I know when selling a modified car you can never expect anywhere near back that you put into it but I was wondering how much it would sell for. Obviously whatever someone is prepared to pay for it but what sort of price would you think? If you were buying a vRS and saw mine for sale (after it's complete) would you be hesitant because it's been modified extensively or would you appreciate the work that's gone into it and prefer to buy a cared for car over a car that's just been used as a form of transport?

Can anyone recall any decent spec vRS' selling and what they went for? Do full leather interiors and other 'approved of' modifications really increase the price or would you suggest selling stuff like the seats separately and essentially putting it back closer to standard before selling?

I'm not considering selling I'm just curious and thought it would make a worth while topic, this forum section is so boring recently. :( I wish more people would make like a project thread detailing what they're up to with their car as I find it interesting to read.

i think your probably better stripping it down selling parts separately. e.g if a car had leather seats i would pay maybe 200-300 pound more because it would have leather seats now if some leather seats from seat surgeons came up for 400-500 I'm sure most people would be straight in, so IMO your better stripping it.

saying that i sold my last car for a good price because the lad had fallen in love with it didn't even try and knock me down on price either.

I personally would never, ever buy a car already modified. As a seller, you might be able to find someone who wants all the bits done it to, but cant be bothered to do it themselves. However, i`d say the chance of that is very slim. Better off putting it back to standard, although leather would be worth keeping in it i think.

Matt

I agree with the above. Selling it with mods really narrows down your range of buyers, I know I wouldn't buy a modded car. You'd be better off stripping off the mods and selling the car standard, then sell the mods separately.

EDIT: stuff like the leather seats will make it more attractive, but the suspension work, remaps etc. won't

Edited 16 December, 201015 yr by Mike Wrightson

The only options that add value are leather (adds about £300) and factory fit xenons (adds about £150).

Performance modifications scream ABUSED CAR at the general car buying public and they run away, so it's always best to put it back to standard. Then there is the question of taste. You like dark grey alloys, other people don't. Fly eyes etc also equate to chavmobile in many peoples eyes. Anyone buying a modified car also has to budget for insurance and then there is the question of who did the mods, were used parts used, how good was the job?

People don't want modded cars. They want to buy a good standard car and mod it themselves. That way they believe they know it's been done right.

Buying a modified car wouldn't put off as I bought my vrs modified.

What I would want to see is receipts for parts and work carried out along with service history to prove it's been looked after mechanicaly and not just ragged around !

As an old fart I would not consider a modded car, totally incorrect of course as being a member on here I find that modded cars seem Well taken care of, as an old fart I would think modded, run into the ground

As a youngster I would not consider a modded car as possibly run into the ground

As a possible customer I would be angry buying a basic car and find out later that it had been modded, and put back to original to sell it to me the MUG

In reality a modded car is coveted, looked after, and so much time is spent modding it it is doubtbul it has done the Ring or anywhere near its chipped speeds

I believe a modded car should be put on the market just as it is "modded", then the people interested buy what they get with eyes wide open

It may take longer to sell but no one is disappointed at the end of the day

Just IMHO of course

National

It can go either way, obviously there are a lot of people who would be put off by a modded car but I think you will find some people value it, provided the work has been done properly with receipts for parts/labout and a comprehensive service history. The quality of the ad is also a huge factor. I'd say that good well taken pictures with a nicely written advert free from text speak and illiterate ramblings will add a bit to what you can ask as they convey that you are fairly normal... I bought my 06 VRS which had been modded in an OEM plus style, the reason I paid out more than I had planned to and didn't wait for another was mainly the heated leather interior. The car has everything except xenons and as the mods were extensively documented and the guy was very straigh-up on the phone I felt comfortable that he genuinely had loved the car and taken good care of it. To get the most money back though I think you would be better taking the mods off and selling them seperately assuming you have original parts to replace them.

Personally I'd never buy a modified car from an unknown source, however if I had been a member of this forum before I bought mine, and one came up like yours, then yes I would pay more for it knowing that it was a well cared for car. That said, I have never bought a car privately before, I have always gone through a dealer for peace of mind.

before the vrs i had a 1.2 seat ibiza mk4 which was kitted out to cupra spec almost 100% with cosmetics, didnt do the engine though, i spent a good whack on it . paid £2700 for the car iir, with 14600 miles 2002 plate, sold it 3 and a bit years later for £3500 46000 ,miles.

it was said to be the nicest mk4 ibiza about. even nicer than some cupras

before

after

full thread here for people interested.

