Trading in modded car

NSaneeee

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Has anyone had experience trading in a vehicle they have done multiple modifications to? I’ve been itching to trade in my 2019 sport sedan for an Si, but with all the mods I’ve done such as exhaust, cosmetics, custom intake, I feel like I wouldn’t get what the value of my car is worth. Has anyone ever traded in something similar while maintaining the resale value? If I don’t mention the mods in KBB my value is around $15k, with the mods it values it around $11k.
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I've traded in two modified cars. In my experience they only care (or notice) readily visible modifications. For example, a cold air intake. They wanted to deduct for that. Of course, I had planned on swapping the stock one back on ahead of time so it was not a big deal. Another example was lowering springs. Wasn't worth my time to remove them and they didn't say anything about them.

You certainly can't go in expecting extra money for the mods.
 

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Its worth swapping back the stock parts and then trading it in if that's an option. Modding a car almost always lowers it's value.
 

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Modding a car lowers its value because it drastically lowers the size of the market the car will appeal to. Most people don't want a modified car, and even the people that do will just assume that because your car is modded it was driven hard. They'd rather start their own project than continue with somebody else's.

Your best bet is to swap all the stock parts back on. You'll get more on the trade and you'll be able to sell the aftermarket parts.
 
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NSaneeee

NSaneeee

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Its worth swapping back the stock parts and then trading it in if that's an option. Modding a car almost always lowers it's value.
yeah I figured, I can’t reverse my exhaust or de badging the emblems,
Modding a car lowers its value because it drastically lowers the size of the market the car will appeal to. Most people don't want a modified car, and even the people that do will just assume that because your car is modded it was driven hard. They'd rather start their own project than continue with somebody else's.

Your best bet is to swap all the stock parts back on. You'll get more on the trade and you'll be able to sell the aftermarket parts.
The only thing I couldn’t reverse is my exhaust cause it far from stock, but my intake I could reverse, and some of the cosmetics I cannot either.
 


jred721

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yeah I figured, I can’t reverse my exhaust or de badging the emblems,
It *might* be worth sourcing the components you need to bring the exhaust back to stock, but I honestly don't know how much more money you'll get on trade in if you do that. I would get a quote from a dealer and go in from there and see if its worth it. The debadging shouldn't be that big of an issue though, they might not even notice.
 
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NSaneeee

NSaneeee

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It *might* be worth sourcing the components you need to bring the exhaust back to stock, but I honestly don't know how much more money you'll get on trade in if you do that. I would get a quote from a dealer and go in from there and see if its worth it. The debadging shouldn't be that big of an issue though, they might not even notice.
Thanks for the advice
 

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Thanks for this topic. My father wants me to see about getting a Carmax quote on my Civic when I have an oil catch can installed. He erroneously thought that having an mod like that would be an "upgrade" and would probably get me a higher price. I'll go back to stock before I see about getting a quote from CarMax.
 

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I wouldn’t mention any of it. But I would put as much back to stock if you can. As far as emblems and exhaust, that shouldn’t be a problem. If you are trading it in at a Honda dealer they can get the emblems and put them on in their shop. Even the exhaust can be returned to stock in their shop. They are Honda lol, they can get those parts. They normally just look at the year and miles and as long as it runs good and doesn’t have any major damage you will be fine. I’m not saying to be dishonest, but just don’t go in there pointing out every little thing you’ve done. Because really everything you’ve changed they can change back.
 


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Because really everything you’ve changed they can change back.
Of course. But any work they have to do adds to their reconditioning costs which ultimately you pay for.
 

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Of course. But any work they have to do adds to their reconditioning costs which ultimately you pay for.
That’s never happened to me. I’ve traded in modded cars and trucks. They usually just drive it around. As long as everything works like it’s supposed to then you’re good. I always got the value based on the mileage, year, and overall condition of the vehicle.
 

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That’s never happened to me. I’ve traded in modded cars and trucks. They usually just drive it around. As long as everything works like it’s supposed to then you’re good. I always got the value based on the mileage, year, and overall condition of the vehicle.
That's what you think. Salesman have a way of inflating your trade in value by burying in monies elsewhere. They've done well in earning their "stealership" moniker over the years. Your modded vehicle is worth less and you're the one who takes that hit on the chin, no matter what they say.
 
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mvela

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That's what you think. Salesman have a way of inflating your trade in value by burying in monies elsewhere. They've done well in earning their "stealership" moniker over the years. Your modded vehicle is worth less and you're the one who takes that hit on the chin, no matter what they say.
The only thing that I’ve ever been hit with was tires. They always take off for tires because according to them they have to put new tires on the car regardless if you just put a new set on. So there goes a grand right there. They say it’s for liability reasons they can’t let a car leave their lot with used tires. But other then that I’ve never had a dealer lower my value for anything like exhaust or stereo upgrades or tinted windows. I even had a chunk of paint missing from my bumper on my gmc truck when I traded it in and I even pointed it out. He said not to worry about that, he said their shop can fix that. I said ok and drove off in my new Chevy truck.
 

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The only thing that I’ve ever been hit with was tires. They always take off for tires because according to them they have to put new tires on the car regardless if you just put a new set on. So there goes a grand right there. They say it’s for liability reasons they can’t let a car leave their lot with used tires. But other then that I’ve never had a dealer lower my value for anything like exhaust or stereo upgrades or tinted windows. I even had a chunk of paint missing from my bumper on my gmc truck when I traded it in and I even pointed it out. He said not to worry about that, he said their shop can fix that. I said ok and drove off in my new Chevy truck.
Know how you can tell when a salesman is lying?




His lips are moving.
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