This is more of an opinion question I guess, but why do people pay more for a stock car compared to one that is modified (and by modified I mean done with top grade items and done professionally)? For example I have a stock low mileage 2014 FJ Cruiser but also a modified 2013 one. The modified one has ARB front and rear bumpers, roof rack, skid plates, winch, suspension system, and the car has bigger off road tires. Everything has been done professionally and wasn't just cheap aftermarket work. But still people don't offer anything close to the stock vehicle for it and actually treat these aftermarket upgrades as something negative that lowers the car's value. Kind of curious as to why it's like this and if anyone has any thoughts?
As a buyer you can't always tell whether the modifications are really of good quality and properly installed. This is rampant in the Jeep world, where owners do all kinds of crazy and sometimes ill-considered modifications that most buyers won't want to deal with.
I agree with this and it would be my concern if buying a modified car too, but if the person considering this car knows what to look for they'll know it was done completely professionally and with top quality parts. For example one person was telling me I have to deduct the price of new wheels/tires!! when the aftermarket ones I have cost a ton more than any regular tires/wheels out there.
Wheels and tires I would save if I were to swap them out with aftermarket ones. I generally keep my modifications to a minimum. My Mustang's spoiler is aftermarket, a Roush hood scoop, Roush axleback exhaust, Roush cold air intake and a professional tune to make the car accept the modifications. Of course the Ghostbusters decals aren't permanent. I paid a professional friend to make vinyl form fitted to the car. I've seen pretty crummy vinyl jobs done with generic car decal kits.
It goes along with the idea that something is only worth what you will pay for it. They may or may not want the modifications you did, so it has a limited market. It's the same thing with modified Mustangs. The modified vehicle has less broad "appeal" than the plain Jane variety.
Dealerships love this line of reasoning when people trade in their modified Mustangs and expect more than they get. They usually complain and the dealer's way out is "the right buyer has to come along for this car and it will sit for a while." The Ford dealers flip them within days for A LOT more than they paid for the car.
My 2 cents? A high percentage of tire-kickers are idiots, but then again a high percentage of car modifiers aren't that smart either. I've seen a lot of ill-advised and/or badly done modifications, especially suspensions, exhaust systems and "tuner" chips and bits.
But - I've bought some substantially modified cars and bikes, and been happy with them, because I've been careful and researched things on the forums. Myself, I save all the original bits and put it back to stock, then sell the modification parts on Ebay (unless they buyers want them, which so far hasn't happened often).
Yeah there are definitely awful and low quality modifications out there. I've kept every original bit from the car from tires to bumpers etc. but just don't think it's worth the hassle to put them all back (they can have it with the car for sure, but I'm not putting them back). I modified the car for my own personal use so I didn't think of cutting corners at all, but if they want to extremely lowball it then I'll keep both cars.
It's quite simple really. Most people have zero interest in mods. A very, very, very small fraction of people actually drive off-road. (and an even smaller fraction of them want FJ cruisers)
For most people it's a waste of money. Insurance doesn't cover mods. In fact, mods decrease the amount of payout you get, because market value is less. The maintenance cost on modified trucks is crazy too. Not to mention gas prices right now.
Only people who are rich, vain, or very dedicated hobby offroaders are interested.
But I guess when there are parts on the car that cost near $10k and can be removed and sold
Then sell them separately (if you saved the stock parts).
This is an old issue of owners who modify their vehicle with $$$ parts, get a rude shock when potential buyers don’t acknowledge their efforts.
Its always a good idea to save your stock parts so that the next owner can decide if he/she wants the vehicle as-is or back to stock. Like the others have said, 9/10 the next owner will want the vehicle to be bone stock, even if he plans to spend $10,000 more on mods, himself.
Thanks everyone for the comments and thoughts. I totally agree that not everyone likes the same types of modifications and don't expect them to pay what I did when I initially had the modifications done. But I guess when there are parts on the car that cost near $10k and can be removed and sold I would expect those who inquire about the car to not extremely lowball it or upfront ask me to even deduct the price of those parts from the car if I want them to buy it (as if they're doing me a favor!). I'm glad I don't need/have to sell the car and can just keep it.