Paying extra resale value for boosted car

[Hack]

Definitely any seller is free to ask for as much as they want for their modified car. You have to decide if it's worth it to you.

The way I think about it, there's a reason why someone is selling. They might just want to move on, they might have money problems, or the car has issues and they want to dump it on someone else because it will cost too much to fix. Modified cars are more likely to have issues than factory stock cars. So there is definitely more risk when you are considering a modified car.

Sponsored

 

[NJMike]

What’s the issue with what I said? Point was that whether you sell the items as a package or separately, there is more value.

you said

Given the price of blower kits and supporting mods it makes sense that people ask a premium with these items added to a car. If you can't get more than KBB value after adding all the extras, then it would make sense to put the car back to stock, ask your KBB value and sell the blower kit and aftermarket parts separately.

I said:

To the person buying the car from you

No issue at all - I was trying to be jocular. In light of the thread question, there are people who would pay more for resale on a boosted car. There are people who would buy a "stock" car not knowing it had boost previously thinking it was a great deal but could have issues due to the boosting (the point I think the OP is trying to make) then theres people who would buy a used blower or other bolt on parts after someone returns their car to stock. Those same people could buy the "bolt ons" from the same person they bought the car from.

EDIT - I sold my 2014 GT with Roush, headers & bunch of suspension stuff to someone I had never met but lives like 5 miles from me. I had it new and the mods with like 500 miles on it. When I sold it had 11k, and never saw a day at the strip. I ran into his son a few months after he bought the car and he told me his dad was returning it to stock. To which I said "WHY?!" - why buy a boosted GT then take off the parts? Maybe he tought he could sell them for a premium, no idea.

 

[Basspro302]

I wish boosted cars lost value, i would have a fleet of boosted 5.0s.

 

[SolarFlare]

I wish boosted cars lost value, i would have a fleet of boosted 5.0s.

And I think that’s partly why you can still demand good money for 5-6yo boosted coyotes. They’re good performers and everyone knows it.

 

[EFI]

Just because you have added a supercharger doesn't mean that it has added value onto the car. Quite the opposite in my opinion.

Key word there: opinion. In your opinion (which is perfectly fine to have) major mods such as FI devalues a car. In someone else's opinion, it's the opposite and values the car. And value of a car is dictated by the market, not by 1 person's opinion.

Seeing as how modified cars still sell well above their equivalent stock value, it seems that your specific opinion is well in the minority otherwise all those cars wouldn't sell for the higher value.

 

[nnnnnn]

If anyone is spending 20k on mods and then selling the car for same price as a base GT they are stupid and shouldn't be modifying cars. If Ford made that car with all those parts, they wouldn't sell it for the base GT price.

Moral of the story, modify your car they way you want if you plan on keeping the car for a very long time or passing it to your kids or something. I don't get the stupid people who spend so much money modifying these cars then giving them away for dirt cheap after deciding to sell it two years later. Look at your life ahead and see if it's worth modifying. Otherwise don't waste money on mods. I've spent so much money on my mods and I would be an idiot to sell it at base GT pricing without selling the mods separately. Car is never for sale after that much money spent on it. I'll enjoy it till it can't run no more.

 

[sk47]

If anyone is spending 20k on mods and then selling the car for same price as a base GT they are stupid and shouldn't be modifying cars. If Ford made that car with all those parts, they wouldn't sell it for the base GT price.

Moral of the story, modify your car they way you want if you plan on keeping the car for a very long time or passing it to your kids or something. I don't get the stupid people who spend so much money modifying these cars then giving them away for dirt cheap after deciding to sell it two years later. Look at your life ahead and see if it's worth modifying. Otherwise don't waste money on mods. I've spent so much money on my mods and I would be an idiot to sell it at base GT pricing without selling the mods separately. Car is never for sale after that much money spent on it. I'll enjoy it till it can't run no more.

Hello; I agree with your attitude. When shopping for a car/truck which I expect to modify to my taste, the plan is to keep it. Did that before and indeed when times dictated, I needed to sell I had to take a big loss. Such was not the plan but divorce and the need for a daily driver forced the issue.

Some cars such as an older classic Mustang can be an open-ended money pit. Kind of need to know that going in on a project like that. Not sure how to figure on a late model Mustang such as a 2023. The late model cars are not classics and a lot them are made under normal conditions. Unlike the older classics there will be so many around a buyer can be picky.

If a buyer specifically wanted a supercharged car then the seller with one has a good chance of getting favorable terms. Then the issue becomes condition.
I have repaired a lot of cars behind someone else's repair or modification. Sometimes i have wondered what they were thinking.
I have done repairs for some folks who balked at the cost of a proper repair and insisted on a make do patch job. Unless I did the work myself or know of someone who does good work, the instillation becomes a question that is hard to answer.
I was ready to buy a modified 1965 Mustang some years ago. Seller had receipts and a picture catelogue. The deal fell apart when i noticed the vin plate looked off. Numbers were hard to make out having been damaged and painted over.

Last thing has already been mentioned by others. If performance mods are on a car such as a supercharger it must be figured the car has been pushed hard. How hard is difficult to know. Is the seller getting rid of a car with serious underlying problems or is it still a sound vehicle? If the rest of the car is what I want, I might take the risk on stressed components. Guess the thing is some buyers will just walk from a car with heavy aftermarket performance parts.

