should you first lower your car or put rims on

Ideally, save up and do it at the same time. If you simply must do one before the other, ask yourself which looks worse:

1. A lowered car with stock rims and tires.
2. A car with nice rims with a huge wheel gap.

make sure u get some good shocks too

well you can;

1: lower the car with stock rims and look ricey.
2: stick on some nice rims and have a ricey wheel gap.

both ways your sorta screwed. I would personally choose lower over rims simple because i think its the best visual option of the two. When I think rims on a non-lowered car I think neon or cavaler, so if that helps at all.