there wouldn't be much point performance modding my Ka [...] you can't really make a Ka into anything majour.
Then there's no point in ricing up your car either. A slow car is a slow car. Full stop. A slow car with flames, checkered flags, pointless spoilers, aggressive looking bumpers or sideskirt and fartcans is a slow car screaming for attention, so it is already likely to put at least a smile of irony on the face of other people. A slow car riced with less than state-of-the-art pieces, craftsmanship and tastem, and not perfetly kept at any given time is just a ridiculous bunch of manure, or, as it is called here, carbage. Everybody will laugh, or be embarassed, except for people on whose opinion and car knowledge you shouldn't rely.
A modded car can only be cool when it goes really fast. The more fast it goes, the more it can display exagerations and cool things. A Ford Ka capable of leaving a Ferrari 430 behind on a bendy course could also have flaming skulls on the doors and naked women painted on the back windows. It'll still be cool; but a stock performing Ka would look silly with even as few as an aggressive looking headlight set.
An aggressive car HAS to be aggressive, otherwise it's just like a guy with a wooden leg walking around while screaming with blood-injected eyes and a face from hell: "I'M FAAAAAAAAAAAAAST!!!! AND I'M EVIIIIIIIL!!!!. You really can't decide if it's a dangerous or just a funny kind of mentally impaired person. Or, if you prefere, it's like a very ugly woman in her 70's trying yo be sexy by showing her thigh in a provoking way. Yes: ewww. It's the same for cars.
Also, take into account what women say they prefere... (aka look at the answers here) Who cares if your friends think your car is the best looking riced car around, if women are embarassed to get on it?
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Please notice two more things. 1) that the most cool modifications to a car are usually strictly tied to performance (lightened car, bigger tyres, lowered suspension, right kind of spoiler, turbocharging), and you can mess everything up even with those things. 2) That the most cool cars rarely needs any of the things you would want to add to your car, because they have the performance parts they need already installed stock. If a car hasn't something, the reason is, mostly, it doesn't need it because it's not fast enough.
Oh, and don't forget that even car manufacturers can overdo. Factory carbage is just that, and you have to be humble and think thrice at least before deciding you have better taste and skills than manufacturers (aesthetic modifications mean just this).
I just want a bit of fun with my first car.
Brydie76 and other already told you. Forget sideskirts, spoilers, aggressive lloking, flags and the like: buy some cleaning and polishing products, spend time making your car shine, use your money repairing dented bits or scratched panels, make your car looking good, new, well maintained, shiny, clean, cared. Then You will be able to even think about some good wheels, some new lights, or even a small (SMALL!!!) sticker. But then you won't really need it because you will enjoy yourself by keeping the car good and the car will look so good you won't really need to improve it so much.
