Re-sale value after mods

[S80DDE]

i am fairly new to this forum and have only had my 56 plate S3 for about a month or so however i am considering a remap in the future as well as some other performance mods. My only reservation is re-sale value, will i devalue my car by doing this? will it be as easy to sell further down the line and will dealers touch it in terms of part ex? or will i have to sell to other modding ethusiasts?

Any experience or opinions greatly appreciated

 

[V6Pete]

Id you're planning to p/ex in the future, then you'd be advised to remove mods and revert to standard. Or sell privately.

Depending on which mods you do, it may be harder to re-sell, and whilst not necessarily devaluing the car, will not put a penny on it.

 

[remslie20]

If it's just a remap then i wouldnt bother telling a dealership if i was trading it in later down the line. If your planning on doing more i.e exhaust, suspension etc then if you can just keep the standard stuff and refit before you sell on. You wont get any extra money for leaving performance exhaust etc on so you might as well try and recoup some money selling them on seperately!

 

[markwiggy]

Would you buy a modified car ?? Personaly i think you make the car more difficult to sell as it puts alot of people off, so that must affect the value as you are appealing to a smaller market. As stated though you can always return the car to standard.

Mark

 

[V6Pete]

Would you buy a modified car ?? Personaly i think you make the car more difficult to sell as it puts alot of people off, so that must affect the value as you are appealing to a smaller market. As stated though you can always return the car to standard.

Mark

I would buy (and have bought) a car with minor mods. Anything that's involved taking the engine apart would put me off.

I bought my car with a few mods - Eibach springs, Milltek exhaust, Custom Code remap and 19" BBS LM reps. The previous owner had paid around £2500 for these parts including fitting, and didn't get anything extra for leaving them on the car. It also didn't make the car sell for any less.

If you want an "exit plan" for the car - either keep the standard parts and swap over before selling, or plan on selling privately.

 

[S80DDE]

cheers guys, gonna start with a remap, iv herd of some which are reversible anyway...and then take it from there

 

[paddy]

The very fact that you ask the question tells me you know the answer ;-)
A remapped S3 will be a sod to sell if anyone finds out. there is a very good reason why Audi sell them at 260 bhp and not 310bhp. If you are going to sell it in a year then no worries. If you want to put miles on it then expect to have a shortened life and big bills.

 

[mitch78]

... there is a very good reason why Audi sell them at 260 bhp and not 310bhp...

But they don't. They sell them at 290-300bhp, but they don't advertise that fact.

 

[paddy]

But they don't. They sell them at 290-300bhp, but they don't advertise that fact.

So your saying that people that have a remap to 310bhp have waisted their money because that what it started at or it gained them 20bhp ? ?,,,get real

 

[voorhees]

I've witnessed 8P S3's with the lower figure without a remap.

 

[mac1403]

I would agree it does make the car harder to sell, but there are people out there who specifically look for a modified car. I sold my A4 for 1K more than the book price because of the mods. Personally, like others have said ......remove them when you sell and get some money back that way. You will see more return on your spend and the car will sell quicker.

 

[smudge_don]

My old Corsa was heavily modified! Had it as a show car because i was young and stupid, and while i loved it, won many awards, and had more compliments than i had hot dinners, i couldn't sell it for what it was worth at all

In the end, i lost about £3000 off the original asking price to get it shifted

 

[anton2015]

It's a great exuse for yourself aswell as I'm sure many would agree .... "I'll ether sell the on after the car goes .... or .... I'll just get another A3"

 

[paddy]

Ive seen people on here say they got 260 in standard trim. If Audi's production line is knocking out engines with a 40bhp variation it doesn't say much for their quality control !! The error is more likely to be in the RR figures. If not then you are saying that a mapped S3 is putting out 175 bhp/ltr ??

 

[paddy]

The garage that did my remap said they will be imposable soon because the manufacturers are writing non tamper programs now to stop people mapping engines then trying to claim under warranty for problems.
There big worry is reliability /reputation as cars get older.

 

[voorhees]

The error is more likely to be in the RR figures.

I wish that were true as my car was 20 bhp under what I thought it would be and also the car was Dyno'ed later and the same figure popped up so they were good rollers as a few had mentioned.

 

[mitch78]

So your saying that people that have a remap to 310bhp have waisted their money because that what it started at or it gained them 20bhp ? ?,,,get real

No, I'm saying every standard S3 I've seen on a rolling road (many different types of dyno, all over the country) have been between 280 and 290bhp on the same day that every other car has shown the figures they expected. If all you've bought a remap for is to brag about top end figures improving, then yes, you've wasted your money, but the remap makes a big difference to the way the car drives, due to the extra lump of torque in the midrange, but top end power only increases by about 20bhp.

