I'm wondered your thoughts on customization for our LS430s. If put a few grand into customizations (drop/lower the car an inch or so, put custom wheels, and modify lighting) does this negatively impact the resale value?

My guess is yes it does. There seems to be more people looking for a stock car versus a customized. Therefore, the demand is less and resale value must be reduced to compensate for the low demand.

Anyone have opinions on this? I wondered if you guys how have done modifications even thought about this impact. Looking for advice and a sanity check

 

In general, I think you are correct. When I am buying and I see a modded car, I think things like:

- Wow, they ruined a perfectly good car with tasteless mods,
- Ooh, those engine mods make me think he thrashed that car 1/4 mile at a time,
- Ouch, there's no way I'm paying extra for those mods because I think they make the car worth less.

There are folks who appreciate mods, but the number of persons are a lot smaller than buyers looking for a stock vehicle. Even if the buyer wants to mod a car, they often want to do it their own way.

That said, one of the reasons I sold my 02 vette so quickly is because I had an awesome sounding Borla exhaust system on it. The car was black and I kept it Zainoed to the max. One of my co-workers said he loved the looks and especially the sound of the car. When I mentioned that I might be interested in selling he went for a ride with me. He didn't even want to drive it. A couple days later, he called me from his credit union confirming my asking priced. He showed up a half hour later with a cashier check.

 

Very seldom does it add to the value and often detracts. Subtle modifications are often transparent to buyers though (small upgrades that improve OEM) and may help set your ride apart.

Having said that my approach is to modify to your taste and enjoy the vehicle. Just be prepared to put it back to stock and sell your mods and if done smartly you can recoup some of the cost. The labor to put them on / take them off (if you don't do it yourself) is the big loss.

 

i have modded (slight to medium) 7 cars now and have sold 6 of them. in my experiences if you want the largest market to be interested in your car you should put it back to stock, completely. simple mods like tint, satellite radio, and exhaust are usually ones you can easily still get away with when marketing to the masses. the more your car is modded the smaller your resale market gets. i have never gotten a penny back additional for any mod i have done unless i took it off and sold it separately. in fact most people tried to talk me down in price stating that they would have to put the oem parts back on and what not, even though we both know that if they purchased that car they would not have spent any more money to put the oem parts back on.

i once had a guy try to talk me down on our jeep grand cherokee limited (limited to on-road only ) because he claimed the 4k stereo upgrade devalued the car. i took out everything but the 900 dollar head unit and the guy still insisted that it messed with the cars electrical components therefore i should knock off 1k from the asking price... needless to say i stopped messing with this guy and ended up selling it to someone who wanted that badass alpine and had plans of subs and amps of his own. all 6 modded cars i eventually sold went to car enthusiasts as well, i just had to decide how much i wanted to put it back to stock and what it was worth to me to do so.

before i do a mod i think how reversible or non-reversible is this, how much do i stand to loose by doing so, is this an acceptable loss? in all cases but 1 I feel that I made out better than not. Acceptable loss is what its all about.
The #1 car I had modded the most ($$$) actually sold for the least so I am hesitant to put any more body kits and custom 3.5k paint jobs on them, plus it was a rush sale and I may have gotten a better deal elsewhere had I marketed it better but that guy got an awesome deal.

Hey Dave, did you get a decent resale off your GS??

 

No where near compared to the investment in it. Sold for I'd estimate 1/3 to 1/4 of what I'd put into the car.

I did sell just before the market crash and the decline in used vehicle prices though, so I was lucky in that regard.

I ultimately decided to keep my LS430 (mostly) stock even though I'd bought wheels, the air ride controller, exhaust tips for it. The LS is our daily driver and both comfort and 'attention' a modified car draws from both police and thieves was something were factors in my decision to sell those parts rather than keep and use them.

 

I can't think of a single modification that would add value to the car average buyer, besides replacing the seat foam with cold hard cash.

Modify a car for yourself. But if you do, always make it possible to reverse what you've done.

 

Aesthetic mods most likely will not get you any return. Enhancement to OEM to improve the car may. I would say try selling the car with all mods for a week or so to see if there are any interest, and if not, remove what you can and sell separately.