Mk4 ibiza

point being, i never made as much back as i spent on it but still made more than i paid for the car.....i was happy with what i got but i guess its just your luck.

Edited 17 December, 201015 yr by Scott Howie

As a possible customer I would be angry buying a basic car and find out later that it had been modded, and put back to original to sell it to me the MUG[/Quote]

I don't see why. My car had it's complete suspension replaced about 60,000 miles ago. The brakes about 50,000 miles ago. Both stock items were in good condition when removed and have been dry-stored since then. I had the disks and pads replaced on the old ones as I always planned to put them back on to sell the car, if I ever did. The original wheels and tyres are near as darn it perfect having been off the car almost since the day I bought it.

To put my car back to standard will need the springs and shock absorbers swapping back, removal of the rear ARB and the brakes swapped back. Change the wheels over and you basically have a car that has a 120K engine and 60K suspension and brakes. I don't see what's to be annoyed about at that. I'd be far more annoyed to buy a 'standard' car that had actually been subtly/not noticeably modded (PD150 turbo and remap say) and the first time I knew about it was when my insurance didn't pay out.

In reality a modded car is coveted, looked after, and so much time is spent modding it it is doubtbul it has done the Ring or anywhere near its chipped speeds[/Quote]

I would beg to differ. Check out all the trackday threads for people modding and using their cars on the track. I haven't had my engine modded but my car has done multiple laps of the Nuerburgring and on the way across Europe (it's been as far east as the Ukraine and as far west as Donegal, not to mention Shetland and the Arctic Circle in Norway) it's had several maximum speed runs (at least one of which I've published on here). Even with a fairly high mileage I still use all the performance every tiome it leaves the garage.

I believe a modded car should be put on the market just as it is "modded", then the people interested buy what they get with eyes wide open. It may take longer to sell but no one is disappointed at the end of the day[/Quote]

The best way to maximise the value of a modifed car is to put it back to standard and sell the bits. I have no problem telling a prospective buyer about the fact that I've just paid a Skoda dealer £250 to refit the standard brakes and suspension, buit I'll be darned if I'm going to take a hit on resale and give them the modded parts I paid a premium for. That'd be daft.

Just IMHO of course

At the end of the day it's as valid as anyone else's.

before

after

point being, i never made as much back as i spent on it but still made more than i paid for the car.....i was happy with what i got but i guess its just your luck.

I've had a look at the thread you posted and there is no denying you made a pretty good fist out of making a silk purse from a sow's ear but in reality you probably lost a chunk of money on that car. I don't think you should have a problem with it (I do the same myself and as a hobby it's much healthier and more productive than smoking and drinking your money away) but please don't deceive yourself over what you lost on the deal. If you'd left the car as standard and put that amount of effort into the way the car looks you probably would only lost £750 over the three years.

this forum section is so boring recently

I think this is mostly down to the fact that the car has been around for 10 years now - the VRS for 7 - so almost everything has already been done..... at least once.

Meaning the section is full of people fitting wheels that we've all seen before or new people asking common questions etc

Anyway back on topic:

With regards to buying/selling modified cars i think a forum like this is the ideal place to pick up a modified car. You have all the tools and research material you need to find out how and where the mods have been done, how the car has been looked after and driven; and if you look around enough you'd probably find out if the seller is a complete tool or a nice bloke!

Personal experience of selling a modified car was my last car a remapped Ibiza PD130 - the map was the only mod and it was detailed in both my autotrader and ebay adverts.

The guy who bought it had killed a Corsa and was at the time driving his mum's Daewoo Matiz.

The remap barely registered on his radar. I mentioned it was been remapped and that should be declared to his insurance company and "yeah ok" was the answer.

I think there is money to be lsot selling a modified car as a whole but it depends if you have the skill/time/parts to strip it back to standard or not.

However on the flip side if you do the appropriate amount of research and buy through a forum (rather than a dodgy ebay/pistheads ad) there are probably massive savings to be made buying a modded car.

I have no problems in buying a modified car, but only if i know it's history.

The last 3 vRS's i've bought, have all came from here, so you know at least some background on the owner/car before even considering noting an interest.

I bought my vRS slightly modified from a member on here.

Full Skoda service history and cambelt change at the correct interval.

The car has been well looked after & I'm glad I bought it.

