Basically anything that would leave behind holes, scars, etc after removal...will this deminish the value compared to a pure exampe?

Will holes in the body diminish value? :scratchhead: Of course they will , especially top side, it's big dollars to fill and re-paint.

 

Agreed, anything done that can not easily be put back to stock has the potential to diminish value, OR limit the market to those who truly don't care. A subset of potential buyers.

These cars WILL be collectible one of these days. Once they become 'collectible' they will see 'softer' duty, so the performance mods will become liabilities. Certainly the cosmetic mods, as stated, that require expensive work to put back to right.

I'm semi in the market now, or soon will be. What I'm looking for in an Elise is different. Not interested in aftermarket carbon shift consoles, front splitters (other than their value in protecting the front lip), certainly not the park bench wings, carbon fiber side scoops and mirrors or after market forced induction. Would even prefer actual Lotus OEM wheels.

That's just me, I may be a minority now, but there will be more like me going forward. It's not so much that cars with those thing diminish value, it's that when making first pass through the market, I won't even consider most of them.

 

I think you have to balance future resell valuation against personal enjoyment while you own the car. And by enjoyment, I'm not limiting that to just handling/performance, but including the way it makes it makes you feel when you look at it. There is certainly some personal enjoyment to be had from the aesthetic effects alone of bolt-on mods like side skirts, splitters, wings, etc. To some, it may be worth the reduction in resell value these kinds of mods give the car, just to enjoy them visually and emotionally. You can always remove and resell the mods to get some $$ back too.

 

I agree mostly that cosmetic mods should be reversible, but I differ when it comes to engine modifications. My perspective is that one of the best aspects to these eliges is the 2ZZ. I could imagine myself someday having a couple lying around to swap out. The engine isn't the expensive bit if it comes to parts needing replaced. I fully intend to have a built unit on a bench in a few years with all the state of the art goodness for a 2ZZ.

Also, like art history certain vendors will be accepted as "codified" meaning in the hypothetical world where these cars are worth dumb amounts of money, RLS,2bular,Sector111, BOE... Et al will be remembered as supporting that limited market of vehicles.

I can see the ratios of cars modified to not modified will be flipped someday. I dunno. I'm just saying it could be that cars that have modifications from accepted / codified vendors will not hurt values as much as might be the case.

I know, currently to get 10k more out of my vehicle I would have to take all the blingy / pricey bits off and replace with stock. ( then sell bling on the side)

R.E mechanical mods : Torque300 tune and accessories. I would not get much if any more than a stock unit at resale, I do believe if I provided a quick dyno pull, and AFR dump in the for sale post, I would have just as many people interested in it as not interested in it. and the usual stuff like color, packages,mileage, general appearance etc

It's a mixed can o nuts I suppose? At some distant point in the future it would break down from unit to unit available?

I mean what, they are all in museums in 200- 2000 years from now right? heh

 

Thanks for the feedback. Not asking if one would get their money back on mods, or how someone would perceive a modded car.

Just wondering if you mod, then de-mod, will it negatively effect the value of the car. Things like a rear wing or canards that get drilled into the clam are obviously going to detract, since their removal will leave holes to fill and repaint, thus not original.

But would holes underneath the clam effect the value. For example, from a front lip spoiler, side skirts, certain shifter reinforcement mods, etc. Or for side mirror mounting fabrications, which cannot be seen since they are inside the door panel.

Basically, “out of sight” leftovers once the mod is removed.

 

Its just going to depend on the buyer, some people won't care some people will. If you're that concerned with a couple thousand one way or the other on resale value then just don't touch the car in any way.

 

I might or might not have hid a quarter million in diamonds and gold somewhere in my car. anyone want to buy it?

 

in my opinion Canards - requires drilling front clam and Rear spoiler - requires drilling into the top of the rear clam are a waste of time and money unless you are racing the car. they do no good unless you are on a race course

 

My rule of thumb is that whatever amount is spent on mods reduces the value of the car by that amount.

If I see any mod at all, I wonder what else was done by some amateur that I can not see.

I have this argument daily with my 21 year old.

“Don’t start modding unless you are ready to get a trailer and tow vehicle”

We’ve put over $80,000 into the Elise, and that much more into track time etc. (trailer and tow vehicle not included!) She’s worth maybe $35,000? But that was the plan from the beginning.

 

Some of the worst mods I see hurting resale include drilled aero bits, AC delete, and the infamous engine swap.

Fully reversible mods are ideal. Seats, wheels, steering wheel, catalytic converter, exhaust and so on. Keep these stock pieces for when it comes time to sell and you should be golden. Problem is, too many guys sell their OEM bits to fund their aftermarket purchases only to learn a hard lesson later on!

Unless your name is JC Whitney, car mods will rarely make you a profit.

 

So I am going to be the heretic here but I loved the fact that my car had wonderful mods on it when I bought it. I bought it to drive it and the previous owner set me up great with Wilwood brakes, Nitrons, a BWR supercharger and tune, and a bunch of other goodies. Sometimes the mods you will enjoy the most are not even seen. What he did not do was add body items that would leave holes if reversed and I love that too. CF parts can be added easily if you like the look and rarely need additional holes. Access covers, roof, rollbar cover and engine lid are all great examples. You can even mount that spoiler on the CF engine lid and not drill holes in the clam! Just make sure you reinforce it... And keep all the original pieces! Most of all, make it something you are happy to look at and especially drive.

 

any other opinions?

 

visual mods are worthless or worse

superchargers probably are a positive.

aftermarket wheels mean you have to buy OEM and spend more

here is the thing, save the parts. That way you can at least recoup some investment if your 60K Elise turns out to be worth 35 like the rest of them

 

Watching auctions like BAT for any cars not just Lotus shows very quickly that what is highly valued in general are completely stock very low mileage cars in as clean condition as possible. If they have any mods, they need to be minor and easily reversible preferably with the original parts. This is about what has been said except very low mileage is very important. Exactly what mileage varies some with age of the car but sub 10K miles is always the best for cars from 1990 to 2005. That means cars that have been driven very little to almost never. That's a whole different mindset that having the car for the joy of driving it no matter how original it still is or can be put back to. Older cars like from the 70s can tolerate more miles and can be restored and still bring the big money, for example 240z's these days. These comments are obviously relative to where we are in time now. It's also worth noting that in the muscle car collector world where they're dealing mostly with 60s and 70s cars, the value attributed to original unrestored cars has only appeared in recent years as has the value of restomods. So the market's idea of value does change over time so there is no obvious answer about what will be valued or not 20 years from now. It's not just cars. All collectible markets go up and go down and change in many ways over the years and due to generational changes in people.

 

Another thought. Changing the factory paint protection film. Was thinking to remove the front clam partial PPF and get it redone to cover the entire surface. Unless this distracts from originality and value, of course. My factory PPF is in perfect shape, no sun damage, garage kept with 5k miles.

 

Any thoughts to replacing the factory PPF to cover more sureface and be seamless? Although it would protect far more and do a better job at it, would this detract from originality?

 

In my opinion replacing the paint protection film should not affect the value as it is an item that ages over time and will eventually need to be replaced.

 

True, seems like a wear and tear part perhaps. But so do brakes, tires, battery. I guess im thinking 50 years out, how much the car would be worth in its original shape. Even with OE tires/brakes/battery (even if replaced due to wear/age, replace with same OE parts)

 

To OP, I think it all comes down to the right buyer regardless if you have aftermarket mods or not. To simplify it without going into it too deep, the drill-on mods just limit the interest you will have with your car. It will come down to only the ones who also like those drill-on mods. And as we know, not everyone has the same taste. The add-on(no drilling) mods nothing to worry as its easily reversible. With a stock setup, the interest is much larger as the new owner would have their option to do whatever mods they like. Buyers wont have to worry as much if mods were done correctly or not. Just my .02.

Gabe

 

Resale value never enters my mind when I get another Lotus. I immediately think how better it will be once I start modding it. First person to look at my '07 Elise bought it because of the S111 265 Pkg. and other upgrades I did. He didn't want a stock Elise. He said previous stock Elises he looked at didn't compare. Resale valuation meant nothing to him. We got along fine. To each his own, I guess...

 

I think it is a mistake to apply the same logic you would use with other cars to the Elise and Exige. Granted, there are the collectors out there but these are designed to be track toys. As such, the limitations of the original design are very well known. Having mods from one of the "codified" vendors mentioned above to solve these problems adds value. So things like baffled oil pans, fuel surge tanks, tie-rod reinforcement, hardened cams etc become bonuses not detractors. Also, things like BOE REV 300/400 would add a fair amount to the value of the car (cars with these mods sell for higher prices than similar cars without). As would significant suspension upgrades. On top of all that, a car that is tracked regularly is generally better cared for mechanically than a street-only car (regardless of whether or not the owner took the car to the dealer for all scheduled maintenance). It's a requirement. Oil, trans-fluid, brake fluid, coolant etc all get changed way more frequently than in a street car. Any maintenance item on a track car becomes a safety issue to the driver. That inspires the driver to fix it correctly. Even a poorly maintained street car will likely not just break and cause you to flip the car or something, so there is less incentive to do maintenance beyond the service manual guidelines.

Now the other side of this coin is the cosmetics and the removal of creature comforts. Most track junkies are not as concerned about cosmetics and more concerned with function (not all, some). So, wings bolted to the rear clam, canards hastily riveted to the front fender area, forgetting to put some type of protection from sand/gravel on the headlights or windshield will detract from value. These are style issues as well. That being said, some cars have great external mods that are subtle and generally make the car look better and that becomes personal preference. Some of the more hard-core will also do things like removing the AC which will add lightness but reduce value for most buyers.

A collector would be more inclined to buy a completely bone stock Lotus with no mods. But they likely wont be driving the car as it was intended. Just saving a piece of automotive history. ANY wear and tear to these people will detract value. I have seen very very few people in this category. The car is just not that old yet. I am sure that one day it will be a collectible but it isn't today and I don't think it will be any day soon. They are just too fun to drive.

Update: To be clear, I am not saying that upgrades are "worth the money", almost no upgrade pays for itself when you sell the car. But you will get SOMETHING back.