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When recessions hit, people usually spend less on their hobbies. But if you're thinking about modifying your ride on a budget, we'd recommend you save up for quality parts and go for taste over tack. Don't go the cheap route or you'll find yourself on our list of the worst aftermarket modifications. Ever.

1. Coffee Can Exhaust

It looks like a big, empty coffee can. The only thing worse than its looks is the way it sounds. Imagine if a car could fart while accelerating and you get the idea. Go ahead, draw more attention to your mom's Corolla and keep telling friends the Folgers can gives you extra horsepower.

2. Wood and Cardboard Body Parts

So you heard that aluminum and carbon fiber body parts were used in F1 and wanted to one-up the engineers at some of the top racing programs in the world. Your answer: wood and cardboard. That's right, and it's even less expensive! I think I hear Ferrari knocking at your door already.

3. Neon Lights

You just saw all 4 Fast and Furious movies back to back and have come to the conclusion that you also live your life a quarter mile at a time. There's nothing left for you to do except adding lighting effects to your car so that it'll look like a giant glow stick is coming down the street at 25 miles an hour (don't forget to add a light bar inside so you can see your own coolness from the inside too).

4. Scissor Doors

You pull up to a parking spot that's too close to other cars and can't open your doors wide enough to get out. Re-park somewhere else? Not you. No, you've got scissor doors that open upwards. Not only do you get the feel of driving an exotic, you're brimming with pride about how practical they are. Don't worry, everyone is actually laughing at how unbelievably cool you look right now

5. Rims Worth More Than Cars

Ah, nothing says you have your financial priorities in order than a big set of shiny, expensive rims worth more than the car itself. Why would you spend money on car insurance when you can put that towards rims that spin? The bling on your rims will blind people as you drive up to order from the dollar menu. Speaking of which...

6. Unsponsored cars

Not only are you a baller, you live so large that you sponsor entire companies. You put out your own money, unsolicited, to champion brands you adore. And despite all this, you still don't get a free Big Mac and fries. Nonetheless, you own that drive-thru and everyone knows it. Pull up to the next window with pride.

7. Giant Rims

You have always been a big dreamer. "22-inch dubs?," they asked. Nope. "24-inch dub deuces?" Not big enough. When it comes to your car, only the biggest will do. "Give me the 100-inchers," you said. Rims so big you could fit a Prius inside them. Rims so big the sun revolve around them. That's how you roll.

8. Obnoxious Paint Jobs

When the guy at Maaco asked if you wanted to repaint your car the same color as before the accident, you responded in the negative After all, this was your chance to make your car as unique as you are, and you don't want to mess it up. If you're a girl, you think pink. If you're a guy, you want a Louis Vuitton paint scheme to match your fake Louis Vuitton wallet. At least the praises you get from people are real.

9. Outrageous Body Kits

Half car, half Decepticon, your car came to Earth searching for the rare and precious energon cubes. Or at least it looks that way. Your car's manufacturer came so close to getting the perfect car design, but thankfully you're around to finish the job the right way.

10. Lowering SUVs, Lifting Sedans

You are a sedan trapped in an SUV's body, or an SUV confined by a sedan's frame. Sure, you could do the sensible thing and buy the car that's actually right for you, but where's the sense in that right?

11. Foil Rims. On a Bike

This one isn't a car, but I'm sure we're all at a loss for how awesome it is. I should have thought of this when I was younger.

You could also take the other route we recommend and get a good auto loan to buy a car that's already perfect for your needs.

Which of these is the worst modification to you?

Auto giant General Motors has plans of moving cars from its now defunct car lines, Pontiac and Saturn, off of dealer lots as soon as possible in what's called a "fire sale," and the good news is that buyers will likely benefit greatly from deep discounts. According to the automaker, now is the time to begin selling off the cars; to do so, it plans to offer incentives that will convince dealers to buy cars to make the considered "used" for customers.

Pontiac and Saturn Fired

In March and April 2009, GM officially said goodbye to two popular car brands, Saturn and Pontiac months before filing for bankruptcy. While Saturn was only about 20 years old, Pontiac had been a major player in the auto industry for over 80 years. However, in 2008 Pontiac and Saturn saw meager sales of 267,348 and 188,004, respectively, as compared to Chevrolet, which sold over 1.8 million.

Now that the brands will cease to be manufactured, GM is looking for ways to move them off auto dealer lots, hence the incentives.

GM's Fire Sale and Dealer Incentives

As a car buyer looking for a way to get a good deal on car, it's good to know what GM has up its sleeve. According to recent reports, GM is planning to offer its dealers incentives to purchase cars from its own lots. The incentive will be a payment of $7,000 per car that they can move off of their lots.

Under the plan, the dealers will become the first owners of the cars to clear them off of GM's books. Then the lot owner will be able to pass on the incentives to customers by selling them used cars at deeply-discounted prices, hopefully as much as the $7,000 that the dealers are offered by the manufacturer. The deal for lot owners is set to expire on Jan. 4.

What This Means to You

According to the automaker, the two brands combined have only about 15,000 vehicles left in inventory through the country. So if you're looking for a Pontiac or Saturn, the coming weeks would be a great time to take advantage of rock-bottom prices. Also, GM has promised that it would stand behind warranties. And as for resale value, models like the Pontiac G6 that has a lot of competition could suffer more in resale value than more unique models like the Pontiac Solstice.

If you're looking for a new car, early January may be the time to get in on the action. So look out for ads in the coming weeks to take advantage of great prices, and possibly auto loan rate discounts on new cars.

There are plenty of great little cars out there with nice price tags, but of course, there's more to take into consideration when purchasing a car besides the sticker value.

You also want to look gas mileage, ergonomics (basic comfort and usability of the car), warranty, dependability, ratings,...

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The Details of the Agreement

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