Seeing dead stock high mileage cars...

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: css9450
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Modded cars have no resale value also.


LOL I have a Cobalt SS and its all stock. Its almost funny to read the Cobalt SS forum and see the cars some of the kids there are trying to sell. They try to pretend that a painted dashboard, aftermarket stereo/DVD system, wing removed and holes filled with Bondo, and flat-black painted wheels increase the car's value. They do not. Quite the opposite.


Haha I totally agree! It's like,"This custom carbon fiber hood,10 foot high wing,and these Twin Turbo stickers make my car worth at least $10,000 more than blue book value haha!

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: Kira
People have their hands full just keeping up on a vehicle. Mods usually go hand in hand with undone maintenance.

When you sell a vehicle in presentable-to-sharp condition, being able to say, "It's all stock" is second only to the phrase, "Everything works". Kira

My thoughts exactly.

When I was young and foolish, I saved up my money to buy a Corvette. I ended up buying a modified 66 Stingray because it looked cool and shiny. Once I got familiar with it, I saw all the shortcomings that go along with modifications. This left an eternal bad taste in my mouth for anything that was modified. All my cars are bone stock. Now, any time I see a modified car, I also see all the shortcomings along with it.


Amen.
It's hard to find a moded car that was also well maintained. This seems to be especially true with the young owners that are all to eager to spend their entire pay checks on useless mods like HID kits, atrocious rims and body kits, just to name a few. They simply don't have enough money left over to do even the basic maintenance.

 

[ls1mike]

What are talking here, because in the F-body world, mods done right, Let say I put an LS2/LS3 where and LS1 was or a 408 where an LS1 was will add value at times.

I think I am looking in different markets than you folks. Nothing wrong with a modified car in those circles if it was done properly.

My last F-body was a heads, cam, N20 car. Looked bone stock, ran 11s. I sold it with 156,000 miles on it. The kid who bought ran out to 210,000 before it was totaled when he was rear ended.

The guys I know with F-bodies, Y-bodies, and W-bodies that have been modified are meticulous with the maintenance on them.

Maybe you folks are talking a different type of car.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^Am I seeing things or does that Ford have Chevrolet flags on the front quarter???


Awrrcchh, Chevy???? Hush your mouth...

That 63½ 500XL is one of a hand full of fastbacks built with a 406 a few days before Ford switched to 427 mid year...

 

[01rangerxl]

I've come to appreciate keeping a vehicle stock more and more, though I've always kind of been a fan of clean stockers.

I do not mind mild, quality, tasteful, period correct or at least cleanly installed mods though. For example, a 1990s HD truck on a set of 1990s Weld or Alcoa wheels, with a mild lift (good brand/design) and slightly larger tires (probably 33" max) would be cool to me. Also, powertrain mods along the lines of aftermarket exhaust, an aftermarket intake manifold (ie Trick Flow on a Ford, not talking "cold air intakes"), a cam, things like that are cool...not "eBay chips," Spectre make your own air intakes, etc. I could even deal with things like a quality billet grille or roll pan. I also do not mind things like tasteful tint, or non-OE paint. The key is really quality.

What I would not want is a 1990s HD truck with euro tails, visible Bondo/gray primer, 24" or 26" wheels with ridiculous styling, any kind of stick on chrome, mirror tint, etc. What I really don't want are half baked mechanical mods...Spectre hot air intakes, eBay chips, etc. Non-OE electrical work is also usually bad...check out any aftermarket wiring with a fine tooth comb. Everything on a vehicle like that would be suspect to me. People that do those kinds of mods tend to not be real enthusiasts, but rather trinket fiends. Unfortunately, there are more trucks like this than clean, tastefully modified ones.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I'd never consider buying a car with any engine mods. That's telling me the car was probably raced and/or driven hard. Electrical and/or stereo system mods would turn me away as well.

 

[01rangerxl]

It's a good point that engine mods could mean hard use, but sometimes somebody just blows a bunch of money on a vehicle and doesn't beat it. You can tell when something has been ragged out.

When I modify anything in my vehicle's electrical system, I can turn it back to stock. I replaced the head unit in my truck because it would not eject CDs unless it wanted to. I got an Alpine, and bought a harness end for my application. I wired the harness end to the end supplied by Alpine with solder and heat shrink insulation. Then it was just plug & play...has worked perfectly for 5 years now. Just unplug it to reinstall a factory head unit. Same deal with the speakers. And I keep the OE parts. I still have the original head unit and front speakers that I replaced, and could reinstall them no problem. I never did cut any factory wiring.

 

[oily boyd]

I once looked at a 4 year-old Lexus LS400 with a friend of mine.

It had some $99 rims and no-name new tires on it. He walked away from it based on that alone; I was in agreement!

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: oily boyd
I once looked at a 4 year-old Lexus LS400 with a friend of mine.

It had some $99 rims and no-name new tires on it. He walked away from it based on that alone; I was in agreement!



I'd done the same thing,walked away. I love stock wheels on a car. Aftermarket wheels are probably the mod I hate the most. To add to this,I also hate when someone takes say,an 80s model sportscar and puts 2014 wheels on it.

 

[aquariuscsm]

I also hate badge removal. Looks really ghetto.

