What comes first?

[nan0click]

Hello, recently I have been throwing around getting a better set up for my car, right now I have some Pioneer brand MP3/CD player head unit and everything else is stock in my 1995 Ford Taurus GL (Not the JBL as far as I know). I have sort of a compound question for you knowledgeable people here:

1. What should I do first, get a new (used) car in 6 months, or slowly upgrade my existing car's system and wait longer for a new (used) car.

2. If I upgrade my system now, I don't have enough money to do it all at once, and when saving, something always comes up, I'll be thinking, "Woohoo, I have money, lets go buy something expensive!" and then my car may break, or I need new tires, or something else comes up, fees and bills, you know the drill. So what would I get first, I torn between getting an x4 amp first, that way, I can get the practice of running wire and such through my car, and won't have to go through and do that later, or should I go with a subwoofer (or two?), and a mono(? or something else?) amp first then get the 4 channel amp later.

How much should I be willing to spend? I see amps range from a mere $100 to well over a thousand, and while I don't want crap, a 4 channel amp for $300 is about as high as I would like to go, and I haven't even got to pricing subs yet.

I know most systems usually come out at around $1000 with amps, subs, door and rear speakers, not to mention expensive cabling and tools, etc. My car is worth about $1500, so that's what the dilemma of 'new car, or upgraded system in my current one' stems from.

Thanks in advance, so far looks like a great forum, I'm sure you guys will have some great answers.

PS: I looked but couldn't find a special ed section, so that's why I posted here, in case you were wondering. If this is the wrong area, a mod can move it, you can flame me, anything goes

[Tonyguy]

I would buy a new car first. A great system in a car that barely runs is not fun. Just my .02

[swimfreak26]

Well if the car is still in good shape and running well, and you'd like to upgrade the tunes I don't see why not to. With that said though, if you're thinking about upgrading the car soon, start off smaller.

Were I in your position, I'd consider picking up a set of component speakers for the front (something along the lines of CDT classics, or type X's from alpine are good, moderately priced sets IMO), and a decent 2 channel amp. There's no need to spend a ton of money on an amp...for $150 or so you can pick up something that will put out 80 or 100 x 2 at 4ohms and nicely power a set of speakers.

Once you get that done, enjoy for a bit...you'll pick up a ton of sound, and really increase the quality of your listening experience without breaking the bank. Then figure out how much you feel like putting into the stereo vs. the car...it'll seem easier to choose once you've upgraded a bit.

[Trey803]

sounds like you dont have much money saved up. I would recomend saving a bit then decidding