andythejock01wrx

As above. I realise most people that modify their Imprezas are doing so to improve performance and probably aren't considering resale value, but what do you think ? Do engine mods put off so many potential purchasers as to actually decrease the value of the car ? And what are people's experiences of this when selling their modded cars ?

StudentScooby

All depends on what the buyer wants! To start from scratch or to save some cash because someone has already spent it....

andythejock01wrx

Yeah, but some buyers will assume the engine's gonna blow up or at least that it's been thrashed to within an inch of it's life !

Varboy

'no modifications' is a good selling point in most situations when selling cars like Imprezas

wrxcraig

i just brought mine with aload of mods done to it, all i need to do is change the back lights lol

andythejock01wrx

But Varboy, your car is modded. Do you reckon it's worth less than the standard car would have been ?

andythejock01wrx

You want Lexus lights or you're getting rid of them ?!

pslewis

Modded cars are worth half the value of un-modded cars.

Why? Simple really, who the hell wants to buy a car off a BoyRacer (even if you want to be a BoyRacer yourself!)? Answer = NoOne!!

Part of the fun of modding is doing it yourself and deciding what to do ... also the idea that the previous owner (on an un-modded car) didn't thrash the bollox off it, is appealing when buying.

You see a modified car and you KNOW that it has been thrashed to within an inch of its life and the life of that car can be measured in days .... not the years of a well treated un-modified example.

So, yes, they are worth less .... because noone wants them and quite rightly so!

MisterAdam

Depends how much a certain buyer is looking to pay for a certain car.

I bought my impreza because it was the most standard i coulld find with the best history. I didn't want a modified one because of the increased likley hood that the car has been battered. I didn't want a fresh import again because last time it cost me a bomb (was a starlet turbo that cost me a bit in repairs) Getting a car, key, V5, and a bit of japanise jiberish on some paper that could say "written off" for all i know

billythekid

PPP is going to make it a bit more valuable IME. Almost everything else will make it worth less.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Even those who modify their car, and then keep it in the garage for fear of getting it wet?

Getting the modifications 'right' is not difficult.
Considering the cult following the Impreza now has, very few people seek to buy one for their daily commute.
Therefore, it doesn't need to be standard.
Its funny how the bog standard MY99 and MY00's fetch around 6K, and those with a turbo upgrade, ecu re-map, supporting mods, P1 front spoiler, front mount intercooler and colour coded exterior seem to fetch nearer to 7K.

briforbes

It all depends on what modifications have been done....

I wanted a completely standard car when I bought my STI.....it blew up at 20mph the day after I bought it, was off the road for 2 months and cost me another £2k.

All the modifications done to the car now, with the exception of the exhaust, are to improve reliability (rebuild with modified oil pump and sti 9 bearings etc, A'pexi Power FC, Kakimoto Exhaust).....so if I were to buy again I would definitely only consider cars that had been rebuilt and mapped for UK fuel, unless the car was fairly new.

I don't think well thought out modifications necessarily mean the car is likely to have been humped around at 8500rpm everywhere......lexus lights, tatty stickers and huge wheels on the other hand.......well, that's different.

GlobalBan

In the main modified cars are worth less, certainly in the mainstream market

I'll explain for the idiots.

Firstly I don't believe the examples of MY99 quoted above. The owners might price them at 7 grand but my bet is that most of them settle for less. For example there's a pathetic dreamer on here trying to sell a high mileage bugeye for 10K because it owes him so much cash. The fact he's openly admitted to abusing it on here and the fact nobody wants to pay a premium for someone elses overspend means he is unlikely to find anyone to pay well OTT for a car that's worth 6K trade.

Also modified cars are modified for a reason. So that people can use the extra performance. It's common sense that most people don't want something highly stressed and unreliable with modifications of uncertain provenance. A lot of these cars remind me of bad DIY projects in people's houses. Furthermore many modifiers want to be 'individual' (although I'd argue they are just conforming to another set of rules but that's a different debate) so why would they want to buy into someone else's 'individuality'?

Moving on to trade value, modifications lower the value as the trade is rightly very wary of cars that have been messed about with.

Most modifications lower rather than increase the value of a car. In the rare cases where someone has done tasteful and appropriate modifications ie maybe a remap, exhaust and reasonable ICE upgrade (not DVD's and ****ty screens in headrests etc) they will at best make it more attractive to potential purchasers.

The only other way of recouping some cash is to strip the mods and sell them independant of the car.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

That doesn't seem to apply to 600bhp Skylines!

GlobalBan

That depends doesn't it? I've seen so called '600bhp' skylines sat on dealers websites for over a year. Probably because they make nearer 400 on a good day as they're shagged out or poorly modified in the first place.

Of course there are certain modified cars that add value rather than destroy it. Lotus Seven clones spring to mind as a good example.

The question here though is 'are modded scoobs worth more or less' and the answer is less.

Jim_B

iTrader: (1)

Even if you buy a standard car - there is always a chance it has been modded and stripped, so then you arent even in a position to see what the mods were !!

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

Exactly!

Gutmann pug

If you are selling it to a garage it will be worth less, if they will even touch it at all.

