A lot of us mod our cars: rims, spoilers, tint, debadging, intakes, etc. Now that the 6th Gen Maxima has been around 5 years and more and more people sel ltheir cars, how do these mods affect resale value? Do certain mods help resale, and other mods harm resale value, while other make no difference? Do factory mods make a difference over aftermarket? What about radical mods like turbos, lambo doors, wild paint schemes, etc? Discuss.

 

on average mods are going to hurt the resale...most regular consumers look at mods and think that this car was beat on....cant help that....best to sell it in close to OEM as possible.

 

Basically if you belong to this forum........ your maxima is worth about $1

I know mine is and its sublty modded with less then 40K miles, worth about $1.10.

Kamski

 

Ditto...

Selling to an individual may help. Most dealerships could care less. The porters are gonna pull the good stuff off anyways.

Stock or close to it is the best option.

 

You limit your audience but it is possible to find that special someone and make something but definetly not all your hard modding work. Agreed sell close to OEM and thats why I keep most of my stuff I replaced.

 

I think it depends on who you are selling the car to. For the average consumer mods are a bad thing. But as we all know there are a lot of admirers out there and they will pay the money for what you have done. from the cars i have personally sold mods = less value.

 

Is Mark upgrading?

 

Oddly enough, I was thinking the same thing. As an enthusiast, I love to see
modded maximas... but as for buying one... I would seriously think about it
and assume it was beat on. If the mods are merely asthetic, nothing modded
in engine and exhaust wise, personally I would consider private party value
straight up. If engine was touched, exhaust etc, I take that with a grain of
salt and evaluate the car assuming it was stock (look for odd noises, typical car
buying things to look out for, maintenance records.)

-------- EDITED ---------

I would personally prefer a family man (no homo), a mother, a
senior citizen to buy from. Also, I kind of try to fish why they are REALLY
selling the car.

**Really for me, mods don't add value but can definitely get the right
attention if done right. Plus you can sell (part out) mods if needed. **

IF I ever sell, I will sell straight up, private party value as its a bit of a
hassle to take mods off. Yup, so the new owner will get bonuses when I sell.

My $0.02s

+1 dealer trade-ins suck the big one.... sell privately and get a decent price.

------------------
addition: True OEM Factory Mods don't hurt, its the aftermarket stuff that de-values car to the 'average' buyer.
------------------

 

if you find a member on here or other person that likes to mod then the value stays the same or increases.

otherwise it decreases.

 

I really think what you said about 18 and 19 yr olde are messed up. Not every 18yr old drive like that. I had my car since I was 17 and now I'm 18 but I have never abused my car!

Back on topic yes, ppl don't like moded cars.

 

Good comments so far. Im wondering what the marketability is for very heavily modded cars, or show cars. Lets take Chern's car for example. He has a turbo and it looks great. What is his worth? $20K? $40K???

 

just guessin of the top of my head but from all he has done i think he would most likely say priceless

 

To dineth00i30:

Yes, it was messed up. But that's my opinion... its a forum not a democracy!
just kidding. honestly, it was very NON-PC.

Anyways, its true, not every young driver is a maniac on the road or abuses
their car. How about this?.. I gauge the condition of the car based how I
gauge the owner and his/her first impression on me REGARDLESS of age.
I ask myself, would this person smack this car around or drive it like its their sole possession. You can tell alot just by talking to that person.

Back to the topic... highly modded cars would truly interest enthusiasts only AND mods
would get some value. But in the end, a car is just a liability so its esentially a money pit.
kbb, nada, edmunds TMV anyone?

 

Pretty much sums it up. I only mod things I can later on restore to OEM. Although, with my car having close to 80K miles on it. I don't think it makes much of a difference.

This is why I think and believe, I'll keep my max until the day it can no longer run...

Best to thing to do is sell it to someone who loves it with the same passion you do.

 

Resale value was the biggest factor when I had my previous maxima's. With both of them I was in a situation where if I needed to down grade or just simply "get out" of the deal I could fairly easily. Both times I was dying on the inside to mod them, but I just left it at that. Dreaming. As one of you said, I found a gem kept in a garage by some grandmother. She had it for 2 1/2 years and only put on 15k miles. Being that I'm a maxima junkie I saw an opportunity and took full advantage of it.

To makes things short and sweet. In regards to mods/resale value.. I went into modding with the intention of this car staying with me for a long time. I don't plan on selling it. After it's paid off I'll have SGP Racing rebuild the whole car. http://www.sgpracing.com/


In the end, I'll get a convertible 350z, start modding that and turn my driveway into nissan heaven. My heaven atleast.

Mod and keep the OE stuff if you plan to resale.

