Aftermarket Mods - Increases Resale Value of Car?

[threeputtpar]

I thought this may be an interesting topic of discussion, asI am currently posting in 2 threads over on an Audi specific forum about 2 guys that are trying to sell their cars.

One is an A6 and the other is an allroad, both with the 2.7 turbo. They are asking almost double the private party value according to Edmunds and NADA (KBB is on crack for some of the values they come up with) and their justification is that not only are the cars the highly sought after 6-speed manuals, but they both have small lists of aftermarket mods. The lists include an ECU flash, upgraded diverter valves for the tune, and the allroad has been converted to coilovers from the adjustable air suspension (that may be a reverse mod in some people's opinion), and the A6 has larger than stock brakes. The A6 also needs a new clutch, is due for the timig belt job in
I ususally leave things like this alone and let the involved parties duke it out, but I just couldn't help myself. My opinion is any money spent on any modification or upgrades is by the current owner's choice and I shouldn't have to pay him back for the privledge of buying the car from him. Neither one even remotely indicated that the mods would be removed and the car put back to stock. And a car that needs such extensive maintenance to get it up to a good status should be discounted accordingly. This guy's answer to my questions was "since you only have 160 posts on this website, you don't know chit, so s t f u".

What does the collective think about the matter? Let's discuss.

 

[zzyzzx]

I would not buy a modified car. Ever. Aftermarket stereo might be the only exception.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
My opinion is any money spent on any modification or upgrades is by the current owner's choice and I shouldn't have to pay him back for the privledge of buying the car from him.

In general, I agree. Some people really think too highly of their so called accomplishments. Most used car buyers just want a stock car. Modified cars just means the previous owner operated it harder thus potentially shortening the life of all other components which remained stock.

 

[NHHEMI]

As a general rule unless the person buying the vehicle has the exact same taste in appearance mod's/accessories as you do adding those things hurts resale not helps it.

When it comes to performance mod's they hurt even more unless it is something simple like exhaust upgrades. If a vehicle has a whole bunch of power enhancers you know darn well the previous owner used them and thus the vehicle was probably driven hard. That turns off most buyers. Add in a list of known mechanical issues like you mention and they will be lucky to get 1/2 of suggested retail never mind 2X's.

This is a very common mistake people make. They think dressing a car up and/or doing all kinds of performance mod's actually helps resale. 99% of the time it is the exact opposite. You have to luck out and get that one buyer that wants every single thing you did for it to actually help.

 

[stephen9666]

Modifications are a negative to me.

They're often done wrong, they're often inferior parts to the OE parts, and doing them in a ham-fisted manner can lead to other problems with the car.

Also, a car that has mods has also probably been abused.

NOTE - I'm not saying these are true in all cases, but I would never buy a lot of the "modded" cars I see driving around or on Craigslist.

 

[Astro14]

Those modifications only increase resale value if the new buyer wants them. Otherwise, they're detrimental to resale. It's not stock, they're harder to replace, the car has probably been rode hard as a result....lots of reasons why they decrease it...

Just because the PO spent $$ on it doesn't make it more valuable.

Consider a BMW with a custom, $4,000 paint job that includes 1950s hot-rod flames. Would you pay more for it? Or less....because it needs to be repainted...,

 

[SteveSRT8]

X a dozen on everything already stated.

A clean original car is always worth more to me than a modded up piece of carp. Usually mods are never done to a standard equal to the factory, they detract from the car IMO.

 

[rjundi]

Mods never increase the price of a vehicle except for those who are stupid to fall for it. The reality is they decrease the value and appeal of vehicle in the general market.

There may be a very select few who are interested in the mods however typically they know the mods are worthless to a vehicle. The typical approach out there is have a mod sale, meaning you are selling your vehicle and bringing back to stock(likely never revealing your butchery) to get the most money from the sale and some money back from mods.

