Modifying your car doesn’t always end in the outcome you expect. This may be because the vehicle sells for far less than what you put into it, or because the modifications fit only one person’s tastes. On a larger scale, different groups of enthusiasts look for modifications specific to their interests. That means, if you want to modify your car without worrying about tanking values, there’s a way to be smart about it.
Everything from paint protection to chip tuning to body kits can be viewed as modifications with added value. Many mods popular with small sects of automotive enthusiasm are expensive or time-consuming, which makes finding one that’s been finished properly a tough act. Here are 12 mods that won’t go unappreciated by those who know what they’re looking for.
Paint Protection Film (PPF) And Window Tint
While not a bolt-on, this modification can protect the value of a new car. Many luxury brand dealers offer PPF and window tint packages that keep the sun from heating the interior and fading materials, while also protecting the paint from scratches. On cheaper vehicles, full-vehicle PPF isn’t the best idea as the cost ranges from $1,000-$2,000 to upwards of $8,000 for larger vehicles.
Wrapping a used vehicle that’s never had PPF before is also ill-advised. The body may already have damage from rocks and other road debris, things that, unless you pay a premium to remove and touch up professionally, don’t go away with a clear protection film. You can add PPF film to just the front of a vehicle to protect from head-on damage, which costs far less, and many new vehicles already come with it.
Aftermarket Or Exclusive OEM Wheels
It’s not uncommon for a set of alloys forged by the likes of HRE to reach well into five-figure territory. A set of aftermarket or factory wheels can make a world of difference for anyone who remembers swapping stock wheels for aftermarket ones in Need for Speed or Forza Horizon. Often, wheels are valued separately from the car they are attached to, but a set can also affect a car’s value if it was never sold in the US market or if there’s a set of period-correct racing wheels for classic vehicles.
The types of tires they’re wrapped in, too, also have the chance to affect values. Spare wheels with track or snow-ready rubber make a difference to those who need them most. Selling a car with its original wheels matters, so if you modify your vehicle, keep those in the garage if you plan to sell the car. Wheel prices range from a few hundred dollars to $15,000-$20,000 for serious buyers.
Performance Brakes
Before you modify the engine to boost power, you need to address the brakes. What good is all that extra power if you can’t rein it in? Rather than find out yourself, it’s best to invest in simple modifications like brake fluid, rotors, calipers, and pads before adding more horsepower. Since this is a niche sect of the automotive hobby, not everyone will appreciate stiffer, harder brakes if they don’t want them.
Classic cars that trade drum brakes for a four-wheel disc setup make for safer cruisers today, but swapping the system can get expensive quickly if you’re not planning a full restomod. They also deliver greater performance, which draws drivers into taking cars to the track. Buyers who didn’t plan to track their cars didn’t choose high-performance cars with optional carbon ceramics, which makes the original system quite the find for some. Since prices vary by vehicle and job, expect a broad window of $500-$2,500 for mild performance setups or swapping drums for discs.
Suspension Tunes And Upgrades
A vehicle’s suspension system can be a make-or-break component that determines a car’s performance limits. For road use, vehicles with air suspension offer a smoother ride than those with sport-tuned, stiffer suspension for maximum grip. Off-road rigs have spongy shocks, large springs, and disconnecting sway bars to increase articulation over jagged rocks and other obstacles. No matter the vehicle or intended use, budget wisely. You can spend $2,000-$5,000 for a quality set from a reputable brand, but top-spec components can cost even more.
No matter what type of equipment you’re working with, there are some names you should know about before you go shopping. For off-road use, Old Man Emu and Fox top the list and are even OEM parts on Toyota TRD and Ford Raptor trucks and SUVs. For racing, Bilstein and Eibach are two other serious name brands for suspension upgrades. If you want to ride low, plan for the extra electronics needed to control those systems, plus pumps, hydraulics, and bags, which can run $4,000-$6,000, with complex systems costing $10,000 or more.
Exhaust Systems
No matter what corner of automotive enthusiasm you enjoy, nearly everyone can appreciate a quality exhaust that can take any car to another level. The cheapest way to make any car louder costs $10, and that’s just for buying a hacksaw to lob off half the exhaust system. Making a car sound different while still passing emissions is a different, slightly more expensive undertaking.
If you don’t sell your car to someone who appreciates the new system, keep the original on standby (next to the wheels in the garage) so you can reinstall it. Exhaust system prices vary by manufacturer and vehicle type and can even choke performance if you choose one without considering anything beyond sheer volume. Companies like Borla, MagnaFlow, and Flowmaster are top-shelf names in the muffler and exhaust business, each ranging from $2,000-$4,000 depending on the vehicle.
