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I don't plan on doing this at all, but was just curious about it.. Do dealers take modified cars on trade ins?
most will, but usually will say your car is worth less because it is modified. Yet tell you how much they like your car and what a good job you've done....standard BS sales crap.

Short answer yes....
OK, that's what I figured.. Worth less my ass!
Dealers will trade your car, and try to sell it as quickly as possible to make a profit. with modified cars that narrows down the buyer group and makes it harder for them to sell it which means it takes longer for them to see the profit. As a result they will lowball you an offer to 1) make you sell it yourself, or 2) make you sell it for so low that they can sell it for lower and get their money back faster. Its all BS i know but i think thats how most of them operate.
Also dont forget when someone comes to buy a car they will see a modified car and think boy racer, probably it was raced at every light. This you can thank for fast and furios movies Smile
Yeah I know, I think when the time comes to sell it it'll be a bit difficult even though I don't do that at all..
We'll see!
i can tell ya working at an SVT dealership (summit ford) that you will defiantly get less at a dealership, especially if its modified. customers do not come in looking for modified cars. people want the stock OEM set up so they can modify it them selves. i remember we had a svt lightning come in, with like 20g's worth of work. i did up a appraisal sheet gave it to the manager, he drove it, came back, said f**k that, and ill pass. people buying cars that see modifications will assume the worse, racing etc. sell privately for your best bet. dealers like the OEM set up always. dont let anyone tell ya different. dealers look at the black book value or wholesale value on trade-in and dont care, if it'll out run a ferrari, or how its modified. if its an 02 focus, its strictly worth what an 02 focus is worth. it has nothing to do with low balling. its strictly profit. we have to hang on to them for so long because its a very specific buyer that looks for that stuff. when we find a buyer or potential buyer, if it modified in one way not to his liking then he bails, and were stuck discounting the car again. its all business, dealers just don't give two craps that cars are modified.
My sales guy put my price up actually. He gave me an additional $3000 for rims, stereo, intake.

Some give you more but most steal from you.
(10-12-2010, 10:31 AM)Scorcher000 Wrote: [ -> ]My sales guy put my price up actually. He gave me an additional $3000 for rims, stereo, intake.

Some give you more but most steal from you.

That's a really rare case. Normally the best you'll do on a trade-in is the higher-end price of their "envelope" for what they're allowed to offer.

When I traded in the SPI sedan, I got dinger for the EF.com 50% UDP. Funnily enough, the guy that bought the car wanted the stock pulley. I left my number and told him to call. He just kept going to the dealer and bitching. So, one day I missed him by 5 mins at the dealer - not that I had the part on me or anything. I was looking forward to the "wah wah wah".

Summarily, when the 07 ZX5 went in, all it had left on it was the exhaust. Got top dollar for it, thankfully.