Tuners have been equally surprised and have even tried their maps on my car to check the differences and every time this has then shown the results I described above. If you don't want to believe me, fair enough, it makes no difference to me, but I don't think it's me that needs to get real.

 

[paddy]

"If you don't want to believe me, fair enough"

Thats OK then

So AMD say

S3
Engine type : 2.0LTFSI
Fuel Type : Petrol
Original bhp : 260
Original lb.ft : 258

BHP increase : +40bhp
Lb.ft gain : +52lb.ft


Thats a BHP figure of 300 after remap and your saying they are 300bhp anyway ?

 

[Kris]

Sold my S3 to main dealer, took it in with Miltek and remap to do the deal. All we agreed was the mod's would come off before I let him have the car. They had no problem sticking the car on the forecourt with an Audi warranty.

Salesman did want a drive of the car modded and agreed it was better for it!

 

[mitch78]

"If you don't want to believe me, fair enough"

Thats OK then

So AMD say

S3
Engine type : 2.0LTFSI
Fuel Type : Petrol
Original bhp : 260
Original lb.ft : 258

BHP increase : +40bhp
Lb.ft gain : +52lb.ft


Thats a BHP figure of 300 after remap and your saying they are 300bhp anyway ?

Near enough, yes, but you don't believe me anyway, so don't let it worry you too much.

 

[JeffY]

"If you don't want to believe me, fair enough"

Thats OK then

So AMD say

S3
Engine type : 2.0LTFSI
Fuel Type : Petrol
Original bhp : 260
Original lb.ft : 258

BHP increase : +40bhp
Lb.ft gain : +52lb.ft


Thats a BHP figure of 300 after remap and your saying they are 300bhp anyway ?

AMD would be fools to advertise a stock power rating higher than what Audi say. The remap should add around 40bhp regardless of what the initial value is.

PS Most people get a good power increase just by using good fuel, so the discrepency isn't that great.

 

[mitch78]

AMD would be fools to advertise a stock power rating higher than what Audi say.

The remap should add around 40bhp regardless of what the initial value is.

A remap won't get you a fixed amount of extra power, it'll get you to a certain figure (approximately).

 

[paddy]

Well i think its a point that needs clarifying.
People spend a lot of money on these remaps and i think they should do what they say on the tin. If a company like AMD advertise a start point 40bhp down and then claim to add 40 bhp when in reality they added nothing then people should know.
I had an evolution remap that claimed 18bhp increase and it actually lost me 1 bhp (but that was within the calibration error of the RR anyway) Yes i know its about Torque but given thats the case they shouldn't be advertising silly gains in bhp.

This is totally misleading.
S3
Engine type : 2.0LTFSI
Fuel Type : Petrol
Original bhp : 260
Original lb.ft : 258

BHP increase : +40bhp
Lb.ft gain : +52lb.ft

You say AMD would be daft to quote non Audi figures but they clearly say +40 bhp increase and they are implying it comes from the remap. If as you say the final figure of 300bhp is not as a direct result from a AMD remap then this is illegal.

 

[mitch78]

but they do, and that's why I let people know what their real starting point is, so that they aren't disappointed with anything.

But to be fair, they do exactly what they say on the tin, they get you around 300-310bhp.

 

[beanoir]

"If you don't want to believe me, fair enough"

Thats OK then

So AMD say

S3
Engine type : 2.0LTFSI
Fuel Type : Petrol
Original bhp : 260
Original lb.ft : 258

BHP increase : +40bhp
Lb.ft gain : +52lb.ft


Thats a BHP figure of 300 after remap and your saying they are 300bhp anyway ?

I think what Mitch is trying to say is, that Audi quote the figures they want, which is what AMD obviously use, lets face it, they wouldn't have half as many customers if they quoted the real figures would they! for instance...

S3
Engine type : 2.0LTFSI
Fuel Type : Petrol
Original bhp : 280
Original lb.ft : 280

BHP increase : +20bhp
Lb.ft gain : +12lb.ft

I'm in agreement with others, I wouldn't buy a car full of mods personally, thats because I like my cars in mint condition and as they left the factory (or as close to it as possible). Thats not to say I've never modded a car, I just prefer to work from a blank canvass so I know exactly what has been done to it. When buying a car from a dealer thats been traded in, that dealer will have no idea whats on it or not aside form the obvious stuck on stuff....how would he now if things like clutches, camshafts etc etc are standard or not?

I would leave a modded car well alone in lieu of a unmodded example with the same mileage and condition for the same price.

As they say....one mans mod is another mans shod....

 

[paddy]

your right Nick but if they would get half the trade then there is a good reason for it.
You couldn't sell BP petrol and claim to get the 40bhp increase so you shouldnt be able to do exactly that for a remap.

