ri0tnerrrrrd

This is mostly a hypothetical question because I can't really afford to do much since I just bought my 06 6MT w/ NAVI 2 weeks ago....but I'm curious what the heavy modders have to say.

One of the main reasons I went with the TSX over some other cars is that it is made by Honda and will therefore hold its resale value better than most in it's class. My plan at the moment is to hang onto the TSX for about 5 years.

There are a lot of interesting mods around in the forum, and I'm curious what the affect is on resale value? Is the car not worth as much because they assume a modded car has been driven more harshly? Do any of these mods void the warranty? Do modders keep their car for a long time to take advantage of the extra work they've put into the cars, or do they upgrade every few years so they have a new toy to play with?

taz98spin

I'm not totally sure but when I was shopping around for cars, I was going to get a
used car. I was told from friends, magazines and web site that never get a
car that looks like it was moded for racing. Like a "riced out" car. Because they
can be used for racing and thus cause strain on the engine.

I ended up getting a new TSX, but that is what I was told.

Viper33182

modding/using aftermarket parts will decrease the resale value, but not necessarily due to assumed additional stress on the car...generally cars are better kept all original, and when a car is modified or a part is replaced w/ aftermarket, it takes away from the original value of the car (even if performance is improved)

bradykp

i've been wondering this too with things like adding a sway bar, hondata reflash, and maybe some other light performance mods. i know a swaybar can just be removed, but the hondata reflash i assume is permanent?

it seems like a sweet thing to do to this car though for some extra ooomph!.

Viper33182

when it comes to modding a car, you can't look at it as a financial investment with financial benefits...the whole concept is purely for your enjoyment of the vehicle for your use during the time you own the car...if you think you'll appreciate the added performance over your ownership period of the car, go ahead and mod...if you have to question the financial value of the modification, it's probably not worth it...my 2c

bradykp

i'm not worried about the financial, more worried about the warrenty. if i'm blowing my warrenty, i'm not gonna do those mods.

RTSX-ASpec

if you worry about voiding the warranty so much i suggest you not think about it at all

Dan Martin

Magnusson-Moss Act

Short version: You can mod all you want and not affect your warranty. Unless the mod was found to be the cause of the problem, you're covered. In other words, if you put wheels on your car and then all of a sudden your radio breaks, your radio is still covered because it has nothing to do with the mod you made.

On the other hand, if you put a set of 20's on your car and you blow a wheel bearing, chances are the wheels put too much stress on the bearing and caused it to fail, hence no warranty.

joerockt

Whats nice about modding is that most mods are reversable. As long as you save all your OEM parts, things can easily be brought back to stock form.

littleorangeman

If you're worried about resale value/warranty just go with as many OEM mods as possible. Acura has a nice body kit and nice wheels. You can feel like you're modding your car and at the same time keep it as much Acura as possible.

I also agree with joerockt above, as long as you keep your OEM parts, you can always revert to the original look of the car when you go to sell it, then sell off the aftermarkets on eBay... or re-use on your new car.

bradykp

true, i'm talking about hondata reflash though, can that be undone?

Viper33182

and can only be undone by replacing the ECU

bradykp

does anyone other than me have to know it was done? i assume you can tell right? and i wouldnt feel right not saying if it was private party, but i wouldnt mind fooling the dealer.....still, slightly unethical.

Tsx536

Hondata can reflash you back to stock. I'm not sure if there is a fee for this, but they have the ability to do it. Doug was going to reflash me back to stock for the Comptech SC baseline dyno. He ended up just sending up another Stock ECU for Comptech to do the baseline though.

...And in regards to modding. It's a loss. So when you do your mods, you have to know this and realize that it's all for your driving enjoyment and that you're only gonna get back a fraction of what you paid. If you can do your own installs, then that helps a lot. Labor can be expensive, and when you go part out it's a lot better if you can uninstall yourself.

youngTL

I think you could get away with some 'invisible' mods that people won't know about when you sell the car if you left them on. I'm talking about things like

-Hondata
-Sway bar upgrade (this is what i'm going to do with my Accord I think)

Gen4MDX

I wouldn't touch a used car that had mod's if I were buying used.

SoCaliTrojan

Last time I researched into Hondata, they could reflash your car back to stock for $50.

I don't think there's anyone in the world that would think that a modded car hasn't been abused. People who are not car enthusiasts have this notion that modded cars are driven by people who like to street race and stuff like that. Car enthusiasts know that a car could either be race or show, but the thought still lingers as to how abusive the driver was. Car enthusiasts usually change their oil much more regularly than a regular person would, though.