There are those out there that likes the way a modded car looks and (can't/don't know how/don't want to do it themselves) that may well purchase your car as is.

I had a cleanly modded S2000, with all the popular add on's almost everyone in the forum had done and a little bit more. When it was time to sell, it caught the eye of a 16 year old girl who actually wanted all of what I had done so she didn't have to. Her parents came to my house and bought the car outright.

I'm pretty sure you can do the same, and if not, sell the parts here on this forum

 

I agree that mods (non-stock add on's) will typically reduce the value of a vehicle to the majority of potential buyers. However, there are also a small % of buyers that will be MORE interested in buying because of those mods. In my opinion, with the more mods that are visible, the more you will discourage the average buyer, and the harder it will be to sell the vehicle.

Again, there will always be a small % of buyers that LOOK FOR a previously modded car (either because they don't have the know how to mod themselves, or they want the instantaneous look of a different and personalized car), but there are less buyers like that than those who want a factory made & unmodified vehicle.

Personally, when I car shop, I DON'T EVEN CONSIDER a car that has tint on it. That's just me. I think people who put tint on a car are more likely to do MORE mods also, and you may not get the whole truth when talking to the seller. Even if the mods are REMOVED or REVERSED back to stock, I still have the thought of someone wrenching/fiddling/tampering/rewiring things in a shoddy manner....

I have never bought a car that had any modification done to it, and have always advised girlfriends/friends/etc to stay away from any vehicle that has had anything done to it. Even a vehicle that had tint added on.

 

Rule of thumb, $1000 of MODS equates to probably $100+ in resale value added, if even. MODS all are a part of personal taste, so the $3000 rims you put into the LS may not be what others are looking for, so it's not going to add anything to them. Unlike a home where you upgrade a kitchen for $2000 and it adds $4000 in resale value, cars are total opposite.

The only MOD I can think of that adds any value are electronics (i.e. bigger subs, DVD, video monitors, etc.) where there is perceived "extra" added to the car. Wheels are just a replacement of something existing, it's not like you're adding more wheels, but a DVD player and monitor is something "extra."

 

if it's a VAIS, or HID lights, I can see it adding a little value.
If it's a spoiler on a LS430... yuck. Everyone is different, but speaking for myself I wouldn't buy a luxury sedan with an aftermarket spoiler.

If someone added sifferent side mirrors that had turn signals integrated, now that's cool. Soooo subjective.

 

Yes, resale is heavily effected by any and all mods not Lexus specific. That said, as other members have stated, there is a small market for pre-modified Lexus' and other autos. The reason is simple. Most people have cars and want to personalize them on there own. I myself when I turned 30 stopped modifying all together. My mods were minimal at best, very minor as a matter of fact.

I was told when I purchased my 1st luxury car(entry level ES) to be careful doing aftermarket things to my car. They explained the effect that BIG wheels had on suspension and alignment etc., and paints jobs lose warranty and etc.! They ran down the line of the downsides of mods. Wasnt til I turned 30 I just stopped on my own but heeded what I was tld about the effects of mods. I enjoy seeing mods you gents/ladies do but, I dont because I cant see what I buy a Lexus to change it but, respect why others do. At 24-25 I did like to add things here and there but, I grew out of it.

I say if you like to mod, DO YOU and trust that someone looking for a pre-modified ride is out there and will buy yours as well. MOD ON FELLOW MEMBERS!! YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE SO LIVE IT LIKE YOU WANT TO!!! L.G.N.M

 

What's funny is that if you were to trade in your car to a dealership, they would give you less for mods like wheels, but then turn around and advertise the car with wheels and tout them as an upgrade and probably mark up the price.

 

I agree, and thought I'd add how things sometimes change as we grow older. I'm now 71 and don't go into heavy mods, but I do like what I like. I have a few very minor mods and I don't care what it does to resale value. I want to (and will) enjoy this car for myself alone. Money doesn't enter into it, I just want to enjoy life with no regrets.

 

good point ^ ^ ^. i just have to check myself between money enjoyed and money wasted, occasionally...

but yeah its our car so we should enjoy it how we want to enjoy it!!

 

I agree it comes down to personal taste, I like a modded car but would not buy one for the simple reason that I like to take it stock and then modded it to my taste.