 

[Trap]

The reason the dealers do not give extra, in fact they offer lower to heavily modded vehicles is they are harder to sell, and most customers are not willing to pay for the mods especially if they don't care for or want the mods you have added. As soon as you specialize a vehicle with your mods you are limiting the number of people interested in that car. What makes it even harder is you have to find the right person that likes the mods that you put on. A lot of people would not have added the same mods that you did. It doesn't matter if it's cars, Rv's or even houses. The more you personalize them with mods the harder it is to sell.

 

[beetle6986]

There are people who would buy a "stock" car not knowing it had boost previously thinking it was a great deal but could have issues due to the boosting

I wasn't implying that anybody should be sneaky about the car's history. It also isn't realistic in my mind to remove the parts and sell separately. I was just making a point that if someone did, they would get more $$ than KBB. So why shouldn't they ask a premium with the parts still on the car? I think it's pretty reasonable to expect to get back maybe 40ish% of the money spent on mods.

As others have said, I'm also hesitant to buy highly modified cars as you don't know how they were treated. I made an exception with my 2016, but it was obviously a garage queen with 2k miles on it when it was 5 years old and the owner had receipts of everything installed by the dealer with warranty.

I sold my 2014 GT with Roush, headers & bunch of suspension stuff to someone I had never met but lives like 5 miles from me. I had it new and the mods with like 500 miles on it.

Just out of curiosity.... Why did you sell it right after investing so much on modifications?

 

[NJMike]

I wasn't implying that anybody should be sneaky about the car's history. It also isn't realistic in my mind to remove the parts and sell separately. I was just making a point that if someone did, they would get more $$ than KBB. So why shouldn't they ask a premium with the parts still on the car?

Just out of curiosity.... Why did you sell it right after investing so much on modifications?

I think you may have taken what I said wrong. I was trying to be funny. But my experience was similar in that the guy who bought mine was removing parts after I sold it to him. I have no idea why someone would buy a modded car to return it stock. I couldve done that and sold him the parts...
Anyway, to answer your question, I modded the car in like May 2013 right after I got it. I sold it last January, with only 11k miles

 

[DUFF TT]

Just out of curiosity.... Why did you sell it right after investing so much on modifications?

I know you didn't ask me, but I asked the guy I bought from the same thing. He's a wealthy guy with wealthy friends, and they all love building up cars and then showing them. For them, the build is where the bulk of the enjoyment comes from. Once they've taken the car to so many shows, they get the itch to build something new. If you've got cash to burn, "wasting" money on modifications isn't really a concern. It's just table stakes to be part of that specific sector of the car culture world.

 

[Unas2k5]

I drive mine all the time it doesn’t even go into boost. I can’t simply too much power. It’s a lot easier to drive it hard stock. There’s no flooring it now it would lose control.

 

[cficare68]

I bought my 20 GT Premium PP1 a year ago for $43k bone stock w/ 9k on it. Since then I've boosted it, put a fuel system in it, and done a handful of other things too it. Even at 50k it would've been a lot cheaper than going the route I went. I just don't like the idea of buying someone else's project.

 

[Cobra Jet]

IMO, anyone who adds forced induction and claims they don't use it at all, isn't fooling anyone. You can't tell me that dumping $10k-$13k+ by adding forced induction, the fuel system, the tuning, the possible dyno testing and whatever other XYZ mods that go along with it, that someone just drives it like as if it were not modified and they "don't use the powaaa"...

C'mon, I mean seriously - that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard. We all know for a fact that once a Mustang and any other Muscle car has forced induction added, there's the ceremonial tire roasting (1, 2, maybe even 3 sets of tires) and the multiple trips down "Mexico's highways doing Autobahn speeds"...

As for the question about mods and value - a Mustang is only worth as much to the next person willing to pay for THAT exact vehicle with the options/mods. If the Owner paid $50k+ for it new, then added another $15k in mods, sure they can ask "$65k" for it. Will they get it? Maybe, maybe not. Depends on the Buyer who could make the purchase on whimsical emotions OR could be someone who doesn't even research or doesn't know values plunking down the $$$. Then on the other hand, there's US who WON'T pay $65k "just because". That's the funny thing about we as Enthusiasts - we want to add the mods and want to ask the high $$$ when it comes time to sell (because we can justify "I did mods"), but when it comes time to buy another modded Mustang, many of us won't pay that inflated asking price .... LOL

--

The BIGGEST issue with modern modified vehicles isn't what you can see, it's what you CAN'T see. If the vehicle has a tune, many times it's not transparent IF the Seller or Selling Agency knows it or doesn't reveal that fact (and any Tune dongle is usually missing) Tunes today are the worst "gotcha" when it comes time to getting that vehicle inspected. A hidden tune can wreak nothing but problems for a new owner and then trying to find out who tuned it, what tune it had OR why it ventilated the block hitting 8k RPM's going to the grocery store. Plus, as others have said, not all performance upgrades are done properly. Sure turbos or superchargers can be slapped on and look great, but is the engine and PCM properly tuned? The vehicle isn't worth the aggravation if it has drivability issues and can't get through any required State inspections processes.

Let's face it, added forced induction be it a supercharger or turbo wasn't just for looks or to spend $10k-$13k to get a particular Performance Shop Name under the hood or to get into a certain automotive "click" or crowd... It was money spent because the owner wanted to have a "racecaaaa with powaaaaa".

Vrooon vroom ...

Sponsored