 

On all the cars I owned rims matter a great deal on resale and are pretty much the only thing that increases the value. The first car I owned was a 1994 Ford V6 Supercab, and with the stock 14" it looked like gocart lowered and like a straight ghettomobile. I put some nice 16s on there with 31.5 BFGs and all of a sudden it looked like a nice little truck. I had a headgasket leak and my mechanic screwed up and had to put a $300 dollar junkyard engine in it. Bought it for 3000 and sold it for 4300. lol

 

hey deus, -- my car is stock and is almost as old as the one u own...If they were placed side by side.... i would get the $1.00 and you shd. get the $1.10.... and that would be ordinary ppl buying....

but as the above quote: find that person with passion and u'res shd. score over $4 - $5.00!!

my friend who had a 90 max (he is on this site somewhere) sold it in 2008 for CAD$5000 + !! ...ie. there are people who appreciate work done on a car!!

p.s. deus: may i ask why the question?

p.s2 - just realised... is there anyone on this site who bought a maxima ..."without" some sort of passion!!?

 

I didnt have any sort of passion for a maxima when I got mine.....it just sorta developed....

 

[QUOTE=gxe2se;6471608]
I would personally prefer a family man (no homo), a mother, a
senior citizen to buy from. Also, I kind of try to fish why they are REALLY selling the car. QUOTE]

I am a senior citizen would you buy my car?

 

No matter what you spent on your car you will never get it back. I notice when members sell their cars they part out the aftermarket parts. Dealers don't care what you did to the car, they will only give you book value.

 

[QUOTE=ramberg;6474616]
lol... Ramberg, that made me laugh... and to answer your question. If I didn't already own a max, I would

 

[QUOTE=bambino;6475405]Thanks I will be collecting SS soon.

 

no mods help resale value, everyone wants to mod themselves. Performance modded cars are always thought to be abused

 

i think the 6th gen is a POS

now who wants to sell me their max? mark?

 

Sure, how much?

 

Good try on the low balling.

 

I think its the kinds of mods put into the car, example: a turbo (like cherns) with the couple of mods he's done would sell for more money then a stock OEM max. I think if it's obvious you beat the **** out of the car, the buyer is going to pay less. Just my $0.02.

 

I would say the resale value of a modded car will be the same as a similar car with the same mileage, most mods don't add value to the car and are only their for the current owners enjoyment, sure their are people out their looking to buy modded cars cause they know what all the extras cost but certain people will be turned off cause they just don't care for the look or reputation associated with mods, you might have a more select buyers, but may also benefit from selling it faster but not for more money.

Every car has different followings, I've seen both 350Z and G35c with and without turbos/SC and even though both are relatively the same price, I would personally opt for the non turbo/SC cause I am so unfamiliar with what long term care and maintenance they will need, I would without a doubt scoop a G35c with many cosmetic mods but would avoid major money stuff, same could be said for the 300c I've been looking at, a $50k SRT8 with an average of 30,000 miles and 20k in mods go for the same price as stock ones and it's usually a good bet that modders also run synthetic oil and are **** about changing fluids.

Used cars are used cars, just spend some time searching and you will find the ones worth the extra time and money if they are personally being sold, trading the car into a dealer makes them harder finds but most know what they are looking for, and those car sell fast.

 

Dues, hopefuly you are not trying to sell your car and leave us. But to answer your question show cars like Chern's which have the "show car theme" usually have a better resale value. But cars like yours which have a "race car theme" have a lower resale value. be honest with you, depending on the miles you have on your max, i dont think you will get more than 14k for your car. Chern's car maybe a little more like around 20k ish.

 

I'll play devil's advocate for a moment since most people commenting here agree that mods really don't add value to your car.

It's about how you market it. Modding is a big business that many people pay to have done professionally. What about Unique Whips as a more famous example? Or West Coast Customs to use another? Granted they do mostly high end luxo cars, but there are tons of shops like this around the country. It becomes about art as well as performance. How well have you done with your installs? Does it look clean? Do you have a unique look? Or does your Max look like you loaned it out to the local high school auto shop class?

If I were to sell mine as modded, I would market it as a unique,rare vehicle. That was professionally modified. Call it a tasteful custom design if you will, with papers to show for it and the care that went into it. It's not about what it is, it's what you are appealing to. I'd try to make it a unique experience, like selling a show car complete with an entire packet of photos, reciepts, dyno charts, etc. People dig that when they feel like they are getting something special. Like motorcycles. Are you buying a straight off the line OEM Harley, or one with custom flames, lots of chrome and the Screaming Eagle pkg? Market you modded car, don't just sell it.

Not saying I agree with all that, but it's a good point of view to consider.

 

Mods hurt resale and get slaughtered in a trade-in, wholesalers won't touch them. A car like Deus' or Chern's best sold privately to someone who appreciates what were done.

 

Guess I'm screwed...unless I advertise it as an '07.

Pssh. Forget that. I could never get rid of her!

 

What about simple stuff like lights, wheels, etc. Do these things hurt the value, or just serious mods, like exhaust or engine modifications? Just curious.

 

if you add things like HID, spoiler, or rims they actually add to value of the car. But not exhaust turbo superchargers and thigs like that

 

I can't imagine simple cosmetic mods would be too detrimental to the value. Those types of mods are easily reversed.

 

If the parts like HID or spoiler are OEM, they CAN increase value. Larger rims usually hurt, just as body kits, etc. Think about what used car buyers generally want, clean, no accidents, low mileage, maintenence/extended warranty.

MissMiami, your car may be okay if the paint job is consistent, but definitely with stock taillights, wheels, and springs.