My experience comes from owning a slightly modded WRX(sold) and a stock Legacy GT(turbo) and reading forums. All the mods on my WRX Stage II(exhaust & ECU upgrade) were purchased from someone who was going back to stock. Interestingly I used them for 2 years and then resold them for essentially the same price paid.

 

[Win]

If you're a kid that hangs out on car forums, and says chit and s t f u, well, maybe.

To a normal adult, I think they detract from value. Personally, I probably would not buy a car that has had any significant modification made to it. I certainly wouldn't pay any type of a premium.

 

[NHHEMI]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Mods never increase the price of a vehicle except for those who are stupid to fall for it. The reality is they decrease the value and appeal of vehicle in the general market.

There may be a very select few who are interested in the mods however typically they know the mods are worthless to a vehicle. The typical approach out there is have a mod sale, meaning you are selling your vehicle and bringing back to stock(likely never revealing your butchery) to get the most money from the sale and some money back from mods.

My experience comes from owning a slightly modded WRX(sold) and a stock Legacy GT(turbo) and reading forums. All the mods on my WRX Stage II(exhaust & ECU upgrade) were purchased from someone who was going back to stock. Interestingly I used them for 2 years and then resold them for essentially the same price paid.





Yup, the stuff I do is removeable and I return the vehicle back to stock when I am ready to sell it. I then recoup some or even all of what I spent by selling the parts.

 

[bdcardinal]

Generally decreases the value unless the buyer wants all those mods exactly. I only modify my Mustang because I don't plan on selling it. I watched a guy try to trade in a '09ish Dodge Charger that had lambo doors on both front and rear with a custom paint job, sales offered him $750 because they would have to break the bank to return it to stock to sell it or wholesale it for a loss.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
My opinion is any money spent on any modification or upgrades is by the current owner's choice and I shouldn't have to pay him back for the privledge of buying the car from him.

In general, I agree. Some people really think too highly of their so called accomplishments. Most used car buyers just want a stock car. Modified cars just means the previous owner operated it harder thus potentially shortening the life of all other components which remained stock.


Agreed. And if I were buying used, Id want to know that the car was handled in as gentle a manner as possible. Certain things might be reasonable, but it is a definite case-by-case basis.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
My opinion is any money spent on any modification or upgrades is by the current owner's choice and I shouldn't have to pay him back for the privledge of buying the car from him.

In general, I agree. Some people really think too highly of their so called accomplishments. Most used car buyers just want a stock car. Modified cars just means the previous owner operated it harder thus potentially shortening the life of all other components which remained stock.


This is how I tried to politely explain my position to the A6 owner. I understand that the people that frequent the forum in question really love their cars and probably think that they are more valuable than they are, but sometimes the hammer of reality needs to be dropped to keep that stuff in check. It was amusing to watch all of the other members chime in with "you should have no problem selling your car for that" or "this one won't be for sale long". I guess everyone is trying to boost their egos a bit.

Everyone - thanks for verifying that I'm not clueless on what cars are really worth. After two such run-ins (one even was with the resident trusted dealer of allroads that many have purchased from), I was starting to think that I was way off base. Maybe that's why he's the resident allroad dealer, because the captive crowd is willing to pay him much more than the rest of the general public would. Nice racket he's got going if it is the case.

Let's keep the discussion going, this may be fun and interesting.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: bdcardinal
Generally decreases the value unless the buyer wants all those mods exactly. I only modify my Mustang because I don't plan on selling it. I watched a guy try to trade in a '09ish Dodge Charger that had lambo doors on both front and rear with a custom paint job, sales offered him $750 because they would have to break the bank to return it to stock to sell it or wholesale it for a loss.


A Charger (or any other car than a Lambo) with Lambo doors? That really made me laugh. I hope that the sales department didn't even provide vaseline when they made the offer, just so it would hurt that much more. Some people have to learn the painful way.

 

[threeputtpar]

Originally Posted By: Win
If you're a kid that hangs out on car forums, and says chit and s t f u, well, maybe.

To a normal adult, I think they detract from value. Personally, I probably would not buy a car that has had any significant modification made to it. I certainly wouldn't pay any type of a premium.


