dunx

iTrader: (3)

Aston Martin, so why do Prodrive keep messing with them.... ?

To make them nicer to drive ? or just to empty some footballers wallet ?

Mines "only" about a Boxsters worth, and I'd look as big a tit in that as I do a Scoob !

DunxC

frayz

iTrader: (7)

I would buy a modded car providing they were done correctly and to my taste.

I would only mod it anyway.

I mean, who would realistically buy my car as it stands?

ex-webby

I think it is all to do with the WHOLE picture and the WHOLE story.

The ScoobyNet Project Spec C will be available in the future to buy.

Do you think that won't sell, just because it has been modified?

Whilst I don't expect many cars to have the documented and publisized history that our car has had (and the lucky buyer would be buying more than just a car in our case), ensuring that a car has been modified with the correct parts and by respected people, with the history to back it up, is a must and means a lot.

If someone wanted to take a Spec C and do what we have done to it, they would be looking at around £50k all in (including the price of a good Spec C). The car would be offered for no where near that, but because of the modifications it does not make the car any less attractive to a number of buyers.

It's on a case by case basis, but modified (nowadays) does not always mean anything bad. That on it's own should not be the only deciding factor imo.

Adidas

What about Alpina's, Brabus and alike.

They're 'modified' cars?

magicgreg

Depends on the person selling the car, how much knowledge he had, the parts on the car and what condition it was in.

G

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

Frayz - I'd be tempted

Then I'd have a black one to go with my blue one

But re: the original question - as long as it it was properly done, was mechanically sound, was a cherished car, good quality parts, etc etc... I wouldn't have a problem with buying a modified car.

fireblade37

iTrader: (1)

Brought my00 classic (standard) within four months BANG. Most people put there cars back to standard when selling and the new owner knows nothing regards to mods and track days etc. Imho ***** trick. I would rather by a modded car that had been sensibly modded and well looked after.

bighead

iTrader: (1)

well typed my man

Henrik

iTrader: (5)

More than half the fun with impreza ownership is modifying and improving, though... if I'd gone and bought a 911 or aston I would have missed out on that

jasonius

iTrader: (1)

I would buy a modified car that's been cherished any day over one that's been 'looked after' by a woman ..!

At the end of the day you don't modify a car to increase it's value, anyone who thinks that is .

Agree with other posters too, in that most standard scoobs are given a harder time than a well modded one. Especially now that there are plenty of cars out there (latest hot hatches for instance) that will give standard scoobs a real problem (therefore driven harder to try prove otherwise)..!

In my well modded scoob they're hardly worth bothering with and if I do then there's no need to push it so hard..

Basically what's worse a standard car that's been driven 100% for most of it's life or a modded car that's driven at ~70% for most of it's life..? I.e in most modded scoobs you'd end up killing yourself if you drove if flat out everywhere..!

Back to the 'lady owner' issue, I now very few (ie no ) women that are mechanically minded. They therefore do not understand the need to warm a car up, run it on decent fuel and so on..! Obviously there are exceptions and you'd know this from speaking to them. So again it's more about the whole story than modded or not..!

It's more to do with type of mods, history and the owner than the car itself, which IMHO is mostly the case when buying any S/H car..

luckham

I don't agree. The basis for buying a car should not be on whether it is modded or not, it should be on the overall condition of the vehicle at point of sale.

If sensible and high quality modifications have been made to the car I would see that as being a plus point and not a negative one..

If some chav's thrown on a dump valve / flamer kit + LED washer jets on it then sure walk away as it is probably a good sign that the vehicle has been badly treated, but if its had it's brakes uprated, an oil cooler/bigger intercooler fitted or a programmable management system fitted, exhaust / induction etc etc then provided the car is running within acceptable limits [i.e. it's not been modded to a level higher than the main engine components can tolerate] then this should be considered an advantage IMO.

luckham

I think main point you need to consider when buying a car is to look at the previous owner and decide as to whether he/she is mechanically sympathetic..

trigot33

Its an open ended question where many factors come into play. Ofcourse the most sensible answer would be what modifications have been done. For me as a general rule, i wouldnt buy a car thats had its engine maxed out to within an inch of its life. i.e., heavily modified. What i would go for is something that has a proper quality exhaust system fitted as these can cost upwards of 600 plus quid for the jap metal. secondly id like some interior mods like dials and some electronic stuff. Id be wary of anything thats been ``chipped` because experience has taught me that there are a lot of ``cowboys` who do chipping with little regards for the health of the car pre- and post chipping.

bmfcrash

iTrader: (14)

I would buy a moddified car, and infact did. It was some of the mods that made me choose it in the firts place. Main one being a tommy K front end but also has loads of hks stuff including ssqv and gauges ect zero sport pipes and silicone hoses 5zigen pipe and adjustable struts, all in all about 4 grands worth on a sti3 that cost me 5400. I dont see the car worth any more but it is different to most, and the majority of things would have been bought at some point in the future anyway. Nothing major in the tuning department so engine is pretty much the same as a stock one.

STi_Si

Yes, view my scooby

samcowrx

yes

stevebt

iTrader: (8)

Its not exactly modifed as to caused any worry ??

Rob-S

iTrader: (5)

Most definitely.
It saved me lots of money to start with but you just never stop modding

STi_Si

Absolutely, but back to OP, it IS modified....

martwrxsl

Because it's been driven by a women is not a bad thing!!!!!!!!

Don't kid yourself into thinking all women can't drive!!!!!!

Subaru mechanics looked after the car not her!!!

