Experiences of selling a modified car
Discussion
My current car (1.8TSI Ibiza Cupra) is the only car I have modified to date. I haven't done anything irreversible or even any engine modifications (yet). So far I have added the OEM side skirts and spoiler, TRC front splitter, wrapped the grill and added a vinyl plate. However, if I do plan on keeping the car for longer I'll eventually get it remapped and add some breather mods.
So my question is; in your experience have you chosen to sell the car with the modifications still on the car? (If so what car, what modifications and to what type of buyer (e.g. garage or private) Or, did you revert the car back to standard and sell the mods separately?
I'm interested to see what the general consensus is regarding this subject as from my own car buying experiences I have intentionally strayed away from modified cars in any capacity as I instantly think "It's probably been ragged", even though this may not be the case! Therefore I will be reverting my car to stock (except from the OEM skirts/spoiler) unless this thread somehow changes my mind.
And before anybody comments something along the lines of "modifications don't add value to the car" etc, I know this already, with the exception of OEM parts (in most cases).
So my question is; in your experience have you chosen to sell the car with the modifications still on the car? (If so what car, what modifications and to what type of buyer (e.g. garage or private) Or, did you revert the car back to standard and sell the mods separately?
I'm interested to see what the general consensus is regarding this subject as from my own car buying experiences I have intentionally strayed away from modified cars in any capacity as I instantly think "It's probably been ragged", even though this may not be the case! Therefore I will be reverting my car to stock (except from the OEM skirts/spoiler) unless this thread somehow changes my mind.
And before anybody comments something along the lines of "modifications don't add value to the car" etc, I know this already, with the exception of OEM parts (in most cases).
Mr E said:
I’ve always sold them to fellow enthusiasts (usually via an owners club or forum of some type)
This really. You either need to find someone that wants a car with the mods you have put on it and is willing to pay for it, or take the mods off and sell them off separately and sell the car as standard. Grahamdub said:
You either need to find someone that wants a car with the mods you have put on it and is willing to pay for it, or take the mods off and sell them off separately and sell the car as standard.
Agreed. Unless a modification is exactly what I want to do myself anyway, I would view it as a negative, something I need to fix. Only benefit then is if I can easily unbolt them and make a bit extra selling them on over the cost of buying a standard one, or offsetting the cost of what I actually want.I normally wouldn't buy a modified car but I wanted a Smart roadster with a bit more power and had planned to do turbo, chargecooler, exhaust and remap to get it up around 110hp, I saw one for sale near me with these mods (and some more that weren't to my taste). I bought the car and plan on buying a stock rear bumper to return it to factory appearance. Engine had been rebuilt (common) by a specialist 20k prior to my purchase and it had impeccable history from 1yo so the bumper was cheaper to do than the engine work I wanted.
I lowered and put exhausts on most of my cars and I did find that it put off the majority of people who came to view them when I was ready to sell.
Worst was my Alfa 147, I spent £3k on suspension alone and had to put it up for sale 6months later as I needed a work vehicle and best offer was £1.5k, so its now my track car.
I lowered and put exhausts on most of my cars and I did find that it put off the majority of people who came to view them when I was ready to sell.
Worst was my Alfa 147, I spent £3k on suspension alone and had to put it up for sale 6months later as I needed a work vehicle and best offer was £1.5k, so its now my track car.
Standard cars generally sell better, and for more money, however there are exceptions (engine work, very rare parts etc).
In most cases you'll make more money and sell a car quicker by stripping it back to as standard as possible and selling the aftermarket shiny stuff separately.
On all my cars i've made it a point to keep any OEM bits so I can reverse mods at a later date.
I sold my modified MX5 for a decent price, but it was subtly upgraded and had a reasonably broad appeal.
I would be very selective about buying something modded, i've always preferred to buy a standard model then put my mark on it.
In most cases you'll make more money and sell a car quicker by stripping it back to as standard as possible and selling the aftermarket shiny stuff separately.
On all my cars i've made it a point to keep any OEM bits so I can reverse mods at a later date.
I sold my modified MX5 for a decent price, but it was subtly upgraded and had a reasonably broad appeal.
I would be very selective about buying something modded, i've always preferred to buy a standard model then put my mark on it.
designforlife said:
Standard cars generally sell better, and for more money, however there are exceptions (engine work, very rare parts etc).
In most cases you'll make more money and sell a car quicker by stripping it back to as standard as possible and selling the aftermarket shiny stuff separately.
On all my cars i've made it a point to keep any OEM bits so I can reverse mods at a later date.
I sold my modified MX5 for a decent price, but it was subtly upgraded and had a reasonably broad appeal.
I would be very selective about buying something modded, i've always preferred to buy a standard model then put my mark on it.
Yeah, I'd agree with this. In most cases you'll make more money and sell a car quicker by stripping it back to as standard as possible and selling the aftermarket shiny stuff separately.
On all my cars i've made it a point to keep any OEM bits so I can reverse mods at a later date.
I sold my modified MX5 for a decent price, but it was subtly upgraded and had a reasonably broad appeal.
I would be very selective about buying something modded, i've always preferred to buy a standard model then put my mark on it.
I sold my modified MX5 to a fellow enthusiast on PH - the mods were replacing old/knackered bit ie coilovers, wheels etc so there wasn't much point in converting it back. The guy who bought it knew what he was looking for and I sold it for slightly more than std cars were going for at the time.
My Caterham was similar - but there are so few standard cars out there that mods are seen as the norm and it's just a case of doing your research on the parts used and using you eyes / ears / backside to assess how well they've been done.
But also agree that I've never bought a modified car - much prefer to buy std as a platform and take it from there. But in the future I don't think I'd have a problem with it so long as they were mods I would do anyway and the seller seemed clued up on the parts / processes.
A few tasteful mods that I would do myself first, wouldn't completely put me off. Coilovers, exhaust, wheels if they're nice. But generally I like to buy an unmodified car, as do most people.
There is always going to be a small market for those who will buy a modified car. Maybe they can't or don't want to do the work themselves. Modifying cars is bloody expensive, buying a modified one is cheaper.
As for selling a modified car. I tend not to worry about selling cars when I buy them. Enjoy the car, don't worry about that. I'd probably keep them all if I had the space!
Generally though, if you sell some or all of the parts separately from the car you'll make a bit more.
There is always going to be a small market for those who will buy a modified car. Maybe they can't or don't want to do the work themselves. Modifying cars is bloody expensive, buying a modified one is cheaper.
As for selling a modified car. I tend not to worry about selling cars when I buy them. Enjoy the car, don't worry about that. I'd probably keep them all if I had the space!
Generally though, if you sell some or all of the parts separately from the car you'll make a bit more.
It’s all subject though, depends on cars and mods, standard model cars I’d prefer to buy standard, hot hatches are a mixed bag, you can sell them modified but it reduces your clientele by quite a margin, specialist stuff like caterhams mentioned above is not so much an issue as long as it’s been carried out properly.
I bought my A8 modded I had no idea it had been remapped, no wonder I thought it went well
but that was all that was done to it, everything else was standard and I didn’t have a clue, I bought a badly modified zafira gsi once but it was top spec and cheap so I didn’t mind putting the work in to make it right, only engine mods though.
On a whole though I like to see fairly standard cars and I think any hint of it being modded puts most normal punters off, and if your trying to sell an oldish common Car thats modified it really hinders your chances of a sale.
I modded a mk3 Mondeo once by putting ghia seats in it and that probably increased value, so like my original statement, it’s all dependant on how it’s modified.
I bought my A8 modded I had no idea it had been remapped, no wonder I thought it went well
but that was all that was done to it, everything else was standard and I didn’t have a clue, I bought a badly modified zafira gsi once but it was top spec and cheap so I didn’t mind putting the work in to make it right, only engine mods though.On a whole though I like to see fairly standard cars and I think any hint of it being modded puts most normal punters off, and if your trying to sell an oldish common Car thats modified it really hinders your chances of a sale.
I modded a mk3 Mondeo once by putting ghia seats in it and that probably increased value, so like my original statement, it’s all dependant on how it’s modified.
Sold tons of modified cars, most modified was a MK2 with a 1.8T and 300bhp, manual boost controller Emerald Management, suspension, brakes interior upgrades etc
Was no different to any other car really just took longer to talk through all the mods to make sure of the quality and it drove correctly
Was no different to any other car really just took longer to talk through all the mods to make sure of the quality and it drove correctly
I think It's partly psychological - like preferring cars with less owners - but once you've got inside them and ragged it a few times it doesn't matter. I'd prefer a low mileage car that has been fettled with tastefully and sparingly, as it tells me the owner likes to spend money on his cars.
Sold my modded supercharged Civic Type-R last year. I had owned it since 2005, serviced every year by Honda regardless of mileage, receipts for absolutely everything, a car that I had been clinging on to in spite of owning much nicer stuff, and the new owner proceeded to strip off the limited edition and custom one off made stuff and run it as a generic track slag. 
Made me quite sad and still does.
Made me quite sad and still does.
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