Actually, I had to type it that way to avoid the censor here. Over there, it was spelled out quite clearly so that I would not misunderstand.

The problem is the cars are now 10+ years old and the children can now afford to pick them up and do what they want to them. When I first joined back in 2008, the cars were out of their price range, so it was much more adult orientated. I've really lost my taste for the sites now because of it, which is a shame as there is quite a bit of useful info archived there.

 

[Clevy]

Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
As a general rule unless the person buying the vehicle has the exact same taste in appearance mod's/accessories as you do adding those things hurts resale not helps it.

When it comes to performance mod's they hurt even more unless it is something simple like exhaust upgrades. If a vehicle has a whole bunch of power enhancers you know darn well the previous owner used them and thus the vehicle was probably driven hard. That turns off most buyers. Add in a list of known mechanical issues like you mention and they will be lucky to get 1/2 of suggested retail never mind 2X's.

This is a very common mistake people make. They think dressing a car up and/or doing all kinds of performance mod's actually helps resale. 99% of the time it is the exact opposite. You have to luck out and get that one buyer that wants every single thing you did for it to actually help.


I agree wholeheartedly.
And the modifications are typically installed by the owner,who usually isn't a mechanic so the quality of work can be suspect as can the driving habits.
I mod my vehicles purely on personal taste. I don't care what anyone thinks nor did I ask.
The first thing I thought of when I saw the title of this thread are kids who demolish and ruin a perfectly fine air intake system in favour of a cai. The funniest I ever saw written was in the mustang evolution forum.
Some kid posts a thread asking which cai makes that sucking sound the loudest.
Now why in the heck does a person want to give it more volume.
Ford even puts a boot on their mustang intakes(which are already cai) to silence it.
Now back to topic
When I see a modded car for sale I become a much harder sell.
I've seen guys really attempt the leaf blower form of forced induction and watched a guy at the track just spray nitrous straight from the tank into the barrels of the carb. I guess when he was at nitrous tuning school he missed the class about needing load when spraying and its usually not a good idea to spray when engine rpm are below 3000.
The engine immediately revved up then backfired so loud the old timers though they were ducking mortars.
Apparently from what I heard of the outcome 2 piston got so hot instantly that the they were deformed and not flat across anymore. Looked wobbled so to speak.
And these guys had been bragging all night about how they were gonna whoop everyone that night because they were spraying nitrous.
I know how I drive my cars,and I can accept that because I also find the repair bill but what gets into some people's heads in the name of faster just begs the phrase no brain,no pain.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: threeputtpar
The problem is the cars are now 10+ years old and the children can now afford to pick them up and do what they want to them. When I first joined back in 2008, the cars were out of their price range, so it was much more adult orientated. I've really lost my taste for the sites now because of it, which is a shame as there is quite a bit of useful info archived there.

Such is life. I've observed a similar pattern on some other forums which I no longer frequent for the same reason.

 

[440Magnum]

I have never... NEVER... seen a modified car sell for as much as an unmodified car unless its something like a full on Pro-Street, Custom, or Hot Rod. Usually when you start modifying, you should plan on driving it until it falls apart under you because you're going to get killed on resale. Performance mods to modern cars, in particular, always lower the value unless its a sale between parties who both know the car's history in detail. I've had friends do deals on modified modern Hemis, but only where the buyer watched over the months/years as the seller did the mods.

 

[bvance554]

I think anyone modifying a car should look at it as something they're doing for their own enjoyment. You don't get to recoup the investment when you sell it. But he can try. Its only worth what someone will pay for it.

 

[ls1mike]

Does not help. Everything I own but the Equinox is modified. I guess the truck doesn't count as I put a larger transmission cooler and better shocks on it.

As far as the Trans Am and the Buick? The Trans Am, no doubt it is modified.
The Buick? You can't tell until you hit the gas. The smaller pulley is the big mod on that car.
I personally would not buy a modified car and it lowers resale value.