trb wrote:I've never sold a modified vehicle, but based on what the guys on my local Mustang forum have done, they usually remove all the mods they can and replace whatever parts with stock when they are trading a car in. They can get way more for the stock car and selling the parts separately than trading the modified car at a dealer. Now if they are selling it themselves, they usually start out trying to sell it complete. But often they end up selling a lot of the parts before the car itself sells.
I totally agree with this. This is what typically happens on The J-Body Organization (Chevy Cavalier & Pontiac Sunfire) website I am also a member of.
I had a 2002 Pontiac Sunfire GT Coupe that I had done quite a bit to (lowered, wheels and tires, full header back exhaust, etc.). When I decided to sell it (biggest mistake ever
), I had another Sunfire (2002 Sunfire SE Sedan), so I pretty much swapped all the aftermarket parts to the Sedan before I sold the Coupe. When the Sedan got traded in for the Vibe, I removed all the aftermarket parts and sold them which gave me money for the Vibe which was nice. Typically you will make more money selling any parts, especially aftermarket, as opposed to leaving them on the vehicle. Plus, people tend to shy away from modified vehicles thinking that they have been abused by the previous owner. I personally wouldn't buy a heavily modified vehicle. If it had something simple like wheels and tires, that wouldn't necessarily deter me, but if it had something more, say it was lowered, I would stay far away from it.