The issue is there are two kinds of modders: those who mod for the track and those who mod for street racing. I’d bet that OP has experienced the latter and not the former, hence the negative comment.
There is a massive group of car modders who build their cars for the track. We understand that the road is not the right place to drive fast, and that there is almost no advantage in doing so. We seek faster lap times which often requires improving features of the car such as tires, brakes, suspension, stiffer anti-roll bars, gearboxes, clutch, seats, weight reduction, etc...
Edit: I have replaced diffs, springs, shocks, tires, wheels, and added a steering damper. For overlanding that is pretty minimal work. For Motorsport style off-roading, I would need to do quite a bit more.
Sigh. Any hobby you can get blokes interested in eventually turns into gadget madness...
A Land Rover Defender would also fit this - if you see someone driving a defender it could be a destitute farmer, a middle class mother, a millionaire footballer, or literally the Queen. It’s the most egalitarian car in the world.
Land Cruisers come in two main families - the rather utilitarian 70 series, favoured by the Red Cross, UN, IS and assorted civilians with a cavalier attitude towards fuel economy - and the increasingly luxurious (yet still eminently capable!) 120/150/200 series.
[0] http://m.transautomobile.com/en/export/toyota-land-cruiser-7...
And then you get to stuff like putting a Tesla into an old Honda. If you have to ask why, then you wouldn't understand.
But yes, it very easily gets to be expensive.
But you're right. I have a lot of money into my car. I also have 0 tickets. It also has a roll cage, FIA approved seat, harness bar, harness, hans device, etc
Is there anything like the equivalent of a commissary kitchen, but for cars? Like a garage with tools where I could rent it for a couple of days, and then go work on it with their tools, etc?
99% of what you need to work on a car will fit in a large toolbox. It takes experience to weed out the stuff you don't actually need though. Most people make the mistake of thinking they "need" power tools.
It's also a good money suck. Pretty easy to spend a year's pay on car mods that at best do not regress safety features nor increase your rate of speeding tickets. At worst you're looking at safety issues and additional tickets (cost).
Not judging — people have different hobbies and are free to spend their money how they see fit. If you're looking for frugal hobbies, though, this isn't it.
(Now, shadetree home car maintenance — that's a frugal hobby in a similar vein. It's a nice break from the keyboard and requires some of the same skills.)