Mods and their effect on value

[silver98]

Hi everyone,
Just wanted to get some thoughts on this topic. I have an expectatin of having a long term relationship (marriage huh?:L ) with my 98 Vette. And to that point, what do you think mods performed to a C5 may do to the value of the vette in say 15 years or so?
I seem to have this old, very old :eyerole , thought that when dealing with C1's, 2's and 3's, the value was greater if it was all OEM. I have read threads and sites on number matching, but this is far more than that. Heck, I won't even consider a color int. or ext. change due to color codes, build data, window sticker mismatch.
Now I do think that current performance is why most of us buy a Vette, but I've also heard it said that the purchase of a Vette was close to putting money in your IRA. My '98 is a driver , not a garage princess, but I will be performing maintenance and replacement of components as the years go by. I don't want to 'second guess' the brain trust, aka Corvette Design Team, but I've seen a bunch of 'add-on's', from new seats, leather, shift knobs, exhaust systems, intakes, well you know the list better than I.

With all of that out there, what are your thoughts on doing mods and the value of a C5 down the road?



Joe

 

[Edmond]

Joe,

Mods are great if you keep the car. But if you do mods and then sell the car without driving it very much; you're going to take a bath on the resale. Say you pay $20,000 for the car and put on a $1,000 exhaust system. You're not going to get that $1,000 back when you resell the car. Most people want original cars without major mods.

Some people also think that having mods means that the car was driven pretty hard. I don't mind having the car being driven hard; I just want to be the one who drove it hard. :L

Some mods are easily reversible like exhaust, intake, wheels and shifters. Mods like heads and cam are reversible as well but require more work.

I say go for the mods. As long as you have the money to spend and will enjoy your car, it's worth it.

 

[KANE]

.....I have an expectatin of having a long term relationship (marriage huh? ) with my 98 Vette......what do you think mods performed to a C5 may do to the value of the vette in say 15 years or so?

Mods versus mileage maybe the key.

Lets say you have a high mileage car and you want to put in a better engine- like a LS1 427- you're resale will be better IF it is straight (no bubba repairs, purple fuzzy seat covers, etc.). Then, you will be better off than if you left it stock.

Now, lets say you change your mind and leave it in the garage. Then it would benefit you to LEAVE IT ALONE.

 

[DanHammer]

Joe,

I have a modified MY 2001 C5 coupe. Most of the $$ were spent on engine and under chasis performance. And also some accessories like white faced gauges, front and rear spoiler, European red/amber tail lights ... to name a few. The shocks have been upgraded to Bilstein sport shocks ... also upgraded to a performance sway bars and brakes were upgraded as well.

On performance ... TPIS coated long tube headers, ASP underdrvie pulleys, Speed Deamon Stage II heads, Custom 226/226 Cam setup, Borla XR-1 Racing Exhaust, Stage 2 Clutch Kit, Aluminum Flywheel, Halltech Cobra Carbon Fiber Air Duct, Performance Ram Intake, Chrome Z06 wheels and B&M Ripper shifter. There are a few more surprises ... hidden inside the car. With all the modifications on this baby of mine ... it is a very reliable and dependable ride ... The engine has 45K miles and the overall looks of the vette is still like brand new ... I can't park it any where because it is an eye-opener ...that's the downside, people just want to see and get close to Sunshine anywhere I park her. But, my thoughts on the value of my C5 down the road ... never really have any thoughts of selling her ... this is a custom vette that I had dreamed of ... just for my own discriminating taste ... and I intend to keep her for life. With all the money that was spent for mods ... I could have bought another vette ... like a C4, but no regrets ... having too much fun ... just like a fine wine ... it gets better with age. I've had lots of offers for Sunshine ... but she is not for sale!

Dan

 

[Pac-man]

A car is a bad investment anyway. I would hesitate to even call it that. Do what you want to the car and enjoy it. I always hear people say things like "I don't want to second guess the Gm designers,etc." Newsflash; the GM guys are guided and restricted as to what they do by numerious considerations, both from outside GM and inside. The car they create is everyones Corvette and slides by all the regs. It's up to you to create your Vette. The HP numbers you read about are one thing, then they cork up the air intake and add that incredibly heavy and restrictive(and quiet) exhaust and the car changes. I say open her up and let it rip.

 

[silver98]

Great comments guys! I have to agree with most, and I certaintly didn't get my Vette to sit, its a driver and I'll put miles of smiles in her. And no doubt, I'll do mods to improve perfromance. The comment concerning the design team, was an excellant insight, which I experience in my professional life, it just hadn't occured to me that GM conducts well, you know, business. Not to imply naivety on my part, just a little slow on the uptake :duh As for the 'investment' in a vette, I would disagree, but withthe caveat, that an investment vette would require a different 'shopping' method with the pursuit of different parameters, or at least with a 'park and lock it' mentality.

Thanks guys. Now to plan out the mods!

If you care to suggest what and the sequence to do, I'd be open to listening. Just can't dump $3k right now! I'm too busy

 

[Pac-man]

I should have said that most C5's are a bad investment. There are simply too many of them.

 

[Randy Eads]

I wouldnt look at a c-5 as an investment in that it has a bit more depreciation to do before we see a upswing .... but I look at it this way .... the 20K for MY c4 would get me one percent in a passbook account and with a nearly 3% inflation rate I would be LOSING 2% of my hard-earned money by NOT buying a vette! ...... or at least that the numbers I used to wifey!!!

Don't tear it up and ruin it but enjoy it while you can .... you cant afford not to!!

 

[Z06 Tom]

Yeah, that's why I left mine stock. (Damn, forgot to disable my sig!):duh

 

[JBsC5]

Mod the car the way you want and just figure its money used for entertainment purposes only.

For the most part they add no value to the car at all and in many cases detract from it. That said...do what you want with it as long as your eyes are wide open to the fact the money you spend on mods is gone.

I have heard of guys supercharging the car for 8 grand installed...and then removing everything for the sale...and then selling off a stock car.

Thats probably one of the best ways to go.

The real kicker is that the small mods do very little cummulative add on performance so those I would pass on.

Hindsights 20/20 but throwing on a magnusum intercooled supercharger and nothing else for 8 grand installed is a cool way to go. (I only mention magnusum as thats the one I know anything about...)

I am of the opinion..the headers/tb/intake/manifold/blah..blah blah should be passed on and just do the magnusum intercooled with 36K /36 month drivetrain warranty.

If I remember correctly the vette doctors out in Amityville long island NY have their semi annual 8 grand special this month...Installed with the painted hood..

They are right near mcarther Airport as well. Drive in...fly home...fly back and drive the 500 hp C5 back home in virtual bliss.

Good luck in whatever you decide...

Just throwing out crazy @ss ideas.

 

[jrose7004]

I think that if you're keeping the car that long and if you stay with the mainstream mods you're going to be fine!

 

[04cmnthru]

C5s depreciate and won't have collector value in our lifetime. IMO, mods detract from resale value for reasons already noted. When you trade it later, the dealer will hose you. Even if you find someone that appreciates/wants the things you have done, they will surely try to use the mods as a bargaining chip. Reality is that most performance mods (other than suspension) can't be fully enjoyed on the street anyway. As far as appearance mods, most "add ons" can be taken off when you go to sell.

So, as long as you know that its money spent, not invested, make the car what you want it to be and drive it like you stole it.

 

[Patrick]

The point of any mod is to enhance your driving experience with the car. If you plan to keep the car for a while, you can't go into any potential mod project with the view "what's this going to do to resale value in 10 or 15 years?" If you bought the car to drive it, and a particular mod project is something that you would like to have on the car, I say do it.

As several folks have already mentioned, the most common mods to Vettes include exhaust systems, air intake systems, window tint, and programming modules like the Predator Diablo. These are by no means all the possible world of mods you can do. You can certainly go overboard on mods, too. There's a guy with a C5 locally who's spent more than $120,000 on mods to his car above and beyond the price of the car itself- and in his case, it's about winning at Car Shows.

The point of all this that if you're wanting to do mods, consider what you really want, and do it for your driving experiences, not anyone else's.

