How to price upgrades when selling?

[Blasst]

Most of us that have been around know we usually don't recoup much on upgrades we have done. When I bought my 200 I had nerve damage on my hands from frostbite and was told by my doctor to stop wrenching and using my hands for 2 years. Bad timing. I have been accustomed to working on my own vehicles all my life and had planned on doing most of the build myself unless it was over my head....like re-gearing. I bought the needed tools but haven't got there yet.
I did this build slowly because I had another vehicle for the rough stuff and was in no hurry.
I haven't had this one off road yet although I am wanting to badly. After re-gearing the beast really came out . Awesome acceleration.
Anyway...having to pay for labor and not just parts I have about $20 K in upgrades or a bit more. I just spent about $6000 on an awesome front bumper from Jason @ Trail Tailor & a warn winch. That bumper is so strong I feel sorry for anyone that ever hits it.
So I am wrestling with what to try to get for the upgrades. I wish I had found a vehicle with all this that had never been off road when I was shopping.
It is a 2014 with 60,000 miles. The upgrades are in my sig Bluebook for it stock is $45,000. What do you get for a $20 k in upgrades? $5K, $10k maybe. I think it depends on the buyer.
Having never been off road is a plus and it is easy to tell if you look underneath. So this is my latest quandary. I haven't posted in a while and have some wild things to tell soon.
Anyone have ideas or thoughts on this? I would like to hear some thoughts. This is a hard vehicle to let go with the offroad capabilities and also being able to drive 25 hours and feel ok when I arrive.

Thanks all, Jim

 

[CharlieS]

If you have the original parts, you may be better off economically having a shop remove things and sell them separately. In my experience, you never get much back on mods, unless you luck onto the buyer that really values those specific modifications. I think modified vehicles actually reduce the pool of potential buyers.

 

[ChowChilla]

Or if someone is close by, sell your aftermarket parts to them and take there factory part and swap them back over.... having spent $20k to custom it to your liking will have a smaller window of buyers

 

[panerai7]

10 cents on a dollar. You’re upgrading for yourself but a regular buyer will not pay 3K for a rear bumper.

 

[cc1999]

That is a tough one.
More often then not your lucky if certain modifications don't devalue the vehicle.

Unless you find that exact buyer that wants a vehicle for the same purpose and or has the exact same taste in cosmetic mods , its pretty tough to get anything added for aftermarket items.

Dealers looking at offering a trade in value will generally either add 0 extra or possibly deduct for aftermarket mods.
Very rare to see any resale value on aftermarket parts.

 

[m4hk33]

Most of us that have been around know we usually don't recoup much on upgrades we have done. When I bought my 200 I had nerve damage on my hands from frostbite and was told by my doctor to stop wrenching and using my hands for 2 years. Bad timing. I have been accustomed to working on my own vehicles all my life and had planned on doing most of the build myself unless it was over my head....like re-gearing. I bought the needed tools but haven't got there yet.
I did this build slowly because I had another vehicle for the rough stuff and was in no hurry.
I haven't had this one off road yet although I am wanting to badly. After re-gearing the beast really came out . Awesome acceleration.
Anyway...having to pay for labor and not just parts I have about $20 K in upgrades or a bit more. I just spent about $6000 on an awesome front bumper from Jason @ Trail Tailor & a warn winch. That bumper is so strong I feel sorry for anyone that ever hits it.
So I am wrestling with what to try to get for the upgrades. I wish I had found a vehicle with all this that had never been off road when I was shopping.
It is a 2014 with 60,000 miles. The upgrades are in my sig Bluebook for it stock is $45,000. What do you get for a $20 k in upgrades? $5K, $10k maybe. I think it depends on the buyer.
Having never been off road is a plus and it is easy to tell if you look underneath. So this is my latest quandary. I haven't posted in a while and have some wild things to tell soon.
Anyone have ideas or thoughts on this? I would like to hear some thoughts. This is a hard vehicle to let go with the offroad capabilities and also being able to drive 25 hours and feel ok when I arrive.

Thanks all, Jim

Honestly it really depends on who's looking at it. Generally speaking often times mods can make a sale more difficult. as while I personally may really like your build, not everybody has the same plans. Do you have all the receipts for the installs to show they were done competently.

If I saw your vehicle at a dealer, who had a good reputation, with plenty of service records, no rust, possibly some preventative maintenance such as the radiator, and it blue booked for 45k, and it came with the standard 90 day 3000 mile warranty, I may considered a small premium as it would save me the time of doing the build myself

Now if it was listed for a private sale. I personally would not give any more that trade in value or 40k, as in a private sale the buyer assumes all the risk and I am going to wager that its probably going to sit for a while. Also in the event that the vehicle gets smashed on the way home, Insurance may not cover the cost of the vehicle.

What I would suggest doing is going to the classified section and take a look at what modded 200 are being listed at and how long they have been posted.

As great as land cruisers are, they are still deprecating assets as 200 have not bottomed out , so the longer you hold out for a particular price, you are also going to be fighting depreciation

 

[jamgolf]

Based on my prior sale/trade-in experience with a heavily modified Jeep JK, I got about ~50% of what I put into it.

But ... I provided PAID itemized invoices that listed (in detail) the work was performed (and by whom), parts that were purchased i.e. every single $ that was spent. I think the total of all invoices was over $20K and the dealer whom I was trading it in with, made phone calls and verified the value of the work/parts and then added +10K to my Jeep's blue book value. The work and parts were top-shelf. Work was performed by reputable shops. A couple of invoices did not have a PAID stamp. They asked me to provide evidence that work was actually done. So, I just got another invoice from the shop to reflect that work was done and payment was made.

If you have records, it will help you. Unless you are a master mechanic or a well reputed off-road guru, and you did the work yourself, I think you are not going to get much if any value back. I hope you do well on your sale. Perhaps finding a new home with enthusiasts, like people on these forums, is the best way to sell your vehicle.

 

[Blasst]

If I really wanted to sell it or needed to I would just strip a lot of things and unload it possibly. But as it is I have finally gotten it built as I want it and will start using it as planned. It is not a major concern. I would have a hard time parting with it. They spoil us all.
But I am selling my 70 I was using to explore Russia and some other places for the last couple of years. It is just sitting in the Netherlands now and time to unload it. The prices they go for if "built" is crazy high

 

[grinchy]

Your best option is patience waiting on the right buyer, and finding a venue to that buyer's attention. I see 'built' or 'adventure' or 'overland' rigs being advertised, so there is a market for turnkey built trucks. It is just finding a way to that market.
Overlanding is hot hot right now, never underestimate the fad marketplace, and don't undersell the pinnacle of that market, a 200 series.
But I think you still get 50% or less on the mods.

 

[linuxgod]

Rule of thumb - if you're patient, I'd expect you'll get back the cost of the parts, less some depreciation depending on age (of the parts and the truck... a $5000 bumper on a 400k mile truck isn't worth the same as a $5000 bumper on a 40k mile truck). Assume any labor is forfeit since a lot of people interested in a built vehicle will (or like) to do it themselves where the labor is "free".

It depends a bit where you're selling the vehicle as well. I think you'll have a larger pool of buyers who want a built 200 in Colorado, but also a lot more buyers who want to customize their build and are turned off by your mods. (That's not to say your mods are bad, it's just personal preference). OTOH there are many fewer people in Chicago who would ever use a built 200; however the number of people who stop me to chat or give me a thumbs up when driving is about the same as when I had my '66 Mustang in the 90s, and I suspect it would be easier to offload a built 200 here for closer to what someone paid to build it since for a buyer interested in one they are much harder to source locally.

 

[stonepa]

One downside - most buyers want a completely stock vehicle and, worse, see a modified vehicle as something that may have been modified for a reason. On a modified Land Cruiser, they most likely think that the vehicle has led a hard life even if it looks good. If it didn't why would someone invest all that money in building it? And why would they sell it after doing all that expensive work, unless there is a problem? I've known friends who were in the market for a pickup truck, only to walk away if the receiver hitch has a scratch because they then believe the truck was used heavily for towing. They move along.