Mustang used price Opion Discussion.

[mustangguy88]

There are a lot of us out there that can build a pretty nice Mustang. These projects can become very pricey in the process. Knowing these build costs, eventually these car end up being sold after being meticulously maintained.

What i am noticing, is that there are those who want what we have built and expect something for nothing.

I'm looking for people's opinions on what a car should be worth. I'll use mine as an example others are more than welcome to post their cars as well or examples that fit the discussion. By the way mine is not even remotely for sale, it's being used to start the conversation.

2015 Mustang GT Performance Pack equipped with $50,000 in performance parts added and 20,000 on the odometer. Babied from day one. For more specifics refer to my garage.

I see others post to the classifieds with these well built cars and the viewers argue a car with $20,000 to $30,000 in work done should sell out at $35,000. Really, just a cursory look on Ebay and there is a plethora of 2015 completely stock low milage GTs for sale above $30,000.

What does the forum crowd think is fair?

Again my car is just to get the thread started with, the last Mustang I sold, I owned for 20 years and is what paid for this one. I'm sure this conversation will get heated and thats OK.

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[Mustang5ohMan]

Looks nice. Like the red calipers, painted?
The red seats and belts look nice too. Nice looking ride...


It’s worth whatever someone is willing to pay...

 

[mustangguy88]

They are GT350 brake kit and thanks.

It's a given, it's worth what someone would pay. Lets say its a 10,000 mile 15 GT Mustang with $20,000 in upgrades.

There's no right or wrong answer. What would a car like that be worth.

 

[RIBS]

It depends if you are selling private party or trading in....Lots of people might be scared of a heavily modified car, some people will appreciate the work done, and a dealer just looks at a book for a price related to its model year, mileage and condition. Some dealers give you less for a car that’s modified....

 

[17Ruby]

You will never get your money back on your upgrades unless you return the car to stock and sell the parts.

 

[Balr14]

The trouble with mods is:
1. Nobody trusts they were done right.
2. Hard to find shops that will work on a modded car.
3. Nobody will like all of your mods and be willing to pay for them.
4. The car has most likely been tracked or beat on pretty hard.
5. Hard to finance.

There are lots of low mileage 2015 Mustangs on CarGurus for $30k or less.

 

[hemistar1]

First off your car is nice as hell. Looks well taken care of and would attract another person looking for turn-key speed, performance and cosmetic upgrades. Secondly , it is still a 6 year old low mileage Mustang GT to the untrained eye with an expired factory warranty and a mixture of aftermarket parts that may work well now but may need service later.

Some of us customize a lot: exhaust, engine work , cosmetics, etc. and more but most of the used Mustang GT are daily drivers with little to no mods.

Once again your car looks great but it is not for everyone. If you were to sell you may get back a small portion of what you put in . To recoup some of that value you would look to return car as stock as possible if you were going to sell. Parting out the roll cage, brakes, wheels and blower would be the best way to recover some of what you put in.

Some sellers realize that they have to market the car in a small circle to get the maximum offer others like myself don’t mind taking a ‘loss’ on some of the mods because I either have gotten my use out of them or want to move on to another project.

 

[MustangorCamaro]

Top range KBB says $28k for the car. Does that sound correct? People rarely pay top KBB. Then 1/3 of mods. So about $7k? Minus the current Covid penalty. So $32k.

 

[bnightstar]

Again my car is just to get the thread started with, the last Mustang I sold, I owned for 20 years and is what paid for this one. I'm sure this conversation will get heated and thats OK.

Think with mods is that they lost a lot of value when on the car and others may not like it as much. For example I don't like red and I don't like carbon so your custom interior is not appealing to me which make it a hard sale. When I was shopping for my Mustang (very hard to find in Europe) I was looking into both used and new cars. A pattern with the used cars was that they were beaten on really hard for example a 10 000 km car with worn out tires now I know that Mustangs worn tires really fast but I didn't know that when shopping. So after seeing like 10-20 used cars with different levels of mods on them I decided that I want to go as close to stock as possible. I eventually bought a brand new leftover 2017 GT in right colour and I'm enjoying it a lot. However for me to step into some other guy project is not worth a lot. Maybe if it's just the right car you know like the one I have as a Wallpaper (Grabber Blue with white stripes GT350) but if it's something that don't match for example your car has race car vision and roll cage but it has a charger as well. I want my race car as god intended it NA. So the thing with cars and mods is you are never getting your money back. But that's alright because you had fun doing the mods and driving/racing the car and that's what is important.

 

[17Magnetic5.0]

I would say it’s worth about 35-40 but even then it would take someone that knows what they’re buying or you’ll get ridiculous offers. With that being said someone may fall in love with it and give you more. It’s just hard to say what a car is worth after it’s modified.