 

[nleksan]

I am with the "Fbody poster" a bit up the page, because for the cars I buy and the community of enthusiasts I am involved in, there are absolutely some modifications that are a desirable thing for many (especially those knowledgeable about the cars).
For example, two identical M3's, 2006 model year, desirable ZCP AW/IR 6MT configurations, identical mileage and maintenance history.
However...
M3 #1: Bone Stock
M3 #2: Beisan Systems VANOS overhaul kit, TT cryo-treated hub, Genuine BMW carbon fiber CSL induction system, Genuine BMW carbon fiber CSL roof, BMW Performance seats, Akrapovic Ti exhaust, Supersprint V1 Stepped headers, KW V3/CS or JRZ/Moton/Ohlins suspension, all new AKG bushings, and the complete weld-in subframe reinforcement plates, along with both the stock ZCP wheels as well as some 19x9.5/10.5 Volk TE-37SL wheels w 255/275 Pilot Super Sports only 1k miles use. Oh, and FS dyno tuned.

Again, both maintained well beyond the recommendations by BMW, both with every receipt relating to the car since new...

I would not have a seconds hesitation spending extra for M3 #2, because I know BMW and the aftermarket world quite well, and anyone who is spending money on parts that are quite literally in every way superior to the factory equipped ones, much less spending the thousands of extra dollars for genuine CSL parts instead of being like most and buying cheaper lower quality knock off parts, that's someone who is very likely very knowledgeable and a "true" enthusiast.
There are cases like the above, where I would, in fact I HAVE, spent more for a properly modified example, and most people here would not believe how few repairs I've done on the sum of the BMW's I've owned... In fact, those were the cars that have had, by far, the most extensive documentation of their "lives"...


So, it depends entirely on the market and how well you know it, and whether you know enough to tell quality and foresight, from stupidity and ignorance. Granted, the latter is about 892.3 times as common, but still...

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
Originally Posted By: Kira
People have their hands full just keeping up on a vehicle. Mods usually go hand in hand with undone maintenance.

When you sell a vehicle in presentable-to-sharp condition, being able to say, "It's all stock" is second only to the phrase, "Everything works". Kira

My thoughts exactly.

When I was young and foolish, I saved up my money to buy a Corvette. I ended up buying a modified 66 Stingray because it looked cool and shiny. Once I got familiar with it, I saw all the shortcomings that go along with modifications. This left an eternal bad taste in my mouth for anything that was modified. All my cars are bone stock. Now, any time I see a modified car, I also see all the shortcomings along with it.


I honestly haven't found many shortcomings on my Caddy. It has been extensively modified mechanically, though virtually none of it shows.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle

I honestly haven't found many shortcomings on my Caddy. It has been extensively modified mechanically, though virtually none of it shows.


LOL

And I have a 1988 Turbo Coupe T-Bird that came stock with a pressurized half motor(4cyl), now sports a smallblock 331 stroker... I consider it the car Ford should have built... Had stock wheels up to this year, now sports Weld Drag Lites...

Yes I beat on it like a red headed step child, you guys infatuated with stockers need not even look in it's direction...

 

[aquariuscsm]

Originally Posted By: TFB1

Those have always been one of my all time fave cars!

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^Am I seeing things or does that Ford have Chevrolet flags on the front quarter???


Awrrcchh, Chevy???? Hush your mouth...

That 63½ 500XL is one of a hand full of fastbacks built with a 406 a few days before Ford switched to 427 mid year...

Whew! Had me for a second there. I thought that guy had gotten smart and installed a GM 572 stroker BB or something!

 

[EA82]

Originality is overrated.

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
Originally Posted By: TFB1
Originally Posted By: SteveSRT8
^^^Am I seeing things or does that Ford have Chevrolet flags on the front quarter???


Awrrcchh, Chevy???? Hush your mouth...

That 63½ 500XL is one of a hand full of fastbacks built with a 406 a few days before Ford switched to 427 mid year...

Whew! Had me for a second there. I thought that guy had gotten smart and installed a GM 572 stroker BB or something!


But after purchasing the 572 and installing it, that car would be worth about half of it value with the 406... Not a good choice from a monetary stand point... Now if it were orig a 6cyl three on the tree, that'd be a different story... With Ford, one wrong(so to speak) digit in the VIN can be worth $50,000 or more...

 

[TFB1]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm


Those have always been one of my all time fave cars!

Car is in storage at moment while I spend spend quality time with my '72 Comet, but here is pix when it still had the 5.0 installed(blowed up, good reason to swap a larger engine)... Just looking under the hood, 99.999% would never know it wasn't factory... Yes I did every bit of the conversion myself, built adapter harness' to interface the 5.0 engine to the unique Turbo Coupe body harness, also retained the unique to '87-'88 Turbo Coupe ABS and ride control systems... Had several people say they'd been told such a swap wasn't possible, told them I'd never talked to those know it alls, didn't know it couldn't be done...

 

[dlundblad]

Originally Posted By: mclasser
that're in good condition always puts a smile on my face. When the rims are factory originals, the car isn't lowered, no aftermarket intake/exhaust, no mods, it's a beautiful thing

.


A new guy started at my one job. We got to talking and his 2002 acura (3.5 something?) has about 275k on it. He does a lot of traveling for his other job. I took a closer look at it this morning and the body is mint. The rims are in great condition too.

My biggest annoyance with "aftermarket" upgrades are those stupid HID lights. Newer cars have them and that is great. They are very nice on new cars, but if the car wasnt originally fitted for them.. LEAVE it alone. It doesnt look right plus most of the time around me they seem to use the factory housing so it blinds oncoming cars.

 

[hattaresguy]

Nothing, I won't even look at a used Mercedes with aftermarket wheels on it.

Other mods? Heck no, they are never done right. Maybe a Renntech or Brabus car if it wasn't wailed on, who knows how far the mods were pushed. Those guys take it further than AMG and don't do the extensive R&D to make it work as well.


I like stock, it works the best.