Paying extra resale value for boosted car

[RoGCobraRV]

Not intended to offend anyone boosted or selling boosted cars just opening up a discussion.

When looking thru the classifieds,marketplaces etc why do sellers expect (and price in) the value of their supercharger add on to prospective buyers most all of the time. Just because you have added a supercharger doesn't mean that it has added value onto the car. Quite the opposite in my opinion. Shouldn't it decrease the value? You can't tell me that a boosted car hasn't been (even slightly) abused more than a non boosted one. I know there is value and advantages to buying a car that has already been modified,but I feel that people put far too much weight/added cost into their values when reselling.

I see countless supercharged cars with asking prices far higher than what kbb fair market value is. Now obviously they can't/don't factor that into the price,but does it make the car any more valuable?

I know I for one, would never buy a previously modified vehicle, let alone pay market value of said car plus the cost of the add ons on top.

Curious what other peoples thoughts on buying modified cars on. Have you or would you? Do you agree that 4 and 5 year old boosted coyotes regardless of mileage (even low and in pristine condition)with asking prices in the low 40's and even high 30's seems ridiculous? Maybe it's just me.

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[SolarFlare]

If you’re not looking to boost your future coyote then that’s ok, those ads don’t apply to you.

 

[Redfuzzbutt]

Several months ago when the market was crazy, crazy things were happening - and it wasn't just for a month or two. The "norm" got thrown out the window and replaced by a lot of other emotions.

Now, has that ended or are some people still trying to ride that wave? I've seen plenty of people still trying to ride that wave and either believing that it still applies today or their car is worth it or there region is different or blah, blah, blah.

I bought my car used, FI and other things done to it. Took a risk and after two years, it hasn't bit me in the ass yet. Paid above market value, could have sold for a profit at the height of covid but didn't want to because this wasn't a financial investment for me, it was a "fun" investment for me.

At the end of the day, buying a car is an emotional experience that we try and justify with logic. If that wasn't true, none of us would have mustangs.

 

[kz]

Curious what other peoples thoughts on buying modified cars on. Have you or would you? Do you agree that 4 and 5 year old boosted coyotes regardless of mileage (even low and in pristine condition)with asking prices in the low 40's and even high 30's seems ridiculous? Maybe it's just me.

Selling to dealer / wholesale / trading in any mods will lower the value if anything, regardless if it's a x-pipe or $10k blower.

Here people might be looking for a car with the supercharger and that's a chance to sell it higher than it without it - but yes - most sellers overvalue their mods by a lot - it's free market though and if they're wrong, they'll find that out soon enough.

I personally wouldn't buy anyone's project.

 

[Jeff's FRC]

There's a big difference in well put together cars and beat on cars with some questionable mods. Pretty easy to spot the difference...

I just sold my Whippled 15 GT for $43k(8 years old and 3k more than sticker price) and picked up a Whippled 20 GT for $49k. Nicely modified cars will command a premium and that's just how it is. Just because you think any modified car is devalued, doesn't make it true. Stick to the stock cars if that's your thing, and then pay to upgrade it yourself if you want.

Picture of my 15 just so you can see what a "nicely" modified car looks like.

 

[sk47]

Hello; I go a bit further. I avoid cars with aftermarket tunes as well. I also will pass on a used Mustang with cats deleted.
I recently looked at a used car. I offered the KBB price for the car. The seller wanted an extra $5,000 to cover mods such as wheels, carbon fiber bits and a short throw shifter. I liked the shifter but the rest was of no interest. I asked if he had the original wheels but he had sold them.

 

[noshine4mine]

It's likely any car you see with a higher price that is boosted is still under valued. Most people want the money back out of the major mods. but few calculate all the little things that was done to the car.
If I were to sell mine, it would be a 55k car. Will I get that? Maybe from the right buyer. Someone who understands adding a supercharger/Turbo is just the beginning of such a project. Fuel systems, Tires, Suspension, and various other knick Knacks that add cost to the car.
I have all that and I don't treat my car like a dirty rag. You think bone stock GTs aren't doing burnouts or donuts? That would be far more detrimental to a car then someone that goes to the drag strip occasionally. The person going to the drag strip is likely to fix anything broken for no other reason then they want to go again. They will also likely put better parts on it when doing a repair.
Putting 30k plus into a car and then asking for 20 to 25k over the blue book value is unreasonable?
You couldn't buy a stock car and do all the same mods yourself for near that amount of money. Everyone that puts that much money into a car knows they are going to take a bath if they decide to get rid of it. However taking a bath on upgrade cost and giving it away for what a stock car cost are two completely different things.

 

[DUFF TT]

I paid $42k for my twin turbo '17, and it stickered at $36k. With only 1,500 miles on it, tens of thousands of dollars invested in the motor, and also the interior/wheels/paint/etc, I was happy to pay. It would cost double to build my car versus what I paid for it, so I felt I got the car for a great value since I ultimately wanted all the modifications the car already had.