The fact that when I went to look at the car that it had a full subaru service history, receipts for everything, low milage, no sign of abuse, clean oil, the gearchange was good up and down and it didn't have a mark on it is the reason I bought it.

You don't modify a subaru to drive it at 4,000rpm ?

chris-boris

iTrader: (7)

Have you actually driven a modified car of any nature and then compared it to a standard car of the same make and model to make that sweeping statement?

Im going to asume not as you do not seem willing to accept that people who modify scoobies (and other cars alike) will not always drive them to within an inch of the redline at every opportunity they get.

Another element to your original question, would you buy one that had no power modifications but had alot of handeling mods? In my view a car that has been well modified and that has an owner who knows what they are talking about would appear a better purchase than a random standard car that has an owner that hasnt got a clue what they are doing - in a subaru's case things like warming up and cooling off, regular quality oil changes, regular services etc etc

You asked the question in good faith but appear to take a very blinkered view of the bigger picture in light of others vierws and experiences. I mean, would you seriously not consider one car over another if the only difference was in the power of the car when all other aspects are identical and to your liking?

All the above is just my opinion of course, and we are all entitled to one of them (until they are taxed like everything else!)

martwrxsl

I'm not trying to have a go at people with modified scoobies. I respect them. I'm trying to say that if you bought a 911 turbo you wouldn't see many of them modded. I'm getting my car own scooby modded. I was having a go at the poster refering to women driving cars! Ok if the scooby is modified with uprated engine, brakes, shocks, springs, turbo, fuel pump, diff or areodymanics they haven't done this for no reason. you don't have to drive it to screaming limit, I understand.

Shark Man

To me there are two types of modified car:

There's your bodged bangers: No matter how treasured by its current owner, nor how much money has been thrown at it. Its a poor car. Typical signs of such a car usually starts with the list on uneeded snake oil mods and tastless body/interior fittings. These cars split off futher to the case where a person has more money than sense, who doesn't oversee the work on the car properly through lack of, or incorrectly percieved knowledge (and thus gets bodged - corner cuts and needless mods as garage focuses on profits). Plus the ones done DIY or on the cheap/limited budget and little knowhow. Most of these cars run a "rebuild if/when it blows" mentality. (or sell it before it blows)

Sadly it seems alot of scoobs fall into the above (most being "road" cars with high outputs on stock engine internals and transmission, chip-your-teeth crashy suspension, skittish handling and brakes that don't work when cold...road car? Indeed LOL!).

The other type of modded car is one done by an owner with a very high technical knowedge/experience on cars (not psuedo - "read it off" t'internet/ "buy a book" knowledge..that goes back to the bodged bangers). The right money spent in the right areas on the right items (not thrown *****-nilly and paying far too much for something of little gain). Most of these cars will be track/event cars. True road cars of this catorgory are very rare (as suspension/brakes/power will be optimised for the track/event use). Generally these cars will be built by the tuning companies themselves as "in house" cars or done by a talented owner who is usually capeable of doing much of their own work, such as assembling engines/transmissions creating their own fueling/ignition maps, welding up their own inlet manfolds etc. They will build a complete engine to suit the power needs, and assertain and understand that a higher output will warrant a preventive rebuild/inspection by total disassembly every season or so - with aim of identifying weak points/limitations before they manifest as a total failure - like a rod out the block.

Ultimatley due to the work required, and kind of person required to do it, these cars are fewer to come by.


There is a world of difference between these catogories, I think its pretty obvious that I would go for the latter! However, because of the market is being flooded with the previous (what I term "bodged bangers" , there is a struggle to find a good example. where it would be easier to buy totally standard unmolested car as base car to work from. As then, I know where my starting point is, and not have waste efforts in investigating, re-doing and fixing all the issues found in the usual bodged banger.

A great example is the Mazda RX7; Loads are modified, most are very badly/poorly done, but there are a few absolute monsters out these...but they are hard to find (in good working order), so much so you'll have more chance finding one that has not been messed with - a task in itself!

Prasius

iTrader: (1)

I do think thats a little harsh to most of us on here!

I get what your saying, but I do think there are some shades of grey in there between the two extremes!

luckham

Garbage.. So what your saying is that there are only 2 types of modified car the first being a Barry boy chav mobile and the second being a professionally built race prepped track car?

Surely you’re forgetting the most major category which is a vehicle that is maintained to a high standard and is sensibly modded to improve its handling, performance, braking and appearance. Which I would suggest [or hope] accounts for the majority of the vehicles on here..

Shark Man

Yes. Most modded road cars are garbage! Loads of money spent on parts to be bolted on by xx reputable "tuners" but the sum of parts does not add up to a good road car.


Of course, if you want to take my broad generalisations to simplify my explaination of the situations I experience as literal fact then go ahead....

Shark Man

Of course. I thought that would be pretty obvious

luckham

The problem is, you cannot escape the fact that your broad generalisations missed out a very broad and important category:- A well maintained vehicle with sensible modifications.

These cars do exist [as I own one] and also I think you'll find that quite a few other people on here also own cars that fit into this category - in that their cars are neither track day weapons nor Barry boy chav wagons..

andythejock01wrx

LOL Jase.

andythejock01wrx

I own a modded car and would buy a modded car. However, it would have to have been modded like mine (sensibly, and by a top mapper).

I think you can tell a lot from speaking to the owner, if he seems like a bull****ter, is cagey or doesn't seem to know much about his own car, stay well away.

One more thing, wouldn't pay significantly more for a modded car (and wouldn't expect significantly more). I see so many unrealistically proced modded cars on here ! Agreed ?

AndytJ