Resale value also drops because once modded, it's no longer carries the reliability factor of the original equipment. Who knows how reliable an aftermarket mod is? (Reminds me of the APC crap I used to buy...like I had to buy two sets of those corner lamp housings because they would let water in, etc.) It's not like you can bring it to a dealership and have them service the aftermarket equipment.

Modding, by law, should not automatically void warranty. The dealership has to prove that a problem was caused by a mod in order to void that specific part of the warranty (ie: powertrain warranty, electrical warranty, etc.) However, some dealerships are shady, and I've heard of stories where they were backing a far-fetched story in order to explain away a problem. There's a recent thread where a supposedly stock car has a problem, and the dealership is blaming it on hydrolock when the person is saying it never went into water.

narci

I believe you can just reflash it to the oem flash program.

narci

too bad that only applies tot he USA, we don't have anything like that in Canada.

San-AnT

cant you just take it to the dealer and ask them to reflash/reset teh ECU?

SoCaliTrojan

Well get the ball rolling and contact your representative (I don't know how the canadian government is set up, but I'd hope that you had some sort of senator or house of representatives)

TSXTuner

I advertised my car with mods at appropriate price +$2000, not
one inquiry.

Then took to dealer, got +1000 offer over "average trade"

Removed all mods, dropped price and changed add as though
stock car, still not one inquiry.

Back to dealer, got same +1000 offer in stock form.

They lost a fine car with the mods, they could of had it
for another 1000 with 3000 worth of mods.

People do not seem to buy +20000 cars from individuals, like a
dealer has some other credibility they require. Then they will go to dealer
and get my car.

Anyway, I don't care for the car anymore without the mods.
The only mod that was not necessary was cold air intake, I enjoy the
low end torque curve driveability and quiteness with stock air box better.

I got about 50-70% resale on the mods that have sold so not so bad. Still some parts available in the classified forum.

narci

Won't happen anytime soon since our province is looking to toughen laws on street racing.

http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew..._name=&no_ads=

I know not all non-OEM parts are for performance but our polititions are brainwashed that they are. They even go as far as blaming a street racing accident that killed a taxi cabbie making an unsafe turn on a copy of Need for speed found on in the passenger seat of one of the street racers.

Dan Martin

While we don't have the Magnusson-Moss act in Canada, the dealers still have to prove that your mod was the cause of the problem for them not to warranty the work. The CAMVAP board can arbitrate any problems you may have with warranty work with your dealer: http://camvap.ca/

TSXTuner

Yeah I would rather want one run through the automatic car wash, oil change
say whenever it was in the shop for tires.

Really, a properly modded car, conservative stuff is ok, but the
shadetrees take hammers and vise grips to cars and I would be leary
of anyone touching my car but me. I wouldnt be leary of the mod itself.

One day I was buying a restored MGB except it was running hot on the
test drive. Mechanic and restorer took a channel lock to the the thermostat
cover and I said goodbye. Imagine he was into that motor with channel locks.

Gen4MDX

Don't quite understand the 1st part of your post....whether you are agreeing with me or dissing me?

I have had heavily modded vehicles and you do not get your return on investment, a stock vehicle is much more desireable. There is a lot of truth to the saying "THE FACTORY KNOWS BEST". You may not think that way now, but you will.

waTSX

Most of the mods people do around here are on the subtle side. Most people wouldn't know a car was Hondatafied unless you came out and told them. Whether an individual feels the need or not is up to them.

Stuff like sway bars, CAI's and headers are not drastic mods, and can be easily reversed like joerockt said. To insinuate that everyone who adds bolt-on mods like the ones I just listed hammers the crap out of their car is ridiculous.

I know my tendencies, and that is to enjoy the car but take care of it at the same time. I do not thrash my car, and I do have some modifications, if only to enhance the performance. Companies like Comptech and Hondata are very reputable. These are not radical upgrades that tank the cars reliability.

My

TSXTuner

I was teasing a little and agreeing. I wouldn't ever get a used car of
any sort. My wife tells about the office talk, people laugh and joke
about how long it's been since they changed the oil.
Abusing the car is a sport. Been in too many peoples
cars, filth. The dealers may clean them up enought but that stuff
is still in there.

But I would say my modded TSX was much better than it is now in
stock form, except the CAI wasn't necessary.

TSXTuner

Didn't mean anything like that about anyone here, was refering to
a random used car, you don't know who's been into it, even the
stuff the tire shop does when mounting my wheels and alignment is
shocking.