[sor]

Hey everyone. It's hard to believe it has been almost three years since my adventure with the X3 began. I've loved the car, it is such a fun ride, but I'm interested in going electric just to try something different and unique so I'll be selling it within the next few months.

I'm curious what forum members think about trying to sell a car with mods vs going back to stock. Maybe some have been around long enough to remember my adventures in swapping the standard sport wheel for an M sport, and building a custom subwoofer box to go under the trunk lid.

I'm concerned that maybe some buyers might think it's a turn off to have modifications, that it may cheapen the car somehow even though the car has been well taken care of and largely a garage queen. I'm also wondering if some buyers may not care or appreciate the modifications and it might just be a waste of money to "give away" some of these in the sale.

M Sport wheel - I have two concerns here, one is that many buyers may not be educated enough to appreciate the difference and I may be able to resell it, and two having a two stage airbag that required coding it may cause a problem for someone far down the road if they need to recode the car for any reason.

Subwoofer - I figure most buyers probably would prefer the empty space under the trunk lid and/or not like such a modification.

Weathertech floor mats - I'd throw these in but as many here know they are impossible to clean and look like hell after they get dirty. I'm not sure they will show well or if people will want them in their condition, I surely will at least put the stock mats in to show the car.

I have a winter wheel and tire set. I'm wondering if I should just throw this into the deal, hold it back and use it to sweeten the deal, or just try to sell them. Maybe wait and use it as a negotiation tool?

I also have the OEM tire set from the beginning, I think I'll swap them on before I sell, even though I have some life left on the performance all seasons it has now. They need to get used before too long or the rubber will start to go bad, I think.

[M40i017]

Originally Posted by sor

Hey everyone. It's hard to believe it has been almost three years since my adventure with the X3 began. I've loved the car, it is such a fun ride, but I'm interested in going electric just to try something different and unique so I'll be selling it within the next few months.

I'm curious what forum members think about trying to sell a car with mods vs going back to stock. Maybe some have been around long enough to remember my adventures in swapping the standard sport wheel for an M sport, and building a custom subwoofer box to go under the trunk lid.

I'm concerned that maybe some buyers might think it's a turn off to have modifications, that it may cheapen the car somehow even though the car has been well taken care of and largely a garage queen. I'm also wondering if some buyers may not care or appreciate the modifications and it might just be a waste of money to "give away" some of these in the sale.

M Sport wheel - I have two concerns here, one is that many buyers may not be educated enough to appreciate the difference and I may be able to resell it, and two having a two stage airbag that required coding it may cause a problem for someone far down the road if they need to recode the car for any reason.

Subwoofer - I figure most buyers probably would prefer the empty space under the trunk lid and/or not like such a modification.

Weathertech floor mats - I'd throw these in but as many here know they are impossible to clean and look like hell after they get dirty. I'm not sure they will show well or if people will want them in their condition, I surely will at least put the stock mats in to show the car.

I have a winter wheel and tire set. I'm wondering if I should just throw this into the deal, hold it back and use it to sweeten the deal, or just try to sell them. Maybe wait and use it as a negotiation tool?

I also have the OEM tire set from the beginning, I think I'll swap them on before I sell, even though I have some life left on the performance all seasons it has now. They need to get used before too long or the rubber will start to go bad, I think.

Is sub box for Sale?

[P.Cullen]

I would put back to standard before selling and use the extras to either sweeten the deal or sell individually to gain money back for them.

[arciga18]

Blast from the past sor .

If you are trading in / carmax /etc then go back to stock . No one will appreciate the mods.

If you are doing private party then I would leave the steering wheel.

I agree that people want the space in the back if they are shopping the x3.

[sor]

Originally Posted by M40i017

Is sub box for Sale?

Perhaps. I'm sure shipping will be non trivial though!

[spta97]

I recommend converting everything back to stock for 2 reasons:

1) You will not get money for the upgrades; you may even get less.
2) People are weary about cars that were modified as it could mean problems.

I did not do a ton of upgrades to my E46 M3, but I returned everything to stock when I sold it and it was appreciated by the buyer.

[JoeyO]

Yea, a car with a lot of performance mods means (to me) the car was probably pushed very hard, to its limits.

Everybody wants to buy a used car from that ”little old lady from Pasadena” because chances are she didn’t abuse the car.

[gugin]

Put it back to stock. If I saw a car with your mods, I would also be thinking (i) was this car consistently pushed to its limits? and (ii) did the person who made these mods actually know what they were doing or am I looking at a $$$ repair down the road? Also, if you sell your car to a dealer (as opposed to direct to consumer), you will not get your money back. A friend of mine, whose family member is a car dealer, told me that dealers almost always value used cars using the current auction prices (i.e., the prices at which they can liquidate a car at Manheim or some other local auction).

[sor]

Originally Posted by gugin

Put it back to stock. If I saw a car with your mods, I would also be thinking (i) was this car consistently pushed to its limits? and (ii) did the person who made these mods actually know what they were doing or am I looking at a $$$ repair down the road? Also, if you sell your car to a dealer (as opposed to direct to consumer), you will not get your money back. A friend of mine, whose family member is a car dealer, told me that dealers almost always value used cars using the current auction prices (i.e., the prices at which they can liquidate a car at Manheim or some other local auction).

Wow, ok. I'd expect that if maybe I had a modded exhaust or a piggy back turbo mod/flash, but it's good feedback to get an alternative perspective. What's funny is that this car is basically a garage queen - almost 3 years and barely 15k miles.

Given all of the backlash BMW took over not including the M sport wheel on 2018s I was 50/50 on whether people would not even consider the car without it, or not care/notice.

[Pray for Mojo]

You won't recover the value of any of the mods unless you return to stock and sell them off, but by no means is anything you've done harmful to the vehicle's value. I'd be surprised if a BMW dealer even realized the wheel has been changed. It was only the one model year and it was early in the life cycle.

[chicagofan00]

Originally Posted by sor

Wow, ok. I'd expect that if maybe I had a modded exhaust or a piggy back turbo mod/flash, but it's good feedback to get an alternative perspective. What's funny is that this car is basically a garage queen - almost 3 years and barely 15k miles.

Given all of the backlash BMW took over not including the M sport wheel on 2018s I was 50/50 on whether people would not even consider the car without it, or not care/notice.

The vast majority of the car buying public probably has no clue about the M sport wheel nor even car if it wasn't on the '18 models.

[Alias1431]

Originally Posted by chicagofan00

The vast majority of the [...] public probably has no clue [...].

Agreed.