The phenomenon of “tuning” in our country is not new. Although certain TV programs have put it in the limelight, the “art” of vehicle modification has as much history as those SEAT 600s that circulated with the rear hood open as a spoiler … actually seeking to cool the engine. Or the Minis with fins, the 124 with widened wheel arches or the 132 with a starfish caught in the gear knob (my father had one of the latter and I “freaked out” how “cool” it was).
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Do You Want To Sell Your Tunned Car?
Little details such as daytime running lights, a spoiler, “pretty” alloy wheels or a plastic mask for the front and/or rear drivers will always have an exit -or entry- into the market, but be careful not to go further: against From what many of its owners think, having a personalized vehicle “at the top” not only does not add value to it, but it subtracts it.
This is given by the personalization itself, which implies that it is to your liking, but not someone else. Example: you are passionate about bubblegum pink and you have painted your Peugeot 207 entirely in that shade. Now, either you find another person who is as passionate about that color (which is not abundant) or you have it difficult. You will always have to try the Pink Panther. Or with Paris Hilton.
Insurance Companies And Tunned Cars
On the other hand, the insurance will also be more expensive, having to cover a painting that will give more of a headache to the sheet metal worker who has to fix a scratch on the bumper.
With artisan pieces, more of the same. Either you sell/buy the car with the craftsman in the trunk or it will be very difficult to preserve its unique touch over time.
The stereos with “amp” 100,000 watts, 500 speakers, 4 LCD, and subwoofer mailbox size mail, besides being the most attractive to “foreign friends” are not practical all … unless be a hard of hearing music lover. In other words, you are Beethoven, for example.
With custom tapestries … same. Not everyone likes green plush with gold trim.
As you can see, such modified cars do not enjoy a very long journey in the market. They move in the tuning circle and it is my recommendation that you follow in it if it is your case and you aspire to get a good price for it. On one occasion, an amateur -because known this world is a world that awakens love, no doubt tearfully told me that a brand had appraised him his “handsome-handsome” car one 50% below the market price, because of what they were going to spend on removing “all that you have put in” to be able to sell it. Take note, because if you were thinking of buying a cheap modified vehicle and return it to origin… ask for a budget beforehand.
Another thing is the so-called ” official (pseudo) preparations “; specific preparer kits for certain models. I’m talking about Hamann, AC Schnitzer, Magnum, Carlsson, ABT … In those cases, also contrary to what its proud owner/seller may believe, the price increase at resale is slightly higher than the unprepared car. And I’m not saying it. They say both DAT and EuroTax, the guides that are used as a reference for valuation. It’s a shame, but it is what it is.
Mechanical Tuning
Now we go with the lion’s share, and the one that makes tuning in Spain never ceases to be in its infancy: the legal nature of each assembled piece. The ITV inspection makes it more and more difficult: what is nothing more than an improvement in safety matters many times becomes a “substantial change in the integrity of the car”. And I’m not talking about mounting nitrous oxide, precisely, but about simple improved brakes or a non-original exhaust outlet. Because about air suspensions or strobes, I’d rather be quiet. Everything requires homologation. And this costs time, money and the odd displeasure.
Fortunately, many houses dedicated to modifying cars already deliver it to its owner with all past inspection and all “improvement” included in its technical sheet. But if we are going to buy a “personalized” car from its owner, it is advisable to be attentive to ensure that everything that has been assembled complies with regulations and regulations. This one is extensive, complex and by virtue of it I cannot fit my mother with bigger wheels on her “underfoot” utility without going through the judgment of the “engineer”. I reiterate that, however heavy it may seem, you must ask the seller how much paper he has in his hands on all the elements installed in his car-farro.
Likewise, it never hurts to provide (if you are the seller) or request (if you are the buyer) some simple annotations on the addresses of workshops and places “used” to the car, in case it in its new life needs more information about parts of care.
Even so, mechanical modifications are the least practiced in our country, perhaps due to their price and clearly harmful legislation. Beyond a bar between turrets (and depending on which case), a direct intake, a chip, and a set of new shocks, little can be done. Unless we want to spend good money (mighty gentleman).
Thanks to this, a fan once invited me for a ride in his 1972 Volkswagen Beetle with a 1995 Porsche 911 engine. But the price of the car between whistles and flutes was almost double that of said 1995 Porsche 911. To think about it.
I once tried to fit a V12 into a vehicle that only existed with a 6 cylinder engine because I had seen a pair in America. Mechanically it was feasible and economically it was not unreasonable (or not at all), but legally, when I mentioned it in my agency, their hair stood on end. The project was discarded. Like so many others who have not been able to modify their car as they wanted, because they ran into the strictness of the bureaucracy and the rejection of the market.
Is Buying Or Selling A Tunned Car A Simple Task?
Selling a tunned car out of its way is unpleasant. And buy one outside of these routes and without knowing what we are getting into, not recommended. They are “captive” cars waiting for a change in circumstances or for that soul mate of the owner who, by magic, finds everything he has always looked for in cars brands like a widened Fiat Bravo, with a smoothed boot, Opel Calibra front, “angel eyes” headlights ”, 20-inch Antera wheels, Lexus taillights, lowered Koni suspension, handcrafted grille, House of Color mustard yellow, milk-white leather interior, Momo three-spoke steering wheel, Alpine font, Stack speedometer, Brembo brakes, Remus motorcycle-type exhaust and horn that sounds with the chorus of “Soy Gitana” by Shakira. For tastes, colors.
