Modded Cars

[Smokin19]

You can almost find on every thread someone who does not like or will not buy a car that has been modified. The purpose of this thread is not to change those minds but, to allow those that have, express their thoughts on whether it was worth it. Would also like to hear from those that have regretted modifying their car.

Of course just the word modifying can mean anything from just changing the air filter to changing components in the engine. Many here have done modifications or done by others (incl. me) to their cars but, I would like to hear from those that have put a lot of miles on those cars and what you have learned.

Most of us know a car modification is only as good as the person or people doing it and we have all read about the good and the bad. Having owned and modding cars for about 50 years I have always modded my cars for mostly performance reasons but, some do just the exterior, is that still considered a modified car?
Lastly many people think a modded car is hard to sell or will get "hosed" when they trade it in. You certainly won't get more for your car because of all the money you put into it but, has the modded car you traded gotten you less than market price?

For me the cost of having a modded car is just part of the price I pay to have what I want and enjoy, it will never be an investment. After all is said and done, it's just my hobby and I will enjoy the car as long as I own it.

[Juiced1]

With the exceptions of some bigger mods you generally do not get that money back when trading in your car but it should never hurt the value of the car.


Sometimes if you go with an extreme set up you can limit your market. Not everyone wants to daily 1000+HP and when you get into the "race car" area that can limit your market a bit more.



I would think most people would be happy picking up a car with a few bolt ons already knocked out as long as the work was done properly and the car is tuned right.

[Burt]

I'm about to sell my car, and I'm undoing all of the easily reversible mods so that I can either sell or trade in the car as mostly stockish, and then sell the parts piecemeal on here. It's hard to find someone who shares your vision for the car once you've gone beyond really common stuff like headers/intake/quality tune, so in my experience selling separately is the way to go if you can. My wife and I didn't seriously consider buying her a specific car over the weekend because the interior had a bunch of little mods that I wouldn't consider tasteful, and it overall gave off the impression of being owned by a kid.

[Smokin19]

Originally Posted by Burt

I'm about to sell my car, and I'm undoing all of the easily reversible mods so that I can either sell or trade in the car as mostly stockish, and then sell the parts piecemeal on here. It's hard to find someone who shares your vision for the car once you've gone beyond really common stuff like headers/intake/quality tune, so in my experience selling separately is the way to go if you can. My wife and I didn't seriously consider buying her a specific car over the weekend because the interior had a bunch of little mods that I wouldn't consider tasteful, and it overall gave off the impression of being owned by a kid.

Modifications to the looks of a car is always subjective. As far as "common stuff", some would have you believe that headers and intake is going too far. Let us know when you sell your car if you think you got less because of any mods left on the car.

[Burt]

Originally Posted by Smokin15

Modifications to the looks of a car is always subjective. As far as "common stuff", some would have you believe that headers and intake is going too far. Let us know when you sell your car if you think you got less because of any mods left on the car.

That's true, some people are against touching the engine or suspension in any way, but generally a car will appeal to more people with a few poly bushings than say, solid/spherical mounted everything. I'm curious what it will bring.

[pyroguy]

I don't typically buy modded cars. However, my Camaro did have some mods done to it when I purchased it. Funny enough, they only two things I didn't mod differently from what was originally done was the pin stripe in my rally stripes and chrome accents in the gills.

[Rainbow1616]

I have traded in modded cars and have actually gotten more money for the mods. They even asked me when doing the appraisal if I was leaving the mods in. They said if not the price would go down.

[LETHAL2SS]

I've bought 2 pretty modified Camaros, all the mods in my sig on both cars were done before I purchased them, with that being said, I took a lot of time finding both of them, i paid a little more for each of them than "market value" bu tthe way i see it, if you are wanting to build a car for this or that, and you can find a car that shows no signs of heavy abuse, wasnt built by a teenager with no regard to craftsmanship, and its been taken care of, I see it as a discount on parts and labor, I still make the car my own and change the things I want changed but finding a car with low mileage, owned by someone that took care of it, it's a win-win.

you just have to look at it as you would purchasing the mods themselves, its no investment, its the price you pay for our hobby.

[Smokin19]

Originally Posted by LETHAL2SS

I've bought 2 pretty modified Camaros, all the mods in my sig on both cars were done before I purchased them, with that being said, I took a lot of time finding both of them, i paid a little more for each of them than "market value" bu tthe way i see it, if you are wanting to build a car for this or that, and you can find a car that shows no signs of heavy abuse, wasnt built by a teenager with no regard to craftsmanship, and its been taken care of, I see it as a discount on parts and labor, I still make the car my own and change the things I want changed but finding a car with low mileage, owned by someone that took care of it, it's a win-win.

you just have to look at it as you would purchasing the mods themselves, its no investment, its the price you pay for our hobby.

This is exactly why I bought my car already modified by a reputable builder. Having always wanted a Z/28 since they came out, it was always my intention to modify what I bought. This car already had everything I wanted to do and more. It only had 591 mi on it when I bought it.

Your car sounds like a beast and I always liked that color.

[LETHAL2SS]

Originally Posted by Smokin15

This is exactly why I bought my car already modified by a reputable builder. Having always wanted a Z/28 since they came out, it was always my intention to modify what I bought. This car already had everything I wanted to do and more. It only had 591 mi on it when I bought it.

Your car sounds like a beast and I always liked that color.

Thanks! I've always wanted a Z/28 over any other sub models of these cars, yours sounds like a good driver.

mine had 24k miles when I purchased it, one owner, he had it built by a reputable shop, all receipts kept in a binder in the vehicle. kept it in the garage and hardly drove it, old guy that wasn't thrashing on it. better he took the 20,000 for parts and labor at the shop and me put a little over book on the vehicle. I'll never understand the "no modded cars" mantra people have. Just have to find the right one.

[SecondZ28]

Originally Posted by Smokin15

As far as "common stuff", some would have you believe that headers and intake is going too far. Let us know when you sell your car if you think you got less because of any mods left on the car.

Intake is fine and easily reversed.

Headers are crossing the line.

[hrpiii]

I modded my car to how I wanted and what I wanted on it. It was done over time as funds became available and I have not regretted any modification. I know I won't get any resale value from that, but what I get out of it now is pure enjoyment. You can't put a price on that.

I would do it all again. It is NOT an investment, unless investing in my own fun and entertainment counts.

[J Rod]

I learned early on to only (or mostly) stick to mods than can be easily reversed. I typically only keep my cars for 2-3 years and no matter how many times I've told myself that "I'm keeping this one forever", I always end up getting bored and selling it buy something new. I use to immediately sell the stock parts I replaced in order to pay for more mods but now I have a spot in the attic to keep them so I don't have to track them down later on when putting the car back to stock. I've bought and sold close to 20 vehicles in my short 15 years of driving and the ONLY mod that has ever seemed to add any value to the car was rims/tires. Otherwise, putting them as close to stock as possible and selling the aftermarket parts separately seems to work out the best for me as far as recouping any costs. I've never even come close to breaking even and I'm ok with that, I just consider it paying to play and it's worth every penny!

[UBB]

I'm very pleased with the mods on my car. Granted it's not a ZL1 but I still have less $$ spent than what a ZL1 would have cost me.