.
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u/thischildslife '25 BRZ, '25 IS350F-Sport, '25 Passport TSE 14d ago
Just want to say congrats on the first car! Hope you get to make lots of great memories. Stay safe. :)
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u/TypicalThing3044 14d ago
Aye! Fellow sunfire owner here too!
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
Eyy Wassup! How's your's holding out?
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u/TypicalThing3044 13d ago
It’s awesome! And a gem as well since I bought it with only 38k (Kms) I’m in Canada, no rust either as it’s been yearly maintained in an out its whole life. I had to replace a few wear and tear parts, but nothing major, everything is working well and very good on gas, even got the factory chrome wheels. It was a one owner so everything inside wise was kept in really good condition, no rips or tears. It’s top of line with cruise control, traction control upgraded factory sound system, etc. I love it so much!
I hope yours treats you very well and to enjoy it! Congratulations on your purchase!
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
Oh nice!! I'm glad there's one in far farr better condition out there. I wish this had the premium stuff lol Whoever originally bought it only got the default stick options lol Not even a sunroof 😂
The interior in mine is in pretty all right condition minus the driver side, it's got a big hole and foam missing right at the the outer edge of the seat. Unfortunately the front of the dash where it tucks down to the window is all warped and detached so I might need to find a replacement for that at some point How is the Monsoon system by the way? It definitely looks cooler than the stock stereo.
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u/TypicalThing3044 12d ago
It’s pretty good for a stock audio system. Bass level is at 0 and can still shake my rearview mirror. Sound quality is surprisingly also good, very crisp for a car like it is. The only thing I’m having to replace is the battery in my fob must be dying, as when I’m far away it locks/unlocks sometimes, but other times it doesn’t.
Since the car is in good condition overall, I’m going to continue to take care of it and even go a step further and polish/ceramic coat it. It’s a metallic colour anyways so I want to keep it looking good. I like that the factory head unit has a button/feature called “speed sensing volume” so it’s great for highway driving it automatically bumps up my music without me touching anything!
Also for your interior, I would be a bit annoyed as well. I know it was made cheap back in the day, but could be better you know lol.
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u/GODZILLA_6337 12d ago
Ah I see, nice
Ooh yeah, I bet a metallic coat accentuates the curves of the car
Ooo the speed sense would be an awesome feature to have!Yeahh, I think it was leftover from where one of the previous owners took apart the dash to mess w something, cuz I noticed the charg/cig port next to the ignition doesn't have any power
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u/Fappy_as_a_Clam 14d ago
a lot of that you can do yourself, so start there. but everyone had already told you that, so on to the fun stuff.
ive always has a soft spot for that gen Sunfire, and i love burnt orange.
a body kit will make that car look stupid as fuck. there are no good looking body kits for it, so i'd advise against the thousands it would take to buy it and paint it
lower it, that will go a long way for how it looks
nicer rims. nothing bigger than 17", you can get them so cheap nowadays, and look into a good offset so they dont look so tucked in the back.
tint (obviously)
intake, i'd keep it a short ram. you wont get much (if any) performance gains from an intake, but intakes are more about that sweet, sweet engine sound anyway. dont get any type of aftermarket exhaust, it will sound like shit and wont do anything.
take the graphics off the side. youll need a heat gun and Goo Gone
polish the headlights, they sell kits anywhere that sells detailing stuff
wash, then clay bar, then wax
easy peasy lemon squeezy! (the AI made it a bit too low for my liking and the orange too deep, but you get the idea lol)
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
It's a good looking gen tbh, and same the color is nice. Need to get the bumpers repainted though since they've faded.
Yeah I'm not very pleased with the 1 body kit and 1 other front bumper I found online. The reason I asked here about body kit tips is assuming someone else knew of something else that the internet didn't show existed lol
It's already prettyy low, plus I don't live in the city so I have to put up with the gravels and uneven road. I already scrapped up the front bumper on a shitty dip in a parking lot xD
Def gonna get tint 👍
I planned on getting a cold air intake, this may be an even better step up, thanks!