 

[beanoir]

your right Nick but if they would get half the trade then there is a good reason for it.
You couldn't sell BP petrol and claim to get the 40bhp increase so you shouldnt be able to do exactly that for a remap.

difference is they claim the increase over Audi publised figures, thats the whole point! I agree it's a scam, but we all fall for it! If they claimed that the increase was on their own figures then they would never get away with it, but its ok (apparently) because they are using the manufactures figures, whether they are correct or not, thats acceptable....

 

[JeffY]

A remap won't get you a fixed amount of extra power, it'll get you to a certain figure (approximately).

While the figure isn't fixed, it doesn't make sense that a car that has 20 bhp more than another car of the same model end up with the same power after the remap. I'd still expect at least a 15bhp difference post remap.

 

[paddy]

difference is they claim the increase over Audi publised figures, thats the whole point! I agree it's a scam, but we all fall for it! If they claimed that the increase was on their own figures then they would never get away with it, but its ok (apparently) because they are using the manufactures figures, whether they are correct or not, thats acceptable....

but thats my point. could BP therefore claim 40bhp over manufacturers figures and attribute the rise in bhp to 300 as a result of their petrol ?? Because thats what remap companies appear to be doing ?
Seems to me there is a huge scam going on here and i fell for it with my 3.2 which is why it interests me.

 

[beanoir]

but thats my point. could BP therefore claim 40bhp over manufacturers figures and attribute the rise in bhp to 300 as a result of their petrol ?? Because thats what remap companies appear to be doing ?
Seems to me there is a huge scam going on here and i fell for it with my 3.2 which is why it interests me.

No I dont' think BP could, which is why they dont quote any power increase figures, I think they just claim more "responsivness" and that kind of language.

It is a scam, but its more niche than every Joe Blow who buys his petrol, it's a mod that people will pay hundreds of pounds for.

The way to find out for sure is when you book in for a remap is to insist on a rolling road session of your car and output figures BEFORE having the map installed. Trouble is most people are either too excited to do this when they go in for a remap or would be too embarrased to admit they just paid 500 of the Queen's finest for a 15bhp increase.

 

[paddy]

That is exactly what i did and i didnt gain 1 single bhp as a result of my remap.

 

[beanoir]

That is exactly what i did and i didnt gain 1 single bhp as a result of my remap.

...and I think i've just talked myself out of the remap I was planning!! haha

 

[mitch78]

Don't do that! The increase in torque is well worth £500! It makes a HUGE difference to the way the car drives!

But like I said, if you only want to brag about having x bhp over standard, don't bother.

 

[PaulAr]

i am fairly new to this forum and have only had my 56 plate S3 for about a month or so however i am considering a remap in the future as well as some other performance mods. My only reservation is re-sale value, will i devalue my car by doing this? will it be as easy to sell further down the line and will dealers touch it in terms of part ex? or will i have to sell to other modding ethusiasts?

Any experience or opinions greatly appreciated

I sold my last car (MK5 Gti) easily enough, privately on Pistonheads classifieds with REVO remap declared.
It will narrow your market but not as much as you would think as I could have sold the car 3 times over in the same week.
Besides, its a small price to pay for the extra enjoyment you get during ownership which should be the main consideration.

And, you might find that a remap alone will be enough for you anyway.

Cheers
Paul

 

[beanoir]

Don't do that! The increase in torque is well worth £500! It makes a HUGE difference to the way the car drives!

But like I said, if you only want to brag about having x bhp over standard, don't bother.

dont panic, I'm not fussed about the amount of ponies under my hood, it's all about those pounds feet kicking around.

 

[kaz219]

I bought my mk4 Golf for £6k, spent £6k heavily modding it and sold it for £6600 around 18 months later.

Went for the lot, coilies, bodykit, wheels, recaro leathers, exhaust, ICE, Air Filter, even had it remapped even though it was a 1.4 and fitted a 1.6 head for some extra oomphh!! (around 20 bhp!) Things we do when we're 17

Ermmm - on the good side, made £600 more than what i paid for it :S lol

 

[Kris]

I'd agree that the claimed increase of a remap is misleading. That said, put aside max bhp and torque figures and ask does it drive better/stronger. For me the answer is yes hence a remap IMHO is worth the money on an S3 but as read not all Audis. Just don't expect an F1 car for £500.

 

[just017]

I agree, I have a TDi 140, on two rolling roads (one of which was AMDs) my figures were between 160-165 standard with nothing else. And they weren't surprised, they said most A3s leave the factory higher than what is stated.

And the end output that is advertised, isn't set in stone, AMD don't say 'regardless of what power your putting out, our map will add 40BHP to it. A map is built on many many factors, and they will push the engine untl you reach the safe limitations of those factors.

So with my remap, on paper i only gained approx 20BHP, but the torque midrange is soo much better i would recommend it to anyone.