About selling a car

[GrandmasterCow]

hey i know many people think differently on this topic, but when you go to sell a car, if it's modified, how many of you would add onto the KBB value some of the cost of the aftermarket stuff?

[WildBillyT]

I would definetly do so if they are significant modifications. Based on your sig, I suggest you do it.

[89CamaroRS]

^i agree. if u've done extensive mods and put all kinds of loot into the car, buyers should expect to shell out extra for it. u shouldn't be able to get a car that sounds/runs like urs (sweet vid btw) for the same price u'd get a stock 98 TA for.

[Untamed]

While I agree that additional value should be placed on the cost of a modded car, you have to remember that your customer numbers drop significantly.

Most people see a modified car as something they shouldn't touch. It's probably been driven hard / raced, components may have been removed in favor of greater power, brakes / tires / wheels have taken a beating, etc. The general buying public will be vary wary of looking at your car.

However, enthusiasts and racers will look at your car as something that is already modded, saving them time and some money. They can appreciate what's been done to it, while zeroing in on the known trouble spots of such a car. The down side is, they are also vary aware of what a car like that costs - KBB value and mods. They know you'll have a hard time selling it to just anybody, and therefore have negotiating room, especially if you're desperate to sell it.

Add some cost to the car for the mods, but target the sale at the right buying crowd for a quicker sale.

[BonzoHansen]

I think it is generally a fine line. A few might be tasty, but a lot of mods could give the illusion of the car being raced/beaten on, which can turn people off. Your engine mod list jumps off the page as a raced car. NOS just makes that perception much worse.

I tend to liken it to selling a house with a pool – in the end it adds very little to the value of the house. It reduces the number of people interested, so a demand drop means a value drop. But the lower supply of houses with pools can offset that value loss. So it ends up being a push, not a sizable impact on price either way.

For cars (and houses), the condition of the inside, outside, how well it runs/is maintained, and if it will pass inspection are far bigger impacts (and for many, working AC, but I digress). Back to the pool analogy – if the pool is part of a super nice, well maintained yard, it might add a few % points to the house value (but really the landscaping is what does it), but if the yard & pool look below average, it will boat anchor the price.

Conversely, I think there is a lot of truth in the old saying “it is cheaper to buy then build”. The builder often loses. We aren’t talking a 69 COPO car. Generally, we lose money on cars. LOL. Just my experience, not trying to torpedo you.

[jims69camaro]

obviously, anything you have added to the car adds to the end value. it's how much that is usually brought into question. car dealers rely on the value of the car only - and at the other end of the spectrum, the car owner has a very inflated value attached to a modified car. the truth lies somewhere in the middle, so to speak.

anything modified should be augmented by 33% of the retail price of the added parts. your time putting those parts on, however, draws a big fat zero.

[BonzoHansen]

obviously, anything you have added to the car adds to the end value. it's how much that is usually brought into question. car dealers rely on the value of the car only - and at the other end of the spectrum, the car owner has a very inflated value attached to a modified car. the truth lies somewhere in the middle, so to speak.

anything modified should be augmented by 33% of the retail price of the added parts. your time putting those parts on, however, draws a big fat zero.

Given the rocking list of stuff he has, I bet the average guy won’t want this car, but it would be rather alluring to the enthusiast. If that is the case, I’d list it all and inflate the appropriate value (i.e. poor, fair, good, etc.) from KBB by 20-30% the cost of the cool parts – I’d at least see what that ## is and use it as a starting point. I also agree that any labor costs are lost. It also depends how fast you want to sell it, of course.

If it was a general statement, I disagree with “anything you have added to the car adds to the end value”, for the reasons I stated earlier. To illustrate with a hypothetical, if he added an airbrushed mural of UBG on the hood for $1000, I doubt it would raise the resale value of the car $333, and in fact it might reduce the resale value. Extremely odd example yes, but people do odd & sometimes expensive things to their cars, and those changes would not add to the value of the car. Another hypothetical is if you jack the AC out of the car. Even if it cost you $$ for an AC delete box or something, AC raise the value, so taking it out logically cannot also raise it. I'd also argue the $$ value of the NOS setup is worth zero on resale, and may in fact be a negative to many buyers.


Cool thread.

[JL8Jeff]

The mods don't add that much value unfortunately. You can take the KBB value and maybe add 10-20% of the mod value. Mods actually take away from KBB value but most people will expect to pay a little extra for it. Usually, you can get more money by removing the mods(if they are easy enough) and selling it all separately. I'll use my old 93 Indy Pace Car as an example. I couldn't sell it for $11,000 with the supercharger on it. I removed the supercharger and sold it for $1500 and then sold the car for $10,500. The buyer knew it had been supercharged and he test drove it and thought it was still one of the best cars he had seen.

[GrandmasterCow]

yeahi agree very much with your ideas. i still don't know whats goin gon yet. but since the new engine no n2o has gone through it or even installedd, also has ac and all accessories.

[jims69camaro]

To illustrate with a hypothetical, if he added an airbrushed mural of UBG on the hood for $1000, I doubt it would raise the resale value of the car $333, and in fact it might reduce the resale value. Extremely odd example yes, but people do odd & sometimes expensive things to their cars, and those changes would not add to the value of the car. Another hypothetical is if you jack the AC out of the car. Even if it cost you $$ for an AC delete box or something, AC raise the value, so taking it out logically cannot also raise it. I'd also argue the $$ value of the NOS setup is worth zero on resale, and may in fact be a negative to many buyers.

but KBB takes into account whether the car has AC or not (at least i think it does), so deleting it wouldn't be a minus. his labor taking it out would be lost, is all.

as for the mural of UB on the hood, well, the hood would be worth what it's worth. we all know UB is worthless. :mrgreen: even a mural of an eagle over a flag with mountains in the distance would be for a specific audience. not everyone would want to rock that on their hood. i thought we were specifically speaking about go-fast stuff, anyway, which is why i made the general statement. if we are talking chopping, frenching, bobbing, lowering or any other "stylized" modifications, as in the car would be considered a custom when done, then no, i wouldn't think you'd be able to add the work and/or parts when done. the target audience of any type of custom is much smaller than the public at large; this goes without saying.

Cool thread.

true.