Study Finds Five-Digit Spending on Mods Leads to Whopping $500 Increase in Resale Value
Local Man Finally Able to Justify $350 Price Increase After Investing $18,000
RIVERSIDE—A new study released Monday by the Useless Technical Institute has found that spending tens of thousands of dollars modifying a vehicle increases its resale value by an average of $500, shocking every Marketplace seller on Facebook Marketplace.
Researchers’ findings came after analyzing more than 50,000 vehicle listings, comparing modification costs with final sale prices, and listening to approximately 18 straight hours of owners complaining, “I’m basically giving you thousands of dollars in parts for free.”
“We found nearly zero correlation between money invested and money recovered,” said lead researcher Dr. Evan Santos while flipping through a stack of LS swap receipts totaling more than $42,000. “The average seller believes every aftermarket part and a car’s value are positively correlated. What the average buyer doesn’t know is that it actually might be negatively correlated. Consider yourself lucky you’re getting those extra $500.”
The study highlighted local project car owner Ryan Mitchell, who proudly increased the asking price of his modified 335i by $350 after investing more than $18,000 over the past five years.
“I finally sat down and added everything up,” said Mitchell. “Coilovers, wheels, big brake kit, exhaust, carbon fiber, tune, cooling system, paint correction, ceramic coating, single turbo conversion, JB4... it all came out to a little over eighteen grand. All that turns into about… three hundred and fifty bucks. Yup, that’s about right.”
Mitchell says he included documentation showing every modification, along with receipts dating back to 2012, in hopes buyers would appreciate the enormous financial waste he made thinking he’d get it all back.
“I even highlighted the expensive parts,” he said. “They don’t even care.”
Researchers found the most common response from interested buyers was, “Cool. Do you still have the stock parts?”
The report also concluded that sellers who include the phrase “I know what I have” receive 37 percent fewer serious inquiries and are assumed to be of lower intelligence.
“There’s a fascinating psychological phenomenon at work,” explained Santos. “Owners view mods as investments. Buyers view them as evidence that someone was constantly wringing out the car.”
Recently Mitchell decided to return the vehicle to stock before listing every aftermarket part separately, which he should have done from the beginning so we wouldn’t have had to waste everyone’s time conducting this stupid study.