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Undergrads can afford $10,000 to pimp their ride? Wow. 
Why spend loads to pimp up your ride?
Mr Christopher Chua spent $20k to create a Super Mario-themed Honda. Why bother? -My Lifestyle My Drive
Sun, Dec 12, 2010
My Lifestyle My Drive
By Cheryl Tay
Motorists who spend big bucks to jazz up their cars believe in one thing: theirs is more than just a mode of transportation.
This is why they indulge lavishly to customise and beautify their cars to make them look distinctive and different from the others on the road.
Some believe that the high Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices and rise in the car resale market now make the aesthetic enhancements even more worthwhile to enhance the value of their prized possession.
There are many ways to pimp up a car, such as adding a spoiler or body kit, a kitup for the wheels, and elaborate paint jobs.
Mr Reg Teo spent $10,000 to paint his Honda S2000 convertible in apple red glitter flakes specially imported from the United States. The 26-year-old undergraduate even flew in the supplier of Kustom Flakes so that he could teach the local spray workshop how to perform the task.
"It took about five months to complete the job, but it was well worth the wait," says Mr Teo. "It's the passion for my car as it is an extension of my personality and so I want it to be unique."
The glitter extends all the way under the bonnet as some of the engine parts are painted in purple glitter flakes.
Mr Teo adds: "This would be able to fetch a better price for the car if I sell it off one day. I actually received an offer from an overseas buyer after my car was first done."
But he did not stop there. He added other enhancements including an in-car entertainment system, red leather upholstery and race bucket seat, all of which has cost him about $40,000 to date.
Many car owners who go for visual enhancements rather than technical modifications cite the regulations on car modifications here.
One car owner who wanted to be known only as DT (left) spent $1,100 to cover his Nissan 350Z Fairlady roadster in matte finish stickers. His car now sports a black matte finish that draws comparisons to the Batmobile in the Hollywood blockbuster Batman Begins.
"There are so many regulations in Singapore and you can't really drive a car to its limits here, thus there's no point spending so much on enhancing its performance. Instead, I chose to strengthen the visual appeal of my ride," he explains.
He has spent about $16,000 to dress up his Fairlady convertible, which never fails to draw attention.
Mr Christopher Chua, who owns a Super Mario-themed Honda Airwave (right), says: "The restrictions on modifications in Singapore are very strict and you can't really go very fast with a sports car so I decided to dress up my car instead. Others won't be able to appreciate the car if it's going fast all the time."
The 30-year-old Navy personnel spent about $20,000 to create a complete "Super Mario world" on wheels. His themed car has won him an award at a local auto-styling competition.
Besides the dressing-up and stickers, another method of enhancing the car body is airbrushing, one of the techniques used for custom painting.
Unlike a spray gun, airbrushes are a lot smaller and they are used to perform detailed graphics on cars, motorcycles, helmets and even wall murals. The artwork is thus able to feature a lot of fine details, creating reality-like images.
The winning car of the Best Airbrush category in the Ultimate Auto Styling Showdown at Super Import Nights 2008 was a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 that was designed and airbrushed by local custom painters cum airbrush artists Aire Pro Designs.
The judges of this competition were from the National Custom Car Association, one of the largest automotive showcasing sanctioning bodies in the world.
"We do everything inhouse from preparation work to artwork design to finishing. Our trademark is the sharp and 3D-looking artwork with its sleek, smooth and shiny finishing.
"The cost of custom painting and airbrushing this car is about $12,000 and it took us about a month to do up this car for the competition," says Mr Dylan Liang, 30, one of the three artists at Aire Pro Designs.
Mr Shane Chia, 30, another artist at Aire Pro Designs adds: "It's hard to put an average cost to our work because it really depends on the vehicle model itself, the condition of the vehicle, and the extensiveness and complexity of the design. For example, we have custom painted and airbrushed kart racing helmets starting from $200 all the way to $1,800."
Why spend loads to pimp up your ride?
Mr Christopher Chua spent $20k to create a Super Mario-themed Honda. Why bother? -My Lifestyle My Drive
Sun, Dec 12, 2010
My Lifestyle My Drive
By Cheryl Tay
Motorists who spend big bucks to jazz up their cars believe in one thing: theirs is more than just a mode of transportation.
This is why they indulge lavishly to customise and beautify their cars to make them look distinctive and different from the others on the road.
Some believe that the high Certificate of Entitlement (COE) prices and rise in the car resale market now make the aesthetic enhancements even more worthwhile to enhance the value of their prized possession.
There are many ways to pimp up a car, such as adding a spoiler or body kit, a kitup for the wheels, and elaborate paint jobs.
Mr Reg Teo spent $10,000 to paint his Honda S2000 convertible in apple red glitter flakes specially imported from the United States. The 26-year-old undergraduate even flew in the supplier of Kustom Flakes so that he could teach the local spray workshop how to perform the task.
"It took about five months to complete the job, but it was well worth the wait," says Mr Teo. "It's the passion for my car as it is an extension of my personality and so I want it to be unique."
The glitter extends all the way under the bonnet as some of the engine parts are painted in purple glitter flakes.
Mr Teo adds: "This would be able to fetch a better price for the car if I sell it off one day. I actually received an offer from an overseas buyer after my car was first done."
But he did not stop there. He added other enhancements including an in-car entertainment system, red leather upholstery and race bucket seat, all of which has cost him about $40,000 to date.
Many car owners who go for visual enhancements rather than technical modifications cite the regulations on car modifications here.
One car owner who wanted to be known only as DT (left) spent $1,100 to cover his Nissan 350Z Fairlady roadster in matte finish stickers. His car now sports a black matte finish that draws comparisons to the Batmobile in the Hollywood blockbuster Batman Begins.
"There are so many regulations in Singapore and you can't really drive a car to its limits here, thus there's no point spending so much on enhancing its performance. Instead, I chose to strengthen the visual appeal of my ride," he explains.
He has spent about $16,000 to dress up his Fairlady convertible, which never fails to draw attention.
Mr Christopher Chua, who owns a Super Mario-themed Honda Airwave (right), says: "The restrictions on modifications in Singapore are very strict and you can't really go very fast with a sports car so I decided to dress up my car instead. Others won't be able to appreciate the car if it's going fast all the time."
The 30-year-old Navy personnel spent about $20,000 to create a complete "Super Mario world" on wheels. His themed car has won him an award at a local auto-styling competition.
Besides the dressing-up and stickers, another method of enhancing the car body is airbrushing, one of the techniques used for custom painting.
Unlike a spray gun, airbrushes are a lot smaller and they are used to perform detailed graphics on cars, motorcycles, helmets and even wall murals. The artwork is thus able to feature a lot of fine details, creating reality-like images.
The winning car of the Best Airbrush category in the Ultimate Auto Styling Showdown at Super Import Nights 2008 was a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34 that was designed and airbrushed by local custom painters cum airbrush artists Aire Pro Designs.
The judges of this competition were from the National Custom Car Association, one of the largest automotive showcasing sanctioning bodies in the world.
"We do everything inhouse from preparation work to artwork design to finishing. Our trademark is the sharp and 3D-looking artwork with its sleek, smooth and shiny finishing.
"The cost of custom painting and airbrushing this car is about $12,000 and it took us about a month to do up this car for the competition," says Mr Dylan Liang, 30, one of the three artists at Aire Pro Designs.
Mr Shane Chia, 30, another artist at Aire Pro Designs adds: "It's hard to put an average cost to our work because it really depends on the vehicle model itself, the condition of the vehicle, and the extensiveness and complexity of the design. For example, we have custom painted and airbrushed kart racing helmets starting from $200 all the way to $1,800."
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