 

[Angrey]

Mechanical "modifications" or upgrades aren't a good return on investment. Unless the buyer has confidence that the components haven't been worn or abused, you rarely get back 100% of what you invested in an automobile upgrades. Sometimes the loss/discount can be steep.

In some cases where you buy something with the intention of never selling it, you can pay more for the upgrades, but if you buy it, just know that if you ever go to sell it, the market can be pretty harsh on giving you value for what you spent on it.

Take firearms for instance. When selling upgraded components, MOST of them will hold pretty high value. Exceptions are things like optics or electronics where the buyer would rather pay full price for a new/warrantied part than take the risk of a used one.

Most guys who've been in the game a long time know, you get pennies back on your dollar for upgrades when you sell (unless you return it to stock). As pointed out above, dealerships take this a step further because they're trying to market the car to broad consumers, not speed freaks. So for them it actually costs them more to return the car back to something MOST people are interested in.

If you're patient, you COULD get lucky and find the one buyer who knows and appreciates what you've invested and doesn't have anxiety about it all being used. But that adds an element of either time and or luck to finding the right specific buyer. If you want to sell it tomorrow, chances are you're going to have to list it much lower than what you sunk into it.

Then there's the "that's nice, but I don't want that" aspect. Most upgraded cars you look at you go "he's already done that which I planned on doing" but there are almost always things that the seller has done that you either didn't want or couldn't care less they've spent money on (or even worse, you'll have to remove and sell or throw away).

It's like "hey man, I'm glad you spent $25k on impact windows for this house but the fact that you spent $40k for a secret bunker really doesn't matter to me." Can you wait and find the guy who's looking for a bunker? Sure. But you may be waiting a long time or even forever (past the point that you wanted to get rid of it).

 

[DUFF TT]

Mechanical "modifications" or upgrades aren't a good return on investment. Unless the buyer has confidence that the components haven't been worn or abused, you rarely get back 100% of what you invested in an automobile upgrades. Sometimes the loss/discount.....

Very well said. The guy I bought from described his selling experience much like some of your examples. When I've sold modified cars in the past, I'd estimate I got back about ten percent of what I put into the car, in terms of performance modifications.

 

[junits15]

If someone wants to pay it then by all means they can.

It’s a risk, it’s going to sell cheaper than what it would cost you to do equivalent mods but more than an unmodded car. If you end up getting a good one it will be a great deal because you’ll have a FI mustang for a steal, the risk is that it will be a basket case.

 

[monte87]

There's a big difference in well put together cars and beat on cars with some questionable mods. Pretty easy to spot the difference...

I just sold my Whippled 15 GT for $43k(8 years old and 3k more than sticker price) and picked up a Whippled 20 GT for $49k. Nicely modified cars will command a premium and that's just how it is. Just because you think any modified car is devalued, doesn't make it true. Stick to the stock cars if that's your thing, and then pay to upgrade it yourself if you want.

Picture of my 15 just so you can see what a "nicely" modified car looks like.

Perfectly stated........
Thanks Anthony

 

[hlfbkd420]

I had a Roush P2 on my 300a (base model) 2018 GT. I traded it right before the pricing boom in 2020 for $9k over bluebook. I also paid $5k below sticker on my loaded 2019 so it was definitely worth it.

 

[19gtMD]

I got my 19 whippled GT for a 30K steal with my trade in a few years ago. They wanted 47K for it. I have come to appreciate the price i got it for. Because what this car has done to it, i would have never spent the money i know was spent to get it this way. At the time, i thought i was just buying a regular GT with rims on it. The dealer didn't know or mention all the details on it, because it was only on the lot for a day before i saw it and took interest. They probably weren't supposed to even sell it cuz its so heavily modified. I new the general manager personally so he let me take the car for the day to test drive. So immediately the sound of it opened my eyes. I got it home put it on a lift and started looking the car over. Found about 19K worth of stuff on it that i could see visually. The car was very tastefully put together. I tracked down the previous owner and builder of the car and picked their brains over it. After all of that i was glad i went through with the sell and glad i dont have to do anything but drive it. LOL.. Below is just some of what i found out. I took the car back to the original shop that built it to go over it, and found out the builder opened up his own shop. Luck had it, he was close to me.

Borla Atak full exhaust
stainless works LTH
J&L oil separators
Steeda sway bars F/R
Steeda springs, vert links, camber plates, etc
Aftermarket Rims, Tires
Whipple Gen3 kit
Billet oil pump gears, internals
3.55 gears
Mishimoto coolant tank
Dual fuel pump setup
And what was paid to get it all done professionally, and tuned.

 

[Cory S]

This is my last car I built that I will not sell. Too much money, and time. I regret it every time.

My 16GT is very close to paid off, and I'm keeping it for a LONG time this time....

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