As for the 2015 stock mustangs you are seeing, well they can ask 60 for it but it doesn’t mean they’re gonna get it. I don’t know why anyone would buy a low mileage 2015 over a newer car at that price.

 

[mustangguy88]

I understand the loss on modifications. I'm looking for logic. I way over spend on my personal builds, but I don't build for resale, I will get my money's worth over a long period of time For the money I put in i could be in the AMG, M, or GT2 market and not need to do any work.

Most people put a boat load on cash into their cars,and not just Mustangs. Then turn around and try to sell them shortly there after. Why? Wouldn't the initial expense be better applied to a higher tier car, saved or invested.

Then there are the buyers, who know what they are buying and can do their own work, that want to come in and get barely used performance equipment for free when buying a molded car. Why isn't accepted to pay what the parts are worth at a slight loss for being used.

If I purchase a modded car I will take in the totality of the project and pay what is fair, knowing I saved some money and didn't need to start from scratch.

If building, selling and buying are essentially zero sum games why play?

My reasons are simple, I want something different that will compete above its weight class, but then again i don't normally sell back out for a long period of time.

 

[Ebm]

I understand the loss on modifications. I'm looking for logic. I way over spend on my personal builds, but I don't build for resale, I will get my money's worth over a long period of time For the money I put in i could be in the AMG, M, or GT2 market and not need to do any work.
No you won't. Mods should be chalked up to money lost. But it's okay, everyone has hobbies. Some hobbies are more expensive than others. If you enjoy the hobby and have the money to do it, go for it.

Most people put a boat load on cash into their cars,and not just Mustangs. Then turn around and try to sell them shortly there after. Why? Wouldn't the initial expense be better applied to a higher tier car, saved or invested.
Most people don't mod their car to begin with. A small group of car owners mod their cars in relation to how many cars are on the road.

Then there are the buyers, who know what they are buying and can do their own work, that want to come in and get barely used performance equipment for free when buying a molded car. Why isn't accepted to pay what the parts are worth at a slight loss for being used.
People want to buy things for the lowest amount of money possible. It's a wise decision financially. Not everyone can afford the part brand new. They have to wait to get the part at a price they can afford. On the other hand, some people are just cheap skates. If you find a good deal on something, it gives you a good feeling inside too.

If I purchase a modded car I will take in the totality of the project and pay what is fair, knowing I saved some money and didn't need to start from scratch.
I think you're still missing the points people have already made. Bottom line, the parts aren't new anymore, they are used. You don't want to pay the new price on a used part that has been degraded somewhat. Example, shocks or struts... They have a finite life. They will eventually wear out. Buying a used set of shocks or struts is risky because you never know how much life they have left in them. It's the same way with a car. You are taking a gamble on how much life you can get out of the car when you buy it. Most people see a modded car as an increased risk for problems. This is because some aftermarket parts are lower quality than factory parts. Plus factory parts go through stringent testing. More testing than aftermarket parts guaranteed. Also, the previous owners mechanical abilities or the mechanical abilities of the shop that did the work.

If building, selling and buying are essentially zero sum games why play?

My reasons are simple, I want something different that will compete above its weight class, but then again i don't normally sell back out for a long period of time.

Are we sure this isn't a justification thread for why you spent so much money on your car?

 

[Balr14]

If you are looking for logic to modding a car, there isn't a lot, unless you are building a dedicated track car. Most of the time, modding a car is just a "biggest dick" contest with others who have the same type of car. My preference is to save the money and put it toward a better car. For the money you spent, you could have had a Porsche.

 

[mustangguy88]

Wow, that was pretty detailed, were you yelling at the keyboard as you typed your response?

I don't need justification for my actions, I intend on spending close to another $100,000 overtime, my next round includes carbon ceramic rotors and pads with carbon rims to go with them, thats another $20,000.

I make a living building out way more expensive cars than mine.

This is a look into the psychology of why we do what we do.

I think you have missed my point, my reference point is low mileage, pampered cars that are freshly built. Your arguments make sense on a high mileage car with older parts installed.

Here is a small sample of what I get to play with, and I didn't include any of my personal cars other than the black Mustang.

 

[mustangguy88]

If you are looking for logic to modding a car, there isn't a lot, unless you are building a dedicated track car. Most of the time, modding a car is just a "biggest dick" contest with others who have the same type of car. My preference is to save the money and put it toward a better car. For the money you spent, you could have had a Porsche.

Your spot on, I could've had a Porsche, but I do get a great deal of satisfaction out of out performing them on the streets with a car they wouldn't consider a challenge. That's my hobbyists approach to a senseless pursuit.

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