Nathan Plemons

If you bought your car with the intention of selling it you should never have modded it. I know I'd pay more for a stock one than somebody has modded no matter how much power the thing makes, even if I intended to mod it myself. There's just something about knowing that I did the work myself and it was done right, not having to worry about how it may have been done before I got it.

Generally you'll be lucky to get book value, let alone actually recover any cost of mods.

Red Tornado

You want to go into it understanding that performance mods get very little recoupment. IMO, don't even do it unless you plan on keeping the car for quite awhile, to enjoy the fruits of your labor (and hard earned cash).

In my case, I got my dream car of a lifetime, and I love everything about it. I've committed to keeping it for a very long time. It has relatively low miles (67,000), especially for the year. I only drive it about 7,500 miles a year. That leaves quite alot of enjoyment left. So I figured a $5k investment in performance upgrades isn't insane, and well worth the money. I'm also keeping the major stock parts (heads, intake, even the exhaust manifolds) just in case. :chevy

When the day comes that I buy another vette, I'm keeping my '90. In my eyes, it just has too much going for it. And a great deal of time will be spent looking for the right '96 LT4, modified to the gills of course :thumbs:

Alzado77

I purchased my 1990 6 speed corvette for 7K last year. It has quite a few miles on it (141,000) but runs great. I've since sunk another 8K into it and I'm only getting started. No, I will never be able to get the money back out of it. That's why I'm going to keep it!!!!!!!! Who buys a corvette as an investment anyways? I bought mine to drive and turn a few heads. Mission accomplished!

xs650

:iagree:

Think of cars and your mods to them as consumables, then anything you get from them when you sell them will be a bonus.

I would much rather buy a stock car than a modded car, unless I know that the work was done right and the mods were exactly what I wanted. The chances of that combination occuring when I want to buy a car are slim to none.

It's hard enough to find a stock car that hasn't had maintenance done wrong. Toss in some well meaning mods and things can get real interesting.

I don't buy and sell cars to make a profit and I don't drive my stock portfolio. I believe in keeping certain things separate..


[Modified by xs650, 9:45 AM 5/2/2004]

Chevy Guy

This subject can be hashed over 10 ways till' Sunday but it all boils down to this.......People with lots of money in mods always say "If you hold out and find the right buyer, you will do OK", Everyone else responds with a solid NO!" As a former C4 vette owner who is in the market for another C4 , I can say that I will not even look at a modded car. I have been down the road you are on at least 4 times in the past and I speak from experience, especially with a Vette. mods = less value than a stock car.

TOO_HOTTVETTE

You "I only buy stock Vettes" people crack me up. What in the world makes you all think that an 8 plus year old stock vette has not been driven harder than a modded one!! many owners take that stock Vette way up into the redline and drive them hard. You think you are getting a better deal because it's stock?? I'm sure there are many Vettes with poor mods done to them very poorly and look like they have just ran in the 24 hours at Daytona, But a Vette with documented quality work can get a few more $$ than a plain jane stock Vette depending on what the buyer is looking for. Hmmm..a 250hp-330hp (not counting Z's or B2K) or a nicely done 450+hp machine at a price less than it would cost me to do my "stock" Vette?? Specially in todays new high performance era of 350+hp cars. Sure, it's fun to build up your own, if you got the time and $$, but why not get the turn key care at a bargain? As a side note - At least the modded Vettes don't have to fret the likes of Cobras, Benz e55, Jag XJR-XKR, BMW M5, Porsche turbo etc, ect. Just MHO. Heck...All vettes are fun cars...some are just that much quicker ;)

JB666

Well put :iagree:

Yes, I bought,and looked for a 100% stock Vette, but, if I had ANY clue that I'd want to modify it , I'd have bought one already done. I can remember looking at C4's for sale that were all mod'd, thinking "Why would ANYONE want to put all this stuff on a Vette, isn't it fast enough!??!!". Now I wonder IS THERE ANY SUCH THING as fast enough :crazy: ? It's a bottom-less pit.

Chevy Guy

Just about any used Vette you look at is going to be driven hard, regardless of what the owner may tell you. Most people will assume a modded car is driven that much harder and 99% of the time its true. The point of me wanting a stock Vette is one of "peace of mind". Getting a car thats in an original state where you can readily tell everything is tip top and functioning properly is paramount, especially with a car you know nothing about. With a modded car you are seeing for the first time, the mods themselves may mask a bunch of problems and you have no choice but to accept the owners word for it that the car should idle that way, or make this noise or that noise. You can also consider an original car a clean canvas for you to do your own work and mods, a starting point from which you can now gauge progress and imporovements. But for me, its just the fact that I want an original car, I rarely modify any of my vehicles anymore. Ive been down that road many many times as a younger guy and I can say without pause that all my modified racers were less enjoyable in the end than they were in their original state. Take that coupled with the fact that you take a complete bath when you try and sell the vehicle, regardless of the quality of the work, (come on you know its true) and it just doesnt make sense (for me) to get into a modded car. At this point in my life if I want another racer I'll buy an old Nova instead of morphing a near perfect car like a Vette to "something else". For me it's all about turn key, smooth riding, no gear whine, no exhaust resonance, no raw exhaust stink, enjoyment of the best sports car ever built.

I didnt write this to change anyones mind but hopefully give the above posters an insight on why some people feel as they do on the subject. I certianly dont mean to diminish the work anyones done on their car just try and discuss the subject. I think most used Vette shoppers feel the same way I do. It also not just a Vette thing, same goes for Lifted pickups, Mustangs, riced out pimp rides, motorcycles etc...etc....




[Modified by Chevy Guy, 12:37 PM 5/4/2004]

Gooseit

I agree with the Chevy Guy! I have modified just about every car and truck I have ever owned. At 45 years old its like been there done that, I just want to cruise!

Keep on Cruising! :steering:


[Modified by Gooseit, 7:57 AM 5/4/2004]

rick lambert

A late chime :D did mods on my 62 and 64, enjoyed the heck out of them, they both appreciated in value so it didn't make any difference when I sold them. My 87 is basically stock-except,temp switch,stereo and alarm. That's the way I'll keep it. Enjoy your mods, heck there for you-I built the 62 and 64 for speed-and I used it. That's why I only buy stock-cause I know why we mod them. Have fun-it's a short ride :seeya

85red_vette

Just ask yourself these questions.

Did I buy my vette as an investment ?
Did I buy my vette to enjoy ?

:confused: :confused: :confused:



[Modified by 85red_vette, 10:35 AM 5/5/2004]

Red Tornado

Chevy Guy, all excellent points. And I pretty much agree. In my case, I did feel a desire to add to the base 250chp of my L98. But, I tried to remain "practical" even with "impractical" mods. I chose an intake thats hard to distinguish from stock (to the untrained eye anyway). Heads are critical of course. The LPE cam is a relative compromise between all-out performance and streetability/ecomomy (tried and proven). All chosen so that the a ton of extra money wouldn't need spent on modding the bottom end. I didn't go for anything "exotic". In fact, it should feel simply like a souped-up L98 to begin with....even more healthy torque and about 100+ chp.

The whole thing was planned for the future in mind, if the day ever comes that I (might) sell it. If and when that day comes, the largest part of the investment, the heads (keepers), will be pulled off and I'll have my stock ones freshened up and worked a little.

Didn't want to paint a huge story here, only to remark that moderate mods can be fully enjoyed to the very end (if you dont go crazy with them), and with a total $4-5k investment up front, its not too nuts and well worth the money :seeya


[Modified by bradvette, 12:04 PM 5/5/2004]

redwing76

:iagree: