dumb ? - what to do w/ OEM parts after Dinan upgrades / installation?? - The Unofficial BMW M5 Messageboard (m5board.com)

Jacob Lee · 19th January 2002, 02:48

new thread just so i can track this separately from my rattle/noise problem.

completely on another area and sorta dumb question but like i said, this is the first mod i've ever done to a car in my life. always had stock cars.

anyway - now that i've got the Dinan stageIII susp. and ff exhaust to replace my stock parts, what should i do with the OEM parts?

i asked Dinan to keep all my old parts as people had already suggested, and they gave them to me. i now have all my OEM shocks, springs, swaybar, and mufflers in two big boxes gathering dust in a closet.

is there any practical purpose to keep these OEM parts other than the truly bizarre possibility that someone who eventually wants to buy my car in a couple years demands he won't accept anything less than the OEM stuff and doesn't want the Dinan upgrades?

tfung · 19th January 2002, 04:37

you can always hang the stuff in your living room and display them as art..

Need4Spd · 19th January 2002, 04:48

If you have room in your garage or store area, keep it. Stock cars are always worth more. It may even be worth the labor cost to have the stock stuff put back in before you sell it.

Jacob Lee · 19th January 2002, 06:19

even dumber question - i'd assumed a Dinan upgraded M5 would be worth at least slightly more, no matter how minimal, than the stock version of equal miles, condition, etc.

ok, obvious reply - supply, demand. common demand is by common people, i.e. the majority, who haven't or don't want to modify their cars and/or fear modded cars as somehow more "worn out" or "abused". i realize this, but wouldn't Dinan modded car owners be selling their cars to those who are themselves desiring Dinan mods?

is the number of people who both appreciate AND want Dinan mods so much lower than the number of sellers that the resale market is as stated lower than the stock version for that same year model, miles, condition?

Need4Spd · 19th January 2002, 07:19

The answer to your last question has got to be "yes." Even on this board, I'd bet at least half mostly lurk, and half, maybe more, haven't done any modifications to their cars. IF you find a buyer that would want the Dinan mods and be willing to pay more than a comparable stock used car, then maybe you'd be OK on resale. But most people would rather have a stock one, so that they could do their own thing, or not worry so much that the car has been driven hard. I know that the correlation is not necessarily rational. Plenty of Dinan owners take better care of their cars than owners of stock ones. But as the economy shows, a lot of a market's value is based on perception and "feel." Is our country really that much poorer than it was 2 years ago? Probably not. The DOW was under 10,000 back then and it hovers around there today. But there's no doubt we're in a recession, and a lot has to do with people's perceived need to hang onto their $$. If the perception of a modified car is that it's had a hard life, then it translates into the reality of a diminished market value for it. Regardless of how well you actually maintained or took care of your car.

Bart Carter · 19th January 2002, 07:23

Jacob,

Send me something you don't want and I will hang it in my new garage.

I'll send a picture.

TiGumz · 19th January 2002, 09:14

Quote:

Originally posted by Need4Spd
The answer to your last question has got to be "yes." ... If the perception of a modified car is that it's had a hard life, then it translates into the reality of a diminished market value for it. Regardless of how well you actually maintained or took care of your car.

I definitely have to agree with Need4Spd. Unless I personally knew the previous owner of a potential purchase, I would feel uncomfortable enough to keep looking for a bone stock example. Just playing the odds based on a lack of information.

Jacob Lee · 19th January 2002, 09:54

interesting information - thanks all. guess i'll keep those parts around and debate whether to put them back on when selling the car.

it cost me $1400 in labor from Dinan to put them on. i'm assuming taking them off and the stock parts on will be around the same ballpark. i'd do it myself but that's like saying i'd be in the NBA only if I could play ball.

so if the stock v dinan mod differential is less than $1400, i'd spend more changing it back than what i'd lose for selling a non-stock version.

even if it weren't, i'm honest to a fault and would disclose absolutely everything, including the fact i'd had Dinan parts on it, so it would seem that even if i changed my car back to stock, if the perception of reduced value from mods is the main ingredient to lower FMV v stock, i'd still get the same price whether i kept the car with Dinan mods or put the oem parts back on.

the short sentence - i'm making some funky art sculpture

Bart Carter · 19th January 2002, 21:11

The parts you put on are not exactly racing parts.

The M5's only shortcoming was the understeer. (Read any road test.) You chose a complete kit (not racing suspension) engineered from probably the most reputable tuning company in the U.S. to correct the understeer.

The mufflers are a sound thing.

I would definitely ask MORE, not less and tell the buyer why.

JonB · 20th January 2002, 04:02

Try posting an add on www.turnermotorsports.com in the classified section to sell them. There are probably guys with 540i's that would like to upgrade to the M5 suspension for a good price.