Anybody know how it works when one sells a tuned car? Even if you flash back to stock, are there issues with sale price? Do you have to disclose that your car had a tune before?

Thanks

 

I've always been able to sell my tuned cars. Every so often someone said not for them, but someone else said cool...wanted it tuned anyway and glad you already paid for that instead of me, and they were glad to purchase. I think the key for me was always using a tuner with a great reputation on rennlist. Good luck.

 

Some folks do and don't care whether a car has been modded, be it a tune or something else like mechanical changes.

Generally speaking, it is always going to be easier to sell a car in stock form. Unless you find that one or two needles in the haystack that wants exactly the mods you made to your car, always better to part it out and sell the AM parts separately.

With a software mod, like a tune, returning to stock is not necessarily the same as returning a mechanical mod (like lowering springs, or BBK) to stock form, as a tune inevitably and invariably puts more stress on the engine and drivetrain internals.

Whether that actually matters to the buyer, is really dependent on the buyer.

As to whether one should disclose a tune? That really depends on how comfortable a person is with not disclosing it up front, and still being able to sleep at night, esp. if the car is still sold within the OEM warranty period.

Now, if you don't disclose the tune even after being asked directly about it, then there's a word for that ... it starts with an "F" and ends in a "D".

 

I’m wondering if I tuned my car, enjoyed it for some time, and perhaps traded it back to the dealer during the warranty period. Even after flashing to stock, I wonder how the dealer would look at my car. Anybody ever done that before?

 

I think you should disclose the tune to a potential buyer . Why ? because it is the right thing to do
as far as dealer is concerned. It varies by dealer
I have sold tuned cars to dealers and they did not care but not a Porsche vehicle
as far as affecting the sale price , I think the answer to that depends if the car was flagged meaning OEM warranty on drive train is denied. I know Audi does that , not sure about Porsche
so if car is flagged, the sale price will be affected

 

Many (most?) people do just that. Return to stock and sell it. I remember a person tried to return a leased M3 with a supercharger installed on it! Dealer just told the guy to put it back to stock and they took the car back as a lease return with no problems... probably CPO'd it. LOL.

 

Yes, you have to should disclose a tune to a potential buyer. Whether under warranty or not, it's material information about the car and how it was used. FWIW, not a hope in hades I'd buy a Porsche that had a tune, even if removed and even if it passed a PPI with flying colors.

 

Having a tune, even a reputable one, will limit the potential universe of buyers and reduce the asking price compared to a stock car. This is why people revert to back to stock when selling the car. When you do remove those parts/modification, you also might be able to recoup of the investment in those mods by selling them used (exhaust, tune, etc) — parting out mods is smart.

I sold a heavily modified car in 2019. While many of the mods were more/less reversible, it was not practical for me to remove all of the modifications, ie. I wasn’t going to swap back in the stock cams and replace the machined heads. To make it easier to sell, I included nearly all of the original OEM parts so that the prospective buyer could revert the thing back to stock, if they were so inclined. That package helped it sell very quickly. Oh, those parts filled a Ford Expedition and the buyer had to make two trips get all of the OEM stuff. LOL

A dealer can tell that a car was flashed or even had the ECU swapped. They won’t be able to CPO it which may reduce what they’re willing to pay you for the car in a transaction (buy or trade). If you tuned it, don’t lie about it, because they will know. No tune is undetectable.

If a potential private buyer asks, “Was this car modified?”, etc. Tell the truth. Let them know exactly what you did even if you returned it to stock. It’s the right thing to do and they’re not likely to walk if you’re honest about it.

If when asked, you assert that it was “always stock”/“never modified”/etc and they buy the car based upon your false statement, you’ve committed fraud. Yeah, people get away with this regularly, but if you get caught, it will be a thing. A person spending $150k on used car has an attorney or is one.

Now, if a buyer never asks you, the PPI doesn’t show anything, and no one seems to care about it, it’s your call whether you want to disclose it. For me, I wouldn’t feel right withholding it, but your life experience and values may vary.

 

ohhhh FRAUD.... i was like f**ked? huh? took me a second.