Just a question to you guys that mod out your car!...Im reading all these threads about people spending $10,000 to $20,000 in extras for their car! I prefer to go ahead and spend that money to buy a more expensive car.

Question,-- when you go to sell or trade it in, do you take off the mods? Normally mods will decrease the value of a car, from what Im told. I figure you could get more if you take off the parts and sell them separate?

I also see people that list all of their parts in when they sell the car and it totals WAY more than KBB or other values of the car. I'd expect its harder to sell a car with lots of mods unless you just happen to find the right person to buy? After all, something is only worth what someone else is willing to pay.

I for one feel uncomfortable about buying a used car period, ESPECIALLY if it has aftermarket engine parts because thats usually a sign the engine is pushed to its limits too often for me.

 

always the case w/ or w/o mods. same goes for selling mods separately. you
may or may not recoup the total cost in the end. also depends on if you are
doing a trade-in or selling to a private party. some mods might actually make
the car easier to sell... such as body kits, etc.

 

Cool. I'm thinking of doing a few minor things, but just worried if I end up spending too much, I cant make it back.

 

in most cases you will not make the money that you spent back on your mods. most people do not want to pay "new" prices for something that you have "used" for, this becomes more true the more miles you put on your mods. plus, new versions of the same mods are coming out all the time, so what buy now, might be old news in a year or so, and someone will not pay full price for a used out-dated mod.

buying a car is about the worse investment you can make, modding it is even a worse investment. but the guys who do it, do it because they love it and it is a hobby. it doesnt matter what type of car you have, people are going to blow loads of money they'll never recover just because they love their ride and need to go faster... i used to be in the honda scene and on hondatech i'd constantly see guys dumping tens of thousands into civics/accords/ludes that they'll never recover (h3ll, half of them wont recover 1/2 back), but they have quick cars that they love, and certain amount of pride goes along with that, for everyone.

so spend as little or as much as you want, but it's unlikely that you'll make back all of your money from a modded car...

good luck.

 

as long as you don't do anything major i would guess you would be alright. also,
i would set a budget and be sure to stick to it. i'm sure some others will chime in
with their opinions soon.

i have a long laundry list of mods i plan to install and it's just under $10k. but most
of these mods are not Z specific. so I will uninstall them for installation in my next
car; i.e. dvd/cd receiver, sparco seats, etc.

 

oh yea, making you're money back on used mods/cars is always hard because there are a lot of low-ballers out there.

 

That may be true, but I wouldn't see that necessarily as a bad thing.

Consider the individual that puts quality mods on their car. For example, a good intake and exhaust system allows a car to breathe easier making more power while usually yielding better gas mileage. If a person cares enough about modifying a car, chances are pretty good that they’re also particular about keeping it clean, regular service intervals, oil changes, etc.

Now...compare that to the person that buys the car, does not mod it, but also isn't overly concerned with keeping it clean, regular oil changes, or other maintenance items. If I was going to buy used, I'd buy from the former over the latter. You can't always assume that if a car has mods, that it's been beat on.

 

Make it back? I think you are confused. The Z is an "expense", not an "investment". Car values go down (unless you have a collectible). Property values tend to go up (unless you live in a hell hole). So, if you want to make your money back, buy a house and not a Z. The car loses about 20% the minute you drive off the lot, and anything you install you can kiss 50% or more goodbye the minute you install it. You could get lucky and find someone who will appreciate what you've done to the car and willing to pay you what you feel its worth, but dont put money into your car thinking you are going to make it back. Very likely you will be disappointed.

 

Once you start modding you won't care if you get the money back. You'll have to decide if you want to buy a more expensive, faster out of the box car or modify the Z. I'm just planning on doing some really minor mods to make my car more fun and then I'm going to hold onto it as my summer car when I get another down the road. It's really gonna come down to what you're comfortable doing and spending...

 

Echo the other 800 posts above.

Only comment is that I (and I won't speak for everyone) just enjoy modding the car to my taste, and that I do it for me, not for the next owner. The same goes for *anything* you buy for your house. If you spend $10K on kitchen cabinets or landscaping, you aren't going to see that $10K when you sell the house. Some improvements hold their value better than others (kitchen redo, bathroom additions, etc.), and likewise there are many car mods that you can do which will be hold their value better than others (you'll get more back from a $200 CAI -at least $75 -than you will if you spend $200 on Bat's stickers -which will be worthless).

Mod for you, not for the next owner (same goes for home improvements).