It even came with the original wheels & some aftermarket ones that I sold for profit

I wish more people would make like a project thread detailing what they're up to with their car as I find it interesting to read.

they got rid of that section and replaced it with blogs. Which no one uses.

Matt

Imagine - a (stage 2/3) 250+bhp fabia comes up for sale on this forum. 0-60 in 5.8 secs proven. Paperwork and receipts of all work done totalling 13k including labour.

90k on clock, 70k on current engine as was replaced. Maintained regardless of cost.

Up for sale for 6k. Would you buy it?

Would you buy it?

Depends.

Has it been driven by you?

Imagine - a (stage 2/3) 250+bhp fabia comes up for sale on this forum. 0-60 in 5.8 secs proven. Paperwork and receipts of all work done totalling 13k including labour.

90k on clock, 70k on current engine as was replaced. Maintained regardless of cost.

Up for sale for 6k. Would you buy it?

What year?

Imagine - a (stage 2/3) 250+bhp fabia comes up for sale on this forum. 0-60 in 5.8 secs proven. Paperwork and receipts of all work done totalling 13k including labour.

90k on clock, 70k on current engine as was replaced. Maintained regardless of cost.

Up for sale for 6k. Would you buy it?

Wonder how much it's been thrashed, and why is it now 'FOR SALE' ???

Wonder how much it's been thrashed, and why is it now 'FOR SALE' ???

No one wants to keep a car forever do they?!

I don't think I'd have a problem buying a modified car TBH and it's definitely a way of making some significant savings. And certain cars it's very difficult to buy a standard one! Just try finding a completely standard R32 skyline for example!

Imagine - a (stage 2/3) 250+bhp fabia comes up for sale on this forum. 0-60 in 5.8 secs proven. Paperwork and receipts of all work done totalling 13k including labour.

90k on clock, 70k on current engine as was replaced. Maintained regardless of cost.

Up for sale for 6k. Would you buy it?

IF it was owned by someone on the forum, and there was very well documented history/pictures/project thread, then yeah i`d consider it. But not just any old car on ebay.

Matt

I've always looked at it as when you buy a car that's it money gone. Any money you get back is a bonus.

I think the mods done reflects the owners passion for the car really and its their own personal touch.

I wouldn't have any problems buying a modded car if it was done in a way that I liked, ie styling/ wheels, especially if I had planned to do them any way.

Imagine - a (stage 2/3) 250+bhp fabia comes up for sale on this forum. 0-60 in 5.8 secs proven. Paperwork and receipts of all work done totalling 13k including labour.

90k on clock, 70k on current engine as was replaced. Maintained regardless of cost.

Up for sale for 6k. Would you buy it?

I take it you are referring to Shifty's old car ie. now yours.

No, no-one bought it. It's one of the best documented cars on the forum. No expense spared. Literally. And he couldn't give it away. And he was DESPERATE to sell it as he was moving to Canada or something.

I thought you got it for something like £4800 in the end? Then tried to sell it for £6K and no-one wanted it again? So you've kept it?

I take it you are referring to Shifty's old car ie. now yours.

No, no-one bought it. It's one of the best documented cars on the forum. No expense spared. Literally. And he couldn't give it away. And he was DESPERATE to sell it as he was moving to Canada or something.

You've kinda got half of the story right there, well sort of.

Yep I'm talking Shiftys old car of course. As you say one of the best documented cars on the forum although most of that stuff i.e. build thread etc...was lost forever when the old site went down. Shifty bought it new then spent 13k on it over 2 years. It has all the receipts from Jabba and Awesome for all the work done. Documented print outs of power output and sub 6 sec 0-60. Shifty tried to sell it for quite a while as he was moving to Canada. No joy.

Graham (Mr Grumpy) bought it for approx £7k to use as a weekend car. He hardly used it during the time he had it and put it up for sale after 3-4 months. He couldn't sell it even though 6 months after he bought it he was only asking £6k.

I thought you got it for something like £4800 in the end? Then tried to sell it for £6K and no-one wanted it again? So you've kept it?

What I actually bought it for will forever be a mystery :p and NO i've never tried to sell it!!!!! I LOVE it far too much but if I did i'm sure people would be queing up to buy it

On a serious note I have had people approach me privately on the forum and ask me if I would consider selling it to them. When you buy a heavily modified car you need to do your homework. If it is all documented with receipts and their appears to be plenty of transparency from the seller, then (as you know) I would buy it. As far as I am concerned I got a bargain. Although I think people like me are possibly few and far between.