Does Customizing a Car Increase the Resale Value?
Depending on your vehicle, but specifically the buyer, customizations can affect your car’s resale value because cars are constructed to spec for some reasons. The quick answer is yes, they do, but mostly negatively. The actual parts of your car fit perfectly because they are made to. The brakes, engines, tires, suspension and frame are all made, chosen and tuned for specific attributes that the maker or manufacturer decided on years ago.
Modifying or customizing a vehicle can destroy the design integrity of your car. Unless you do the customization in a proper fashion, the process may end up causing massive damage. Car customs, for instance, can suggest making your car faster by altering a few things on the engine. There are certain engine modifications that modify the fuel ratios and can make the engine run lean or rich. However, either one of these modifications can also cause some long term damage. So, will customizing your car increase the resale value? Here is a quick guide!
Not All Modifications Alter the Resale Value
Not necessarily, there are a few circumstantial and rare exceptions to this principle. For instance, if you have a Corolla and it has been modified to be a race car, or perhaps it is no longer a Corolla with this modification. For someone wanting a good commuting Corolla, your vehicle is worth nothing, due to these modifications. However, someone looking for a racing Corolla would be thrilled with this car.
By modifying your vehicle, you may narrow down the potential market, and it can be true for performance, style modification or any other sort of modification. The next owner may not want a massive stereo system, specifically in case it complicates the electrical system of the car, and the same goes for the aftermarket alarms. This sounds like it makes the car securer, but in reality, if the vehicle wasn’t built with an alarm system, installing such an alarm may cause horrific electrical issues.
The Right Modifications to Increase Resale Value
Generally, modifications related to performance aren’t good for the resale value, neither are the style modifications. Are there modifications that can actually be done to enhance the resale value? Well, there are, but it depends.
Modifications that include taking and improving existing parts can be considered worthwhile. For example, thermostat housing on the 90s BMW is made of plastic. Such cars are quite notorious for falling cooling systems, hence replacing that thermostat housing made of plastic with the one made of metal can be considered an example of a really valuable modification that can lead to increase in the resale value.
A part of that vehicle that in general isn’t up for debate is the impeller on the water pump, which is made of plastic as well from the factory. The water pump with a metal impeller can be a useful modification too. However, male sure to conduct some research before you finally think of a modification to increase your car’s resale value!
