• If you currently own, previously owned or want to own an Avalanche, we welcome you to become a member today. Membership is FREE, register now!

Does Modding Increase Or Decrease An Av's Value?

C

ColoradoAV

SM 2003
Full Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2002
Messages
1,424
Location
Littleton, CO
I am just curious. ?With the national meet not happening, my dad says we can put that money toward doing some mods to the Av. ?So I got to wondering whether it increases, decreases or does nothing to the value of the Av. ?I get the impression that it lowers the value because maybe not everyone would like the changes but it doesn't matter to you all because it's such a fun hobby ?>:D. ?Or maybe it just depends on what mods you do.

Are there any mods that can definitely increase the value such as a heavy exhaust (better mpg and better sound) or a bug deflector (keeping away the paint chips up front)?

I certainly want to mod and it will happen more but if the Av loses more value the modding will be more limited ?:(.

*remember this Av is a keeper for quite a while. I just want to know what happens 4 years down the road when we get a new one ;) ;)*
 
From what experianced with my truck, modding DEACREASES the resale value, mainly because most people just want a stock vehicle, theres only a small percentage that actually wants mods on their vehicle. Plus, most dealers will remove and MOD's on the vehicle prior to selling. As was the case with my AV.
Frank
 
Unless you find a fan of the vehicle who wanted the mods anyway, in most cases it will decrease the value. Dealers have a tendency of giving you less for a non-stock vehicle.

If you are worried about the value, stick to mods you can easily remove if necessary.
 
I concur, modding decreases the value of a vehicle. ?However if you sell to a private party that likes your mods then you can definately get more money for your AV. ?I've also noticed that some dealers are doing their own mods before they sell a vehicle. ?When I purchased my AV, they had another AV with painted cladding and aftermarket wheels and of course they where charging more for those mods.
 
I have $2500 worth of mods on my truck so far. Went to go trade it in for a Hummer and they said the mods are only worth $500. Business may be business but when it comes to my Ave I'm purely sentimental. Needless to say I felt my efforts were worth more than the $500 they were offering. This estimate came after two people wanted to by my truck right in front of the salesman as he was aout to appaise it.

Screw the Hummer for now. I'll buy it in 5 years when most people will want to dump it to avoid paying that final $19,995 balloon payment.
 
Not to change the topic but the Hummer was the only truck that I would trade the Avalanche for. Heck the sound that 6 liter makes is awesome. The ride was sweet.

The operative word here is "Was". After I found that it only got 9 MPG and was going to require a balloon payment of $19,995 at the end of 60 months I realized that there is no truck worth trading the Avalanche for.
 
If you are looking to trade in your vehicle to the dealer, then yes, mods are likely to lower the value.

But keep in mind that the reason to mod your vehicle is to make it your own, and therefore to increase your satisfaction and enjoyment of it. So that right there has some value to it that offsets the decreased trade-in payment.

Of course, many mods can be removed, and the vehicle returned to stock. For example, intake kits can be removed, and the stock intake replaced. Decals and brush guards can be removed, interior electronics can be taken out. Once out, they should have minimal impact on trade in value, unless there are a lot of ugly mounting holes left behind.

Other mods, like painted cladding, suspension lifts/lowering, custom body work, etc. are harder to reverse.

Personally, I've stuck with mods that are easily reversable (brush guard, decals) so that they have no impact, or are so valuable to my enjoyment (mp3 player, cell phone kit) that I can live with a small trade-in hit due to mounting holes.

CoAvZ71: let me know when you're in Erie again, we should get together. There have been a lot of changes to my truck since you saw it 6 months ago.

-- SS
 
I think you need to clarify the difference between actually decreasing the value, or being merely value neutral.

1) There are things (those listed in the Kelley blue book) which are desirable and therefore retain a certain amount of their original cost. For example, a roof rack is a $195 option new, but retains $100 of the cost on a used vehicle.

2) Short of leaving your Av damaged or in need of repair, Virtually all of the mods are neutral in affecting the value of the AV, that is, you will not get any return on your investment. For example, two Av's side by side, which are identical in every way except one has a bug shield and the other does not, will still price out the same even though the mod obviously cost money. The [insert your mod here] does not mean that your Av is worth less than without the mod -- it means you have added something with a low or 0 dollar return.

3) Most other mods can simply make your Av more attractive to a smaller segment of the population (e.g. a huge lift kit or supercharger).

Just remember that your investment in the mod will depreciate (you can't add $3000 to the asking price of a used Av just because that's what the supercharger cost you new); and that a dealer wants to deal in mainstream stuff as much as possible (b/c they can use the blue book). You're almost always better off selling your vehicle on your own, where you will also maximize the resale of your mods.
 
Is your AV an investment or something that you want to enjoy?

If it is an investment and getting the highest resale out of it than don't drive it. Keep it in long term air/temp/humitdity controled stroage. Personally we bought ours to use it. When we upgarde to another (newer) AV many years down the road, resale value by the book will not change much based on our mods.