If you are selling privately some mods will make the car more desirable but not necessarily worth more, others will be detremental to its value.

When I sold mine it had TSL333, nice alloys and the odd other mod. I got the same money as people were asking for PPP cars. However I sold mine whereas theirs were still for sale (at reduced prices) several months later.

Gary

New_scooby_04

iTrader: (4)

Effective and stealthy (good taste) mods increase the cars value to a knowledgable audience or people who want their car to be better/faster than std. For everyone else, they probably reduce the liklihood they'll be interested in the car/reduce its value.

"Individual mods" invariably have a detrimental effect on a cars value.

Ns04

GUNNER

Hmm, Had a look at a 03 sti uk 40,000 mls full history etc for sale at a local garage to me back in october.I asked for a trade in price on my01 bugeye wrx 41,000 mls uk full history and was quoted book price at £6000, however when i explained it had approx £2000 of mod's inc exhaust,prodrive light's,big brake's larger spoiler etc in wr blue he took a look at the car and said he would up the offer to over 7k maybe 7.5k top's. Do you think this was because i was looking at taken a 15k car off him? The sti had also been tweeked to 300bhp by my local motorsport tuner, the same place as my car is serviced so checking knowledge of both car's was easy. Did'nt do deal as i felt may car was worth more to me that top trade price quoted.

stevebennett

I personally would not buy a car which was modified. For a car such as the impreza or Evo a reliable checkable history is key.

As for some saying they aer not used as there daily cars this is complete nuts i see many people using them as there daily commute.

But on the flip side of this which i will contridict myself, i have been looking for a Jap import to replace my WRX and the only place i will go would be Lichfields/Powerstation. In reality its down to your own opinion and how far you are willing to risk your cash.

Steve

AC-scoobie

Just take a look in the for sale section and see how many parts are selling so that a car can be 'put back to standard'. A car with sensible exhaust / remap or PPP has to be worth a bit more than a 'standard' car?

GazTheHat

All depends on the mods. A personal preference to some.

A modded car is only worth more to someone who would mod it the same. It does not necessarily increase the value because you've spent lots of money on it.

I've not had a problem selling any of my previous modded cars, all private. My classic took the longest, 6m! (over xmas too) But i had an offer after 1 weeks which ended up to be more than i took 6m later.

If that is playing on your mind Andy whether to mod yours. Sod that! Get your fix .

(You can always sell the mods seperately and convert to standard if/when selling).

TimWRX01

iTrader: (1)

PPP may increase re-sale very slightly but a re-map wouldn't.

A modified car and a standard in the same condition, year, mileage would probably be worth about the same. The modified one would be much more difficult to sell though because you are waiting for someone with similar tastes.

Gear Head

iTrader: (2)

So remap to make sure the car runs sweet plus adding a fair chunck of power and torque, wouldn't increase the value? What about desireability?

GazTheHat

Both i would've thought, although the latter more.

Plus with the remap, you'll have paid the license, so that's got to be worth something...

boxman2000

The answer to the question is pure conjecture.

The fact is something is only worth what someone else will pay for it. Just because you've got the most tricked up Scoob in the country and having spent endless time and money on modding it doesn't intantly mean it's not going to fetch the highest price - if you can find a buyer that wants it as is or can see potential of improving it even more.

If you can't find a buyer willing to 'risk' their money on a modded motor then in effect it's dead money as you cannot sell it!!

By the same token if you've got a Jap import (certainly around where I live) people are instantly put off even touching it. It seems the general mindset is that parts are more expensive and servicing is more difficult to get done - truth is (in my experience) Subaru dealerships won't touch Jap imports but there are plenty of good garages out there willing to service your motor and as for parts....... lol, well that's just stoopid!!!!!

Horses for courses - find the buyer willing to buy your modded motor for the asking price.......... your laughing. If not.............. keep modding!

LG John

When I was in the market for my STI there is no way in hell I'd have bought a standard car unless it was dirt cheap as I knew that I was going to want at the very least a full decat, boost gauge, 3-port and a remap. The car I found had all that and some more to boot. The key thing for me is that the modifications have been carried out correctly and are sensible modifications.

Decat and remap has been tried and tested over and over again on all years of Scooby's. IMHO it just as reliable as a PPP and gives better gains for less money. I get a little more concerned when a cars turbo has been changed, injectors, FMIC, etc, etc. That said, its almost like TDO5+FMIC+injectors+pump+remap has become the new PPP+

andythejock01wrx

So if you go for an Andy F Hybrid and get the main man to remap the car after fitting STi intercooler etc (say to 320bhp on a Newage WRX), will the car still be likely to be as reliable over a 5 year period ?

The Zohan

Hi Pete, do you keep these 'informed' quotes of your in file or type them out each and every time?

Surley (or is it) Surly Peter, it depends on the person, what mods, who did the mods and for what reasons and how the car has been used. most of this is applicable to any car. Modding a car does not necessarily mean it has been horsed within an inch of its life day in day out.

I would be more concerned if it had been 'tracked' and how often for instance

I would take all factors into consideration!