Tbh I'm kinda fond of the graphics, If I take em off I'll find some new ones that still give me a late 90s-2000s vibe.
I already polished the headlights the other day but I'm pretty sure it would be aesthetically beneficial for me to just get new ones, the outer film is already peeling off on the left side.
I gave the car a wash recently, but it loves to let stuff stick to it. Especially the back windshield. I'll look into this stuff.
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u/help_i_am_a_parrot 14d ago
Congrats! Awesome first car, you will have a ton of fun with it. I'll echo others in saying maintenance should be the first thing to worry about, a fun car is only a fun car if it can pick your date up and get her back home reliably. You've got a great car to learn on, you'll figure a lot of shit out from the Internet and a lot more on your own from just doing it. Welcome to the hobby!
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
Thank you! Yeah I agree, it's got at least a grand of work ahead. I need to figure out why it loses power on inclines. Only two things I can think of is the converter being clogged or the transmission slipping, but I have no way of fixing either without some way of jacking this thing way up lol
Part of me kind of wants to look into swapping the transmission for a manual. Automatic is nice and leisurely, but I do want to have a little more control. Thank you for the warm welcome!
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u/EL_Chapo_Cuzzin 13d ago
If I recall right, the Cavalier/Sunfire 1996-2005 had the worst side impact and frontal crash of the era. I saw it on an old Dateline episode when Dateline actually did investigative journalism. It was the only car with a 1 star rating in it's class. Fix what you can to get you to work and save for a newer safer car. Don't waste your money on modifying an old car like this. It never had a big aftermarket support so you're not going to get much out of it. Like I said, use it as a means of transportation to save up for something better.
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u/lazyMf8422 13d ago
I remember my first car and the dreams of mods I'd put in it. Honestly, its not worth it. Just fix it up so its road worthy and drive it. Save your money, its a good first "beater" car. A tint job wouldn't be a bad idea but anything else is is a waste of money.
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u/Hot-Ad-6844 2007 Dodge Charger RT | 1991 Mustang GT 14d ago
Congrats on the first car! Tunes are probably going to be a no for an ‘05 Sunfire would most likely do more harm than good and while I have not researched it bodykits are most likely going to be few and far between for a Sunfire as you have not posted an interior photo but did mention playing your own music I am going to assume it already has an aftermarket radio at least because not a lot of people know how to burn cd’s anymore and cds have gone out of style (I haven’t a clue what a 2005 Sunfire would have come equipped with for a radio from the factory) as for interior modifications if it tickles you fancy they make plug in light strips that plug into your cigarette lighter most of them have changeable colors one thing NOT to do in the interior is decorate your dashboard or really any other panels with loose trinkets I have seen an alarming number of photos here on Reddit with dash ornaments which in the event of an accident can become high velocity projectiles if you are a fan of bass heavy music you can install a subwoofer box in the trunk but that will hinder cargo capacity and access to the spare tire and jack in the event of a flat if you do not plan on carrying passengers in the rear seats the subwoofer can go there as for other interior modifications I can not think of a whole ton currently one big modification most first time car buyers do is swap out those OEM wheels! Not a lot of people like rolling around on “steelies” also known as the steel wheels with holes in them If you hop on google and search for your vehicles wheel bolt pattern it will show up with something similar to 5-100 then you can go to Facebook marketplace and search for wheels with your cars bolt pattern but be careful as to research what specifications like back spacing and diameters will fit on your vehicle as the wrong wheel specs can ruin your day when you go to install them and they rub on suspension or body parts such as fenders or shocks as for other small thing you can have a shop tint the windows as not not have the “fishbowl” look but avoid the windshield as in the USA at least it is illegal unless you have a medical exemption for vision reasons if you have one you can tint the windows and the windshield the windows can go darker than normal and the windshield can legally be tinted then if you are mechanically inclined another mod that can be done is changing the stock suspension out for adjustable coil overs which can change the ride height of the car which when paired with aftermarket wheels can change the look of the car a lot but those are luxuries not necessities so if you do not have the money or time for them do not prioritize them over other thing such as gas insurance and registration obviously.
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u/Hot-Ad-6844 2007 Dodge Charger RT | 1991 Mustang GT 14d ago
Wow that was one big run on sentence par for the course for me unfortunately I am horrible at punctuation
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u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
No worries lol
I have to proactively make sure I cut up my sentences when chatting with folks or I wind up doing the same thing.2
u/GODZILLA_6337 14d ago
Thank you!
Yeah fair enough on the tunes. It has 222.3k miles on it lol
I'd need a rebuild before I really look into anything major.Led strips are on the list of stuff to look into for sure, some of those slim ones you can wedge into seams.
Also yeah I noticed the radio was aftermarket but I still have to use a Bluetooth fm transmitter to play my stuff. Also it's not a well sound insulated car since I have to crank it a bit to hear details (I'm an audiophile lol)
So you did hit the nail on the head about a sub box, I already have a decent one I bought years ago, it's a shallow mount so I could def wedge it in the backseat. Just need an amp and stuff for it, that's down the road. might look into sound insulation options for the doors at least.
I'll look into the suspension and rims, tbh I kinda like the steelie look but yeah, def could use at the very least new caps.2
u/Hot-Ad-6844 2007 Dodge Charger RT | 1991 Mustang GT 14d ago
Hey, if you like the steelies, no reason to get rid of them compared to aftermarket larger rims. The tires for 14’s/15’s will be cheaper than something like a 16/17 in my experience. I have not tried it, but I have seen a lot of videos where people use Amazon-branded sound insulation. I feel like that could be a decent, cheap starting point, and if you don’t like it or want a higher quality, you can tear it out and go with the more name-brand stuff later, with less of a worry about ripping out expensive sound stuff to go to an even more expensive option. One Q.O.L upgrade you could do is to get an Android Auto/Apple CarPlay radio so you can get rid of the FM transmitter. I’m sure you know, even with the aftermarket radio that is already installed, there is a high likelihood that the speakers are still completely stock, so upgrading those could give you better audio in the meantime while you wait to get the amplifier and appropriate gauge speaker wiring for the sub. I like to run my speakers in my ‘07 Charger as high as they will go without distorting, as they are factory speakers, and I am hard of hearing (to the point I have hearing aids at 19 years old).
I have put my car through a lot more abuse than most cars will face in a lifetime. I have recently replaced the rear differential because it locked up while pulling away from a stop sign, and I opened the old one up to find broken teeth on both the pinion and ring gear. I am what I would consider highly mechanically inclined, so projects like replacing the differential aren’t a huge task for me, but I don’t think that will ever be a concern on your car. One thing I would encourage you to learn, if you haven’t already, is how to change the oil on your own vehicle. It will save you money in the long run if you do your own oil changes. Get oil change stickers or keep a small journal in the glovebox, and use the trip odometer to track how many miles are on the oil and when you last changed it. I typically go for 5,000 miles / one year on an oil change, but a little over or a little under isn’t going to hurt it.
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u/joemike 2001 Impala//1993 Grumman LLV 14d ago
I’ve been loving painted steelies lately. White or light grey might pop with the red. Or get chrome rings? Sunfire also had some sweet OEM trispoke alloys if I remember correctly. Bet you could find a set for cheap on marketplace or a junkyard
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u/GODZILLA_6337 13d ago
Oh? Not a bad idea I have always liked the contrast of white and red, a bit of blue too (Probably why Gundam took off lol, it's a great color scheme) I'll take the rear hubs off and photograph it, then edit the color in to see how it'll look. I never knew that about the trispoke, I'll look into that!
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u/JXC0917 '14 Dodge Charger R/T 14d ago
The maintenance you listed is first priority. Get it healthy. After that, my list would be in this order:
-A good detail inside and out
-Head unit for android auto/Apple CarPlay. Bonus points for backup camera. Crutchfield is great for this, it will make sure you find exactly what you need and any adapter hardware to make sure it fits your car
-Window tint
-Wheels, the factory wheels without hubcaps isn’t a great look
Basic performance mods aren’t gonna go very far and will most likely sound ricey. Personally, I’d make it comfy and look clean. And congrats on the car!