It will also depend on what the mods are and where you go to sell it ~ there is a nice area on this site for selling your AV to other enthusiasts (probably where you will get your top dollar)
 
I would probably remove my mods that I could (pretty much everything but the Snakeyes Camera) and put them on a new vehicle or e-Bay them.

There is no need to worry about AV as an "Investment" anyway. All AVs loose about $15K off the sticker price value the minute we drove them off the lot.
 
i would remove any mods i had on the truck any way. they will not give you what you put into the truck anyway. so why give them cool stuff for free.
i had a '95 Tahoe i had lowered. they gave me a price for it. this was only because i had the stock springs, spindles, and shackles that came off of it.
 
My last vehicle was a 99 astro featured in streettrucks amgazine, I ended up selling it for blue book with everything jsut to get rid of it... It all depends on how you fix up a car. If you go past a certain point with shaving and painting than it's relaly hard to sell it since it is so personalized. That is the reason I didn;t go with full wild graphics on my Avi or shave the door handles...
 
My view is this. Mod the hell out of your truck. Lift it, lower it, paint the cladding, put lights on it, bars, exhaust, strobes, and all the other goodies. If you were to sell it privately to someone who was looking for a Lowered Street Machine, or a Lifted Off Road Monster they would be willing to spend more money.

When the dealer does not acknowledge your mods when estimating the worth of your vehicle it's not because your car is not worth more than it was unmodded. It is because it may be less desirable or more in tuned with a certain age group than the stock truck. He may also be creating a greater buffer when some hard ass negotiator wants to buy it off his lot.

There is this dealership by my house selling whats called "The Tornado" It's a lowered Tahoe with a super charger, exhaust, wheels and other goodies. They are selling it for $49,000. If mods don't effect the value of a vehicle than what other justification does the dealer have in Selling that "Tornado" for what they are?

So basically I feel mods (all mods) do increase the value of your truck but decrease the amount of people who may be interested in it (Due to personal Taste).

So whats the answer to marketing your truck to those who want a modded machine? EBAY!!!!!!!
 
A dealer sells "units" and has pricing differentials and incentives and really will never care less what an owner did to improve the vehicle. If you ever think a mod will bring more from a dealer on trade you are out of touch with reality. Dealers are purely economic so stay away from trade-in unless you have to or just do not want to spend the time trying to sell. Personally I have customized every vehicle for my enjoyment and taste and been fortunate enough to have sold every one for more than market and a couple thousand more than dealer offers. You will find buyers willing to pay for a well maintained vehicle and the mods which individualize it may help asthetics, but if the mods detract from appearance forget a lot of potential buyers. I used to work at a dealership and the policy was take any trade as long as the end out the door purchase met the profit margin. That meant you could give more for a trade because it had upgrades or was plain jane as long as the new purchase had the right dollar figures on paper. Dealers are concerned with CSI and will work any deal - [you may think you got more for mods or nothing at all and both may be true depending on what you buy]. Here the concept is you bought this Avalanche because "you" obviously like it. Therefore just please yourself, mod it to your taste, forget worrying about future trade values, enjoy it and spend your time worrying about something else more important. In the long run you will not regret making the Av unique to you. See y'all down the road.
 
A dealer will most likely give you wholesale on the Av with or without mods. It really doesnt' matter. After paying $31000 for my Z66 '02, I found dealers were willing only to give me as high as $22,800 for the truck and that was being nice since the wholesale value was $21,500. So hop it up, do what you want with it and drive it. If you are worried about resale value, sell it because it isn't worth anything anyway. Dealers can't sell the ones they have including the used ones. If you have a Tahoe or Surb, it's easier to resale.
 
Interesting question...

I did many mods to my Sonoma. But as a '98 with 98,000 I'd get nothing from the dealer. However, I would sell the rims, tires, as well as stock wheels and tires; drop kit, as well as the stock spendles; Euro Clears; Speakers and HeadUnit with the truck. When I bought it, it was completely stock, and I modded until I decided to save the $$ for a newer, bigger truck. I don't think I'd have any problem getting my asking price if I decided to sell it. The S class is known more widely for modding than the AV. The AV crowd is growing (Evidence: This website + all the EXTs).

Dealers want a stock vehicle, but if you sell it yourself, you will be able to explain to the potential buyer why you made the mods you did and then that would give them some ideas for mods of their own.

My advice... Mod away! Do it and Don't look back!

As for what I paid for my AV...Got it and a new bumper (after the first owner drilled through it for a non GM grille guard) from the dealer for $23,200. It had 9,000 mi, and was spotless, and had only been driven for 6 months. It sat on the dealer's lot for 4 months. The Used Car Sales Manager was ready to see it go, because they had two other AVs that no one else had shown any interest in.

Right now more people are buying new AVs than used. It's a buyer's market.
 
neither.....you just do not get what you paid for all the mods........

They need to be taken off and sold separately......
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top