I finally got my first car: A used v4 2005 Honda Accord coupe. Basically, its job is to get from point A to point B. I think the car has a very nice sporty-looking stance for an otherwise modest car, but I want to give it something that'll make it distinctly my own.

I got $500 off the price tag because the dealer sprayed some cheap coverup on the hood that wound up bubbling when it dried. Either way, I'm definitely doing some work to it. I figured this is a good opportunity to try getting my hands dirty with a (hopefully) fairly simple project.

I've looked at carbon fiber hoods. I see the bulk of the ones out there retain the OEM design, but I've also seen one very nice looking reverse cowl induction hood here: http://www.modacar.com/products/Hond...Carbon+Fi.html

That's a bit steep for my price range. I'm looking to spend up to and around $500. I'm also open to the idea of getting the hood refinished either matte black, glossy black, or a grey that matches the grill. If all else fails, I'm willing to stick with the stock silver color. There are also fiber glass hoods out there, but I haven't seen many. In any event, refinishing might prove to be cheaper than a replacement.

The main thing holding me back now is that lot of these aftermarket sites seem shady. They claim that pictures of their merchandise are a "close approximation" of the actual product. For the kind of money they ask, there's no way I'm going to make a blind purchase only to find it's flimsy and low quality.

Any suggestions?

If you flat-out say that it isn't worth trying to make an underpowered car look good, I'll understand. After all, they have a word for that. That's called "constructive criticism." :P

Thanks