Hi Everyone ~
'Enjoy reading all the thoughts/ideas/solutions; love the humor, candor and quips readily put forth, so I think I'll give this a go...

I've got a 2004 (R53) Cooper S which I bought while over in Europe (American Specs) w/not quite 47K on it and in great shape. I've been toying with the idea of upgrading to something 'newer' and would like to know where you can obtain an honest evaluation on what to expect from retail/private party/trade-in... I'm not looking for a 'killing'; just an honest deal. Ive got a 15% redux pulley on the s/charger; CAI; 2.5 clutch; Aggressive BORLA exhaust w/some nicer wires/plugs along with a professional tune job via local private performace establishment. They dyno'd it @ 200whp...

Any/all assist would be most appreciated since most places I've been to can't spell half the stuff I had done and I've never raced/auto-X'd it and they don't seem to pay much attention, nor care.
Thanks.
Rich

 

I believe...and I'm sure I'll be 'out-numbered' on this one. Unless you have someone who wants to do the exact same thing you did with your car, the resale value including the 'add-ons' is nill. In other words if you've put X amount of $$ into your car don't expect to get X amount out of the upgrades alone, even if you loose $$, the mods are not as easy to depreciate as the vehicle itself. KBB will only give you a base on the Vehicle, less upgrades.

I'm a stock buyer, I will not purchase a used vehicle when I know mods have been done, professional or not. Just my .02