Chip Tuning
The least-advisable modification on this list—but still possible—is altering a vehicle’s ECU and other computer-controlled systems for the sake of extra power. Modern naturally aspirated vehicles tend to see smaller performance gains than turbocharged engines, which are tuned for fuel efficiency over power output. “Stage 1” tunes, as they’re commonly called, are modifications made to a vehicle’s computer to increase power output without any hardware modifications. This can boost power figures for everything from towing to 0-60 MPH times, but at a cost.
Stage 1 tunes increase fuel consumption and add wear on parts that may not be rated for even a slight power increase, which hurts long-term reliability. The only time toying with a car’s ECU is recommended is when you’ve made other modifications that require you to update the ECU to allow for a richer air/fuel mixture and more. Classic tuner cars that look like they belong on screen in a Fast and Furious movie are worth quite a bit, and values of ones with proper mods are worth even more.
Removable Hardtops
Many vehicles offered in soft-top-only formats bred an aftermarket frenzy for custom hardtop caps that can easily mount to a vehicle. Early Mazda MX-5 Miatas with the factory-optioned hardtop can sell for more than those without, if in similar condition. As for the Honda S2000, another soft-top vehicle, hardtops in pristine condition can sell for $4,500-$10,000 on their own! Older Jeep Wranglers and other off-road SUVs that came with optional hardtops are like the Miata because when offered in comparable condition, they fetch higher prices than those with soft tops or no roofs at all, depending on the year and model.
Body Kits
Adding a body kit to a vehicle reduces the number of people interested in buying it when it goes up for sale. But for the crowd that can’t get enough of the “stanced nation” and enjoy wincing over speed bumps, wide-body and aero kits are their kryptonite. For example, Liberty Walk and Rocket Bunny get tuners foaming at the mouth, and with the right wheels, wrap, and custom interior, they make a venerable street-scene machine. Depending on the material (fiberglass, carbon fiber, etc.), wide-body kits can range from a few grand to as much as a new Honda Civic Type R. Bolt these on at your own risk, but know the return on investment is there if you spend the money and time strategically.
Engine Bay Modifications
Not every factory engine bay looks as glorious as the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA’s, but many can get pretty close with the right modifications or parts swapping. Chromed exhaust headers or colorful camshaft covers get “oohs” and “ahhs” from the crowd when the hood is popped open, and if you’re looking at buying one of these show cars, a clean engine bay is an excellent sign of a well-sorted vehicle with no leaks. Adding lights to engine bays of mid-engine cars with glass covers won’t do much, but swapping drab black plastic parts for shinier ones makes any car look ten times newer without any ding to performance.
Aftermarket Radio And Infotainment Systems
Many who like their cars to be rolling sound systems enjoy throwing the entire RadioShack catalog at it. Unless you’re one of these audiophiles, there are far cheaper ways to modify your car’s radio and speakers to retain value. Replacing blown speakers is step one, but replacing the speakers, subwoofer, amplifier, and tweeters is well worth the investment for resale value.
For slight upgrades, systems that don’t encroach into the cabin and can be easily concealed within the original grills are best, and radios that look stock but have Bluetooth capability are excellent additions to classic vehicles. Replacing modern head units is bothersome and never quite blends into the dashboard, so they don’t add as much value as other serious systems might. Also, any permanent modifications necessary to install the system can reduce the vehicle’s resale value.
Updated Headlights And Taillights
Many older cars have poorer headlights than today’s cars. The simple fix is to buy brighter bulbs or different headlight and taillight units, but the older the car, the more frustrating the swap. Plus, many halogen bulbs cannot be swapped for brighter bulbs without new housings. Xenon conversion kits are available for older vehicles and offer a cleaner, sharper look than stock. These pass as both safety and vanity modifications, so it’s wisest to hang on to the original ones. Plus, you’ll have spares!
Period-Correct Or Euro-Spec Features
Cars that arrived in America with pesky US-homologated safety features like low-speed crash bumpers and different colored taillights (hint, hint) often get swapped for arguably better-looking European-style ones. The crowd that recognizes this likes this look and is willing to fork over the money for a vehicle with all the bits already sourced and installed. I, for one, like the US bumpers on my Porsche 944. Then again, I’m just a part of a different sect of automotive enthusiasm, and that’s what makes these modifications valuable to the right crowd.
Sources: Monte Tuning, Valvetronic, Bring a Trailer
