Considering selling, go back to stock or sell as is?

[SD_N55]

I ve been thinking about selling my 2011 135i for over a year and I think I am about ready to actually do, I ve only been driving it about once a week and my wife has been bugging me to sell it for a long time now, I spend more time messing with than I do driving. Not due to reliability issues but just for the sake of working on the car. I was curious how everyone feels about buying a modified car. I think the market for our cars are a little different than others where primarily young enthusiasts are looking. My car is FBO with a high flow catted down pipe, Koni yellows with swift springs, m3 arms front and rear, Dinan camber plates and Dinan rear shock mounts, GFB DV+ and mhd stage 2 tune. Rear subframe inserts, Lux angle eyes. Should I take it back to stock to sell or is it "tastefully modified" and won't hurt the resale. Despite being in my mid 30s I ve never sold a car private party.

[olds350]

I've been in this exact scenario many times and it all comes down to what you want to do. You can't make money on any mods on the car and you'll have a harder time selling the car with mods since most buyers want a stock car. That buyer is out there, but it will take you longer to sell. If you're willing to put in the time, put the car back to stock and then sell the go fast parts separately.

[NVHoo]

Originally Posted by olds350

I've been in this exact scenario many times and it all comes down to what you want to do. You can't make money on any mods on the car and you'll have a harder time selling the car with mods since most buyers want a stock car. That buyer is out there, but it will take you longer to sell. If you're willing to put in the time, put the car back to stock and then sell the go fast parts separately.

It's a rare buyer that is looking for a modded car, much less the brand and type of mods you have done. Most folks who shop will not consider a car with modded drive train components because they assume the car has been beaten, tracked, or both.

[Soterios]

If it were me I would give it some time on the market as modified. If you think the car is worth $10,000 (just a random number) bone stock, list it for $10,000. If you get a buyer, great. If the feedback or lack thereof suggests that a stock car would do better on the market, take it back to stock.

But taking your car back to stock is a lot of time and energy for what could be a small price differential. Personally. I'd rather sell a $10,000 for $9,000 then deal with swapping all that back to stock.

[JimVonBaden]

Originally Posted by olds350

I've been in this exact scenario many times and it all comes down to what you want to do. You can't make money on any mods on the car and you'll have a harder time selling the car with mods since most buyers want a stock car. That buyer is out there, but it will take you longer to sell. If you're willing to put in the time, put the car back to stock and then sell the go fast parts separately.

Exactly. I do not want a performance modded car because you do not know if it was done right, and you can be sure the car was driven hard.

Used performance parts have a lot more value off the car than on it.

[CH400EM]

It's funny but I only considered low mile stock or very close to stock cars. A lot of the 135s had the change pipe replaced, so that wasn't a big deal. Then I proceeded to dump money into mods - but they were things I wanted and knew they were done right.

I think right now there are 3 main groups in the market buying these cars. 1) people looking for the cleanest, lowest mile, stock examples, 135is/1M also. 2) people that don't know much about what they're buying (like buying modded and stock examples for same price at volume used car dealerships). 3) people who are enthusiasts but not group 1 and know to look in forums and look for sellers who know their car, mods or not.

Which group is largest now, I don't know. But there are buyers (either very knowledgeable or no knowledge, group 2 and 3) who will buy cars like yours no doubt. Only concern is group 2 and 3 usually don't spend as much $. But if the car isn't low mile, then group 1 doesn't matter.

My thoughts, as someone who does market analysis.

[CH400EM]

Reading over your post again, your mods are absolutely top shelf. I would not ask anything under what a stock example would bring. Someone will see the value there.

[The Wind Breezes]

If your modded car is clean you won't have trouble selling it for around market price of a similar stock car.

Therefore the only reason to remove your mods is if you want to sell them separately.

Realistically you'll get under $2k for your used mods. To me that's not enough money to make the hassle of removing and replacing mods, and then managing a bunch of private sales and shipping stuff off worth it.

[Tommm]

The labor to change the suspension and align the car is about what you would get used. What is the market for used control arms? Koni yellow and camber plates have a market of about half what they go for new.

Are the drivetrain mods easy to swap?

Do the math. Ask about 2 grand more for the car because of the mods and hope there is someone that wants a modded toy.

[captain slowly]

depends who you sell it to. An enthusiast might be willing to pay a bit more if he/she likes the mods, but a dealer who has to resell the car will pay considerably less for a modified car vs a stock one

[Mr Gasser]

Some people on this board may be interested, find out.

[mfindigital]

Same boat here, but only because I see the crazy numbers the b58 is making. Frustrating that Pure Stage 2 is making 150whp more on those motors than the n55 does.