-Patrick

 

[Ken]

There ya go! Patrick's a "Mod" and he just increased the value of your car. :L

 

[silver98]

OK guys, this is just a bit out of hand. The only question I really had was, as a kid, I grew up just loving vettes. It took 40 years till I had a job, kids grown up and a wife who was willing to indulge my needs. Being so d**n new to my baby, and not buying her new, with my own options specified, even though I love her (my baby, wife too), a mod or 2 wouldn't hurt me, but I was just so scarred of 'ruining' my vette. Heck, the 62's that are all pure stock command such a price, that I WAS afraid to change anything.

But after being deluged by everyone, I now have to:
a) determine WHAT I want to change
b) determine WHERE to get it
c) determine WHICH brand component
d) determine HOW I'm going to pay for the mod :confused
e) convince the wife that I NEED to mod her (the Vette, not the wife, but then again... nah, I'll just keep HER stock :L)

Thaks again guys. Next step, easy bolt-ons for more power, handling, ...will this ever end? I think its time for a .

Zaino this weekend!
Ciao!

 

[Z06 Tom]

But after being deluged by everyone, I now have to:
a) determine WHAT I want to change
b) determine WHERE to get it
c) determine WHICH brand component
d) determine HOW I'm going to pay for the mod :confused
e) convince the wife that I NEED to mod her (the Vette, not the wife, but then again... nah, I'll just keep HER stock :L)

Thaks again guys. Next step, easy bolt-ons for more power, handling, ...will this ever end? I think its time for a .

Zaino this weekend!
Ciao!

a) Boy, can I make some suggestions!
b) Shop and compare my man.
c) Just ask, you'll get plenty of honest opinions.
d) CREDIT! (Ain't this a wonderful country!)
e) Since you don't plan on trading her in.....

Seriously, just ask and you'll get plenty of good, sage advice. There's a lot of expensive junk out there that really doesn't do much. Most of us would be happy to help you spend your money.

 

[silver98]

a) Boy, can I make some suggestions!
b) Shop and compare my man.
c) Just ask, you'll get plenty of honest opinions.
d) CREDIT! (Ain't this a wonderful country!)
e) Since you don't plan on trading her in.....

Seriously, just ask and you'll get plenty of good, sage advice. There's a lot of expensive junk out there that really doesn't do much. Most of us would be happy to help you spend your money.

Ok Tom, I'll take you up on suggestions. The more Torque for the money and bolt on if possible. Go for it. I'd love to hear from an Oh-6er!

 

[Z06 Tom]

Ok Tom, I'll take you up on suggestions. The more Torque for the money and bolt on if possible. Go for it. I'd love to hear from an Oh-6er!

Ok, the first thing we need to decide is how much you want to spend (to get started). With a C5, the first thing most guys do is the intake. A cold air system will help your engine breath easier. The stock air box is very restrictive, all the intake air feeding your engine is coming through about a 1"x2" opening. After you do the intake, I would look at a cat back system. Your stock system is also very restrictive (not to mention ugly). Next, think about a set of headers. These three items, in conjunction with a tune, will get you started.

If you think you'd like to spend a little more, a nice head/cam package would give you a more noticeable gain. If you want to spend even more yet, think about a forced induction system. The Magnacharger is the way to go for a stock engine. As the old saying goes, "How fast do you want to go, how much do you want to spend?" It just goes on, and on, and on...

 

[pbadad]

I bought my first Vette in June of '03 I was very happy with the performance of the car, however after a year I just felt as if it could use a little more power, don't get me wrong the car has always been quick,......I had East Coast Supercharging install their custom D1sc with dyno tune, kooks headers and a hurst shifter.........now the car is violent,.......and the owner hasn't stopped smiling since...........jimmy :cool

 

[Edmond]

I bought my first Vette in June of '03 I was very happy with the performance of the car, however after a year I just felt as if it could use a little more power, don't get me wrong the car has always been quick,......I had East Coast Supercharging install their custom D1sc with dyno tune, kooks headers and a hurst shifter.........now the car is violent,.......and the owner hasn't stopped smiling since...........jimmy :cool

Have you run her at the track yet?