Chicago Bob

On this forum's for sale section I continually see cars have big money spent on performance upgrades and then very shortly thereafter want to sell said car.....what gives? Are there hidden problems with these cars ? What is your opinion ?

Is there a thread anywhere that documents prior sales problem car traits ?

J3TVETTE

It's hard to answer this question as every car is different. There are a few things that come with heavily modified cars. Perhaps the owners spent so much money that they realized that they still did not reach their goal and should have gone a different direction and it would be easier to start fresh? Perhaps money became an issue and they need to get out of the car immediately? My current car is heavily modified and I do not regret it one bit. 30k+ spent on parts/labor but I love driving it. I know some people who have spent a lot of money on their cars and realized that even though the car is faster it did not bring them any more enjoyment as it was automatic.

pewter99

when I parted out my 99 I was just done.....done dealing with the issues, worrying what was next...took the fun out of the car

windyC6

LOL....This has been the way of some hot-rodders since the first Model T rolled off the assembly line. Spend...Spend....Spend.....turn the wrenches.....turn the wrenches....turn the wrenches some more.....then sell it......

Bruze

Yup. Sometimes the next weak link in the chain breaks, or reliability suffers, etc. and the endless problems become overwhelming.

Then they think they can just list the cost of the mods onto the going price of a stock car and sell it for that. Good luck.

Jeff T.

In a way it's similar to some of the restored cars you see on Barrett Jackson or Mecum. Some of those have way more invested than the selling price.

As far as mods, the more you mod typically the more you reduce the the number of folks wanting what you did. We're a quirky bunch!

pewter99

thats why I chose parting out vs selling as whole.....more work but much better return

C6 Snowboarder

Probably what happens is these "smart" owners realize the so called "Upgrades" are really not upgrades and the car now is a gremlin infused piece of ****. They want to sell to find an unmolested C6 so they can drive it everyday instead of "fixing" it everyday.

GS982

I agree, you see a lot of these highly modified, high horse cars for sale for pennies on dollar for what they invested, but there are also plenty of LS3 cars with a charger and meth kit making 550-600 RWHP that the owners have driven 30K miles and are just ready for something new. The high horse builds are a money pit (I'm not being negative here) if you want the bragging rights of 1000HP or low ETs, you better be ready to bust out your wallet time an time again. I'm sure all these monster builds that are for sale are a great deal compared to building it yourself. I just don't think there is a 1,000 HP car out there that all you have to worry about is changing the oil every 3,000 miles. It doesn't exist IMHO.

If I were in the market for a reliable modified car, I'd look for one with a charger and fueling upgrades maybe exhaust/headers.

pewter99

anytime you modify from stock its going to shorten the lifespan of components....how long and how much you are willing to do that is the question....I am happy with my headers and exhaust C6Z06.

cmonkey713

When modding your car it is what you like and are willing to spend your money on. It is a personal decision knowing that when you want to sell the car those mods can at best at maybe add 10% to 20% to the sale price if the potential buyer has your same taste in modifications. Most cases you will wind up receiving no additional value for the car with your mods, in some cases less money. Mod because you like the modifications and not because you expect to see any increased value for the car.

BlackLS

I buy a car and say "I'm not going to modify this one", then get bored with it being stock and start modifying.

Modify the car where I want it then get bored with it again and sell it............

Then the cycle begins again..........

Cars are a hobby for me so I know I will never get back the money I put into it, I just do it because i enjoy it.

phileaglesfan

If I know a car has been modded recently then dumped I would probably stay away from it. With mods you always risk not getting your money back and probably won't see it all back if anything.

ZF Six

While I can't speak for anyone else, here's my story. When I was about 19/20 years old I desperately wanted to do a heads/cam setup in my 2002 Camaro SS. I didn't have the cash, but the car was paid off and I had an unused credit card. I built the motor and associated parts with the credit card, enjoyed it for a couple months, then sold the car and paid off the card. That was my plan all along.

Smart? Absolutely not! But hey I was young and I had a sick Camaro

I do think this happens fairly often. People go on a massive spending spree to build the car and then when the bills start rolling in they have to dump the car.

I've learned since then, sort of...

919cw313

Meh, if done correctly most of us will never reach the end of that lifespan.

Example: Callaway's 606 hp 2010 GS with over 250,000 miles. " This car has never been in the shop for mechanical issues, just routine maintenance, tires, oil changes, brakes, etc." I believe it's still on the original clutch, BTW.

RagTop69

I love how you take positions and arrive at conclusions. "It's hard to answer this question as every car is different"? Some are red and some are blue? And then the conclusion " I know some people who have spent a lot of money on their cars and realized that even though the car is faster it did not bring them any more enjoyment as it was automatic." OK then, the lousy car must have sneaked in an automatic transmission while the owner wasn't watching.

airmed2

We're programmed to never be satisfied. It's compounded by constant advertising and new products to tempt us. I love new stuff and it's easy to fall into the trap of needing the next best thing. The majority of us here probably dreamed of owning a Corvette. Once that itch was scratched, our minds thought about the next new model, or the modifications, or the upgrades. Never happy with what we have. This concept is probably what causes many to sell...all the scratches were itched. What's next? I'm not happy...what can make me happy for the next six months? And the cycle continues...

Chicago Bob

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you have my vote for post of the year. .....well, at least post of the week.

awesome airmed !!

Not So Fast

To me, and probably only me, to have a completely stock anything cant last too long I don't do anything that IMHO is a radical mod but I enjoy adding what I think is tasteful, that's why I do it and if it doesn't sit well with others then that's their problem not mine. As some member posted a while back that going to a car show where all are stock then its easily turned into boredom, at least for me.
So do whatever floats your boat, you are paying the tab right, do what you want and enjoy
NSF

dr_gallup

A lot of people enjoy working on the cars and always looking for the next mod. Once it's done they are bored. Off to the next big thing. I've also known some people who go overboard, particularly on the suspension. It's easy to take a well balanced street car and turn it into this awful buckboard that crashes over the every little seam in the pavement with squeaking bushings and brakes that don't work until they are red hot. Sometimes reality is far short of the fantasies they had starting out.