Modding - then selling?!?!

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mordz

Audi S3 (2000)
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Ok so i have read a few posts about modding...

IE improved suspension, better exhausts, induction, window tints, wheels, breaks, ECU remaps etc etc.

Some of which i would like to do, however i also want to take into acount resale value / problems reselling.

i know if i looked at an S3 and it had been remapped, or modded i would think twice about buying, i would always try get a standard model - i dont know why i do this, maybe i think that a modded example would be thrashed? where as the reality is that its probably been extreamly well looked after.

i just wondered what people think! and what are safe mods for resale, i appreciate ICE, Wheels, etc can be replaced to std at point of selling etc.
 
When I was looking for mine I only considered standard ones. Its just how I am, in the end I bought one that just has Coilovers on it but standard elsewhere. When I come to sell it i'll put the standard setup back on that way theres a bigger market for the car. Personally i'd only do stuff that is easily removable, can't go wrong then.
 
Yeh, thats how i feel. i think id only do some extream modding if i was keeping the car for life, so to speak.

Its just interesting to hear how others feel, maybe it may change my perspective on things
 
Same as; would look for a standard one. ICE and Wheels are part and parcel with any resale but more performance oriented mods would be personal preference. I guess it is dependant on what you think you will get for your mods also whether the new owner would want those particular mods. I guess quite a few people remove the mods and put the OE back on and then resale the used mods. However being the new owner and hearing that the mods came off and was put back to standard I would be concerned about that 'standard'!
 
Its not so much how much you would get for the mods, its how much would the mods reduce the value of the car or cause problems selling it.
 
i would return car to std before selling, a nice set of wheels wouldnt put me off if i was a buyer tho
 
Couldn't agree more. I have looked at and tested about 15 S3s before settling on the one I am picking up tomorrow. 9/10 vendors thought that because they had spent so much money on mods, it should be realised via the sale. My argument is that mods are a personal preference. Never assume to make your money back. Had some people playing real hard ball for no reason (in my opinion). For example someone had installed a sub and Phatbox was intending on keeping them but not replacing the original stereo - he said that a stereo is not a 'given' these days on cars...

One more annoyance - vendors who describe their cars as immaculate. Maybe they should look up immaculate...
 
I intend to re map mine shortly however I dont keep cars that long - Ill probably just not mention it to the next buyer!
 
haha, quallity.

I know what spacecowboy means. though i was thinking that a mod may 'reduce' the value.. tainted goods so to speak..

Remap is a dificult one as its not visual. the buyer would be gutted if he went for a remap and found it was already done?! wouldt you say ADP? :p
 
You could argue that a standard S3 may have been more thrashed than a remapped one - to get some speed out of it...
 
I would imagine that not telling a buyer that your car has been remapped (aprox 15% power increase) is highly illegal.
 
Blunteh said:
I would imagine that not telling a buyer that your car has been remapped (aprox 15% power increase) is highly illegal.
Click to expand...


that brings us to the insurance / remap thread i saw a while back..
 
RussUK said:
You could argue that a standard S3 may have been more thrashed than a remapped one - to get some speed out of it...
Click to expand...

Probably, but I should imagine most have had a hammering.
 
Well i got mine with a remap/RS4's alloys and it did not bother me ;)

As long as it had a good service history and drove well I was happy.

If you are thinking of modding a standard car why buy a standard car if there is one for sale that's been mapped(And the price is right)???

WHY do people always assume a remapped cars has been thrashed or tracked? I drive it about 15 miles a day and can get over 30mpg around town so that's how much I thrash mine around!!!

Mine is due to be sold tomorrow and it's about 2K less than it should go for with without the extras on it so someone is going to get a great deal.

I would take any car that's been mapped over a car that's got a fat body kit or subs & amps everywhere.
 
If a cars been revoed then it can be put back to stock without anyone knowing and the buyer would be clueless until he goes to get it revoed again! (does that make sense?)
I believe modded S3 can fall into that thrashed category unless the buyer knows what to look for i.e.nurburing decal on the rear,castle combe season ticket in the glove box
 
I was only looking at standard ones when I bought but to be fair, I not a modded car fan!
 
I'd buy a lightly modded car, map and alloys/suspension but i'd be making sure the owner seemed the take car of his car sort first.

To be fair i'd do that with any car modded or not.
 
I sold my A4 avant TDI with coilovers, remap and full milltek zaust. to a young family they loved that it was slammed on the deck and it had the original suspension and original wheels with it, plus it did 58mpg average which they loved even more!
i bought my S3 with tints, RSTTs, and superchips remap with boost gauge, but it was originally bought by the owner of superchips UK then by the previous owner 4 years ago. but it had FASH, and £3k spent on cambelt, clutch, flywheel, arb bushes 3months ago! so i couldn't argue. the only thing that were downers - the passenger side door had been resprayed due to a drunk **** keying it! hey i've buffed/polished in now and looks awesome. and minor stone chips over the bonnet but its done 100k so hey!
 
I've always completely avoided cars that have been modified. I'd love to give a clever reason for this but the best I can come up with is that it seemed to be a sign that the car had been raced, crashed and thrashed.

In reality allot of modded cars are looked after in the extreme and often over maintained.
I've just purchased a completely standard car, and then spent a good deal of money paying for the previous owners ignorance!

I can only go on what I do, pay the money, keep it well maintained but drive them hard. Would I buy a car from me?...........maybe but more likely I'd still go the the standard one.
No easy answers here..

r
 
I think it all comes down to the condition of the car at the end of the day "mild" mod's such as a map / suspension etc wouldn't put me off too much as it shows the owner is willing to spend cash on the car and it was important to them so i'd presume they would take better care of it than most owners who only take it to the garage when it breaks down
 
sitrials said:
I sold my A4 avant TDI with coilovers, remap and full milltek zaust. to a young family they loved that it was slammed on the deck and it had the original suspension and original wheels with it, plus it did 58mpg average which they loved even more!
quote]

58mpg, you sure?
Click to expand...
 
the shame of it all is how many people will never know the true potential of the a3/s3 because they shy away from modifying their cars worried about resale value.too anyone thinking of buying an a3/s3 you will not believe the difference between a bog standard car and a modified one.the handling and performance can be made how it should have been when it left the factory
 
He could be gutted that there was no way forward on the power front however at the same time he should be pleased as Id saved him 400 notes!

I need to get it done, a focus 1.8lx was keeping me at bay till about 80 last night, my car feels slowwwww
 
interesting thoughts guys, think i will proceed with the mid mods.

;)
 
Just another thought,

Keep all the service & mod history, I looked at a modded S3 on saturday at a dealers and when i looked through the information there was no information about who did the map or uprated the brakes and suspension on the car so i would have no comeback if any of them broke.
 
MikeA3 said:
I looked at a modded S3 on saturday at a dealers and when i looked through the information there was no information about who did the map or uprated the brakes and suspension on the car so i would have no comeback if any of them broke.
Click to expand...

Was it overpriced as it had mods on the car?

Funny that you lose most of the money you spend but when you buy a modded car from a dealer it's 1K dearer because of the mods:scared2:
 
S3Andy said:
Was it overpriced as it had mods on the car?

Funny that you lose most of the money you spend but when you buy a modded car from a dealer it's 1K dearer because of the mods:scared2:
Click to expand...

It was a little more expensive than it should have been (just under 10k) and it did have bose, heated leather and integrated sat nav as well.

but a 2001 with 92,500 miles and no evidence of who did the mods I wouldn't really be interested, also there was a receipt in the history for £2500 which included a new head gasket - leads me to believe it had been thrashed quite a bit
 
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