Whats it worth, vs. market cost, vs. monies invested

[Chorky]

So I'm tiptoeing around the idea of considering to part with my truck. For various reasons. This question can apply to any vehicle or situation however.

Ultimately the question is, for a vehicle to have been purchases, modified, maintained, in great condition as we all know costs money. How much of that can be recouped during a sale. I know y opinion, curious to hear of others.

I see many expedition vehicles up for sale, and sold at the total cost of original purchase plus all modifications, possibly not including the cost of standard maintenance items. That tells me a vehicles near total cost can essentially be regained. But, it seems to apply subjectively. So I'm curious of opinions on the matter. It could be a deciding factor of whether or not to make a parting decision.

 

[jadmt]

personally I think most add ons get you about 10% of their initial cost and labor nothing...I suppose if you find the one perfect buyer you can do better.

 

[nitro_rat]

Mods are totally subjective. If the buyer wants exactly what you've done then there may be incentive to pay more. If the buyer plans to yank off the latest/greatest/whozit/whatzit that you added then the value add is zero, or less - if you drilled holes...

 

[DaveInDenver]

Mods might add no value, a little, a lot or even reduce the price. It depends on the desirability and quality of what's done.

Some things like bumpers or skid plates, I figure if they do increase the value more than my time spent to put back on stock stuff then it's a fair offer. That would be the 10% @jadmt mentions. Other stuff is just part of the deal, can't have a truck without suspension, wheels or tires so they don't bump the price over market IMO.

I'd expect to either remove or be given something fair for a winch or radios.

To me electrical mods reduce the price unless they are done exceptionally well.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

Mods are totally subjective. If the buyer wants exactly what you've done then there may be incentive to pay more. If the buyer plans to yank off the latest/greatest/whozit/whatzit that you added then the value add is zero, or less - if you drilled holes...

Agreed. Case in point:

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

The more customized a vehicle is... the more it is worth dead than alive.

Parting out will get you the most back... most of the time.

 

[Chorky]

Good points from everyone. Lets clarify. Yes most mods I agree are crap, and also done horribly wrong, which sucks for any buyer. So lets use an example of a vehicle purchased in fair condition, and essentially fully rebuilt using highly common parts. An example I could refer to is an older vehicle in fair shape (not mine), restored, and sold at, oh I think it was 50K? which probably was 40K over the cost the original purchaser made I am guessing, knowing the vehicle. I see this happen all the time it would seem with 'overland' vehicles. Maybe it's just the hype. However, it appears much of the 'overland' vehicles sold lately include a combination of the cost of the original vehicle plus all the aftermarket mods (if done well of course) - or they are removed. I am not at all suggesting anything similar to what Todd posted although it's hilarious. This would make sense, considering a person wanting to do the same (which is often common) would spend the same amount of cash themselves.

 

[NatersXJ6]

The market silence will tell you when you are priced too high. I tend to agree with 10%, maybe even 25%, but I usually discount the whole by that much or more for a modified vehicle just because of the FPO factor.

 

[Martinjmpr]

The problem with modifying a vehicle is that most vehicles are pretty 'generic' which in turn means they appeal to a larger potential customer base.

The more you modify, the more you specialize, and the more the potential customer base shrinks.

That's why you always get the best value on modified vehicles if you return the vehicle as close to stock as possible.

An exception might be anything that would cause more problems to remove than to keep on, like suspension modifications or exhaust modifications. But for anything else (armor, RTT, aux lights, interior mods, etc) a modified vehicle is going to be much tougher to sell than a plain-stock one because your pool of customers shrinks.

I learned this the hard way with my 3rd gen 4runner. The only mod I made was to replace the factory bumper with a tube bumper. I liked the gnarly look but virtually everybody who came to look at it told me they thought it made the truck look awful (some of the guys even took me aside and said "I love the truck but my wife hates that front bumper.)

Lesson learned: When I got a 4th gen 4runner and had a custom bumper built, I kept the stock bumper in my garage. When it was time to sell, the custom bumper came off and the factory bumper went back on. Not only did I get more $$ for the truck that way, but I also sold the bumper for $500.

 

[SDDiver5]

Really depends on make/model and after market parts if you ask me.

If it's a Taco with a GFC, full armor and all the cool "i'm an overlander" stuff, or an F150 pre runner with an engine and cab cage, long travel etc, you are likely to get much more out of selling it than you would, say, a mid 90's half ton with 150k miles and some mods to it.

 

[Todd n Natalie]

An example I could refer to is an older vehicle in fair shape (not mine), restored, and sold at, oh I think it was 50K? which probably was 40K over the cost the original purchaser made I am guessing, knowing the vehicle.

Yes, I can think of a similar example of an (older but not vintage) domestic 'overland' modified vehicle in the price range you mentioned. I thought it was nuts, but it sold.

I wonder if we are thinking of the same vehicle. Same make of vehicle I drive.

 

[Deleted member 9101]

Two things that I've never done:

1. Paid extra for a vehicle because of modifications

2. Expected to get any money back for mods installed when I sell a vehicle

 

[john61ct]

All depends on where, when and who's involved

No such thing as "market value" except for after that particular deal is done.

I certainly would not make any buildout decisions thinking they are adding value to the vehicle.

Zero compensation for research labour is nearly certain.

As new, maybe 20-50% of cheapest new price before delivery, but

mods can even decrease value compared to bare vehicle.

 

[plh]

Maintenance - near zero. That keeps a vehicle average. Cost of ownership. When I buy something used I keep in mind the higher $ maintenance items and deduct at least a portion of that cost from the asking sale price. Mods - nothing added IMHO, it wouldn't be the way I want it anyways.

I agree if its an older vehicle that has a market (lets say the late 60's early 70's Broncos) that you bought cheap and in fair condition 5 to 10 years ago (because crappy ones are even expensive now), then brought the condition up by doing maintenance items and upgrades, basically the sky is the limit. But those upgrades would need to be inline with what other market leaders are doing. Gateway, Classic, Velocity etc...

 

[crazydubman]

After building numerous vehicles over the years, it is very true that modification costs don't necessarily equal increased value when you sell.

Case in point, a pro touring 68 camaro or 67 nova ground up build/restoration cost lets say 150k plus cost of initial roller. Most would never see more than 80-100K max when they sell. And that is only if the buyer wants exactly what was added in the build. (Wheels, motor, suspension, etc.)

Too many time I see people put tens of thousands into a build only to sell it 6 months later with one or 2 trips under their belt with the new setup. I found that most times its one of these three reasons. 1.) They jumped in deeper than they could afford and have no choice but to sell to recoupe some of the debt, 2.) built something before fully thinking through long term value to them, or 3.) they simply get bored and have a bad habit of constantly needing a new project to work on.

Something I heard years ago was that you put money into something to enjoy it. If you ever want to sell it, you need to drive/enjoy the difference out of it first to make what you spent on it and what you will lose on the total build cost worth it.