13 expensive things people buy for their cars

Earlier this week our partners at Jalopnik asked about the most expensive stuff they’ve ever bought for their cars. Most responses were surprisingly tame. However, the vehicles the parts were bought for were anything but typical. Labor of love would be one phrase that could describe the amount of time and money being poured into these cars, but one commenter mentioned how his Audi could likely lead to his divorce. Without further ado, check out the slideshow above for the most expensive stuff Jalopnik readers ever bought for ther cars.

A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik.

The one and only major mod on my E39 M5, solely for the sound. I bought a Dinan axle-back exhaust back in 2016 for a cost of $1500. This is not even a full exhaust, and I’m sure I could just do a muffler delete or something cheaper. But I wanted to stick with DINAN and really do enjoy the sound in all kinds of driving. To this day, even with over 180K miles on my M5, it still sounds awesome and I always get asked about my setup. Was definitely the most I ever paid for an exhaust system of any kind on any vehicle.

Submitted by: Da Car Guru - 15,000 RPM daily driver

My running total to maintain 5 BMWs over the last 8 years or so it at about $10k in parts, I do all the labor. Most expensive single part was all new springs and struts for my E91 at about $1250.

That total may seem odd as all my parts come from FCPEuro so my oil changes cost like $18 each every time.

Submitted by: Caddyman

A Flyin Miata turbo kit for my 91 Miata. Was my car old enough to vote? Yup. It also had 180k miles on the clock. Did I buy a used 1.8 long block so I could take advantage of the extra low end torque and spool a larger turbo? I sure did. Did I have that motor rebuilt complete with headwork, a 5 angle valve job, new pistons and connecting rods? You fuckin’ know it.

I’d spent years slowly adding mods as I could afford to get them done - Brakes, suspension, interior, wheels and tires. I did those along with routine maintenance and made “while I’m in here” upgrades as well. I knew the end result would be fun, but I’d only driven one turbo Miata previously - FM’s “Yellow Submarine” so I had no idea what I was getting into until the job was complete.

Not including the previous mods, I spent somewhere around $11,000 to have all that work done. I cannot express the smiles I get from driving it. It’s a dopamine rush. Now that I have a wife and kid, other financial priorities have taken precedence, but I still have it.

Submitted by: jimmyjet

Slightly more expensive than all the aftermarket wheels I’ve had, I paid for the one change that pretty much every NC Miata owner plans to do: Eibach lowering springs, sway bars and bushings. Cost me around $2k if memory serves, and now the car is exactly how it should have been from the factory.

Very much not like a boat.

Submitted by: dolsh

This was about 20 years ago on my Acura CL: I think it was $1,500 total for Eibach lowering springs, Koni shocks, Suspension Techniques sway bar kit with poly bushings, and Ingalls camber adjustment piece. The marginal increase in handling was not worth the harder ride and scraping on all sorts of things. Even with the camber adjustment pieces, the front tires wore much quicker on the inside.

Submitted by: Stephen

4" lift on my RV (includes shocks, steering stabilizer, custom I Beams, extended radius arms, some other suspension work...)- around $8k parts and labor, plus $1200 for bigger tires ad powder coating the rims. It’s been great - Not only do I have more clearance it now drives beautifully on the highway when it was a complete nightmare before. Its an obscene amount of money but definitely worth it.

Submitted by: Liam

During the pandemic, I spent $1,800 on a set of Bilstein adaptive dampers and then had to wait a full damn year for them to show up with the chip shortage. The dealer quoted me something similar in price to do just one corner, let alone all four. Got em slapped in and everything aligned and so far they’re great. A bump above OEM and quite a bit stiffer in sport+ while retaining ride quality in comfort.

All the parts have been expensive but I’ve been getting OEM or better every step.

Submitted by: Markoff8585

In the spring of 2008, I bought a 1991 Mercedes 560SEL for $4,000. A bit over 2 years later, I gave it away for free, having spent over $25,000 in repairs on it. Everything from $1,500 brake pads to $1,000 window switches. I spent more time in the waiting room of the Mercedes service center than in my own apartment. Never buying a German car again.

Submitted by: neverspeakawordagain

The latest draining of my wallet for my B8 Audi S5 was starter motor and motor mount for the heady price of $2700 installed.... The starter and mount while not horribly expensive is a royal PIA to get too involving removal of the motor mount and various other items to access it. Audi says its something like a 15 or 20hr (can’t remember) job. My mechanic did it in less time but said he’s never had such a complicated process just for a starter.

My wife is about to divorce me over this recently purchased 120K mile “mid life money pit” as she calls it.

But come on, look at it! and its got a V8 and 6spd MT!

Submitted by: Monsterajr

Tires was the most expensive, but I think it’s a relatively common answer. Next most expensive was the skid plates - engine, transmission, transfer case and shock skids.

Submitted by: Laststandard

I paid a couple thousand for an optional, slow to program, NAV system in my Mercedes and two years later everyone had moved to real-time traffic apps on their phone. Maybe not the most expensive thing but man it felt like a waste of money.

Submitted by: 17 Seconds

Trailer hitch on my GTI to carry my bike rack. My first-ever trailer hitch mount, I’ll never go back to roof again. About $250 for the hitch, and while in theory I could have installed it myself, another $150 for the peace of mind for the pros to do it (it required removing the bumper and trimming the rear air dam, and I knew I would never get those right).

Submitted by: BirdLaw900

A $1,000 tune-up.

It killed me, but it paid off. I guess. I was having all sorts of weird symptoms, codes, and bad behavior to the point where eventually the Acadia couldn’t be trusted past the end of the driveway. My mechanic brother shot down a few of my speculations and told me he wasn’t even going to play the guessing game with me until I had replaced w, x, y, and z. And a, b, and c. All those things that need replaced as part of regular maintenance but we never do until they actually fail. Then he’d speculate with me on whatever it was doing at that point. I put it off and continued to twiddle and guess, but finally relented. Well, nearly $1000 and a few frustration filled weekends later it was done. And it has run flawlessly since.

It was very unsatisfying. I needed an identifiable problem to fix. But there wasn’t one. Just getting caught up on maintenance. It was money well spent but the whole thing just makes me feel icky for some reason.

Submitted by: Harmon20