stock or not

well, i have come to a crossroads in my life where i don't know which way to go. my 99 maxima is preety much stock except for an injen intake, rsb, fstb, cf dashkit, a few light bulbs and some other cosmetic accessories, however, i have been trying to decide whether or not to drop my maxima with H&R/illumina, get a y pipe, put some 17 inch rims, a subwoofer system, and other things that may tickle my fancy. Or, to just leave my maxima the way it is now and just drive it stock. I know that by the time i am done dropping 4 grand on mods i will turn around and sell the car and lose a few grand.
i have been getting mixed emotions from different people, but, most of the responses are to just leave it the way it is because on the long run stock is better and will last longer. i can not argue with that.
i was thinking that next time that i need new tires, i can run out and get a 17 inch tire and wheel package for a couple of hundred more than just getting tires for my stock wheels which i will probably do a year from now. but the thing is that my car is going to look goofy sitting on 17's and a 4x4 look.
then it hit me. i can mod the car as it needs repairs. if my struts and shocks go then i can drop, when my exhaust shits the bed then i can get a y pipe and catback. But, when is that going to happen? when the car is 8 to 10 years old?.. by then the car is going to be older, tired, and outdated.. i would probably do what i did with my old stock rustang. sell it and get a new car instead of holding onto the old monet pit repairs.
i haven't bought any mods in the past year deciding on what i want to do.
what do you guys think?

well, when i had my 4th gen i had said "when this engine starts to shit out i'll get a rebuild with a turbo. and about a year later i bought a 5th1/2gen cuz that car was never going to die, ever. i'd say to mod til your hart's content but just keep all the stock parts. if you do decide to turn around and sell it, find out if the buyer is willing to give a little extra for the goodies you put on, if not give him the oem shit or do it yourself and sell it.
I'm sorta in the same position. i really intended for this car to be temporary until i could get a G35, but after i put the intake on, i got the bug. i was in on a Group deal that was offered for springs but for some reason something didn't feel right so i backed out. but i will get them with shocks when the weather breaks, followed immediately by a cattman y pipe and mid pipe. i'm gonna try and get some rimmies for my B-day this summer. and depending on how it looks at that point i may get a carbon fiber hood if i can find one.

The way I look at modding is that you are basically trying to turn your car into something else; you want it to be faster, look better, handle better, etc. The problem is, once you spend all that money turning your car into something you really want, you find out that your car has certain limits to which it can be pushed, especially with a FWD car, and once you get to that point, your car isn't liveable as a daily driver. One of my friends has spent about $6000 modding out his '98 Max, and it sucks as a daily driver. Plus, you end up losing tons of money on the mods themselves when it comes time to get a new car. I guess my opinion is that light modding here and there is cool, but unless you have a car that you are actually happy with and that doesn't have a lot of limitations, you're just better off saving for something else that you would be happier with in the first place. In the short run, sure it's cool to make your car a little better, but in the long run, a much better car is worth waiting a couple years for.

i came to the conclusion that i am not going to do the drop bacause the ride will eventually turn to shit and i will hate it after a few months. the stock exhaust i just checked it out this morning and it looks brand new under there. so, no catback or Y for the time being since i don't want to deal with inspection stress every year. the stock rims don't have any curve rubs or scratches, except for the tire rotations that the tire guys bang the air guns against the rims.. (jealous pricks). the 16 inchers do a great job in these jacked up Boston roads. plus they are titanium finished so they look a little better than the 97-98 SE rims.
however, i am considering the subframe connectors from warpspeed and a llumar tint job from a very reputable shop in my area plus the local maxima chapter is putting a group deal together. 170 dollars tints.
the SFC are going for 237 dollars shipped for stages 1 and 2 package. i went to the frame shop today trying to find a ball park figure on install but the guy said that they couldn't give me a quote until they put the car on the lift.
then when my current tires give up, go for a wheelmax.com rim/tire package and put bicycle tires on the stockers for the winter.
i think this way i feel like i'm getting some performance and cosmetic mods without having to bend over and hand my wallet over.
and most important retain stock ride and comfort which was one of the main points i bought the car new in the first place.

i just mod my car when i need to replace the part anyways do to maintenance.

brake pads and rotors
air filter (intake)
exhaust (ypipe/muffler)
spark plugs (platinum)
tires (contiextremecontact)
struts (kyb gr2)

nothing extreme but by the time a year or two goes around, i have a dope right that didn't cost too much. i get everything on ebay and shop around for best price, so in actuality sometimes it costs less than if i just wanted oem parts (kyb gr2's were only $250/shipped)

peace out
mark