I have to say that when guys on this forum are driving the national used prices for "Custom, high horsepower Evo's" down because they are lowballing, it is BS for sellers. Me and many others around the U.S. have discussed this quite extensively. It may be good for buyers in the short run, but will bite everyone in the a** in the end when the value is down to a common domestic vehicles range. They like to use the base Stock price of a new Evo to lowball the custom Evo's(ones that are in excellent condition). When I see 400-700 WHP Evo's that have maybe anywhere from $18,000-$100,000 in them going for 20-38 grand for most(some have been as high as $50 grand), that is ridiculous for the seller to eat that much money. I also know that custom vehicles don't always bring back the money you dropped, but in many cases they do. All over the world the Evo because of rarity and legendary status brings premium prices most of the time. Here in the states they are still not common at all, but the resale prices here are just sad(book value is okay). Unfortunately in years to come, Evo's will be not worth anything based on how buyers are screwing the sellers now and driving used prices down and put them in a hard spot when they need to sell. I have been customizing vehicles for over 20 years and I can tell you it is highly possible to get most if not more than what you put into a custom vehicle based on exclusivity. It seems that the general quality of the used Evo buyer is rapidly falling below the normal buyer standards, thus the lowballing to get the car down to be able to get something they normally would not be able to even touch. I know this is a blanket statement and does not apply to "ALL" used Evo buyers, but the proof is in the pudding I must say.

BTW, I just seen a local Apex Silver 2004 Evo with 526WHP in mint condition go for $23,900 and a Rally Red with 450WHP go for $22,000. Now that is just highway robbery to the seller in a hard spot. I do understand that no seller has to take a lowball price, but when you have to sell most times you have no choice. There is no excuse for the lowball attitudes of some buyers in the Evo community.
It's also funny to see that "stock" Sti's are pulling higher amounts of used car money from buyers than Evo's, because there is not much lowballing in the Suby community which I am also part of. I see stock 05 model years that were purchased in 04 like mine, that are selling for close to $28,000 completely stock. Don't say no one wants them that's why the prices are driven up for resale, or they would be selling very cheap then if no one wanted one. My Evo's value is far below what it should be in the used car segment, and is just utterly disgusting.

I strongly suggest that potential sellers pay the extra money and advertise in the Rob Report or in any high end International car sales magazine's to get the money they deserve. It may take longer and may be more of an headache, but in the end the extra money you will get from dealing with higher end buyers will be well worth it.


Flame all you want, but it still won't change the truth. Just my $.02 as a seller and builder.

 

Sellers aren't obligated to sell at lowball prices, and if people aren't willing to pay what buyers are asking then the price will naturally lower.

As for buying a car that someone else modded...if you're inclined to pay MORE for a car that could very well be FAR LESS reliable...so be it. Not that I'm in the market, but if someone wanted to sell me a 350whp Evo, I would not pay a cent extra for the mods that could potentially each be ticking time bombs on my "new" used car.

 

I had my evo the first week they hit the states. When I started modifying my car, I suspected that I would never get back the money I put into it if I ever sold it. Other than insurance purposes, I truly dont care how much my car is worth because I am not selling it. I will be 29 this year and have every intent to own this car as my fun hobby/track car ten years down the road. Granted.....if I had some truly stupid offer to sell for a lot of money, I am sure I could let go of it. If I was planning on buying this car to keep it for its value, I would not have modified it. So let the market be what it is.

 

I somewhat agree with you, but not totally. Buying an Evo from a respectable seller for a higher price which includes mods should not be a problem. If the Evo is reliable like all of us say every day on this forum and all of us mod them accordingly, then why not pay for the mods that someone has done unless we have all been lied to about 4G63/Evo reliability? Yes you are taking a chance when buying used on anything, but ripping someone off for having mods is totally ridiculous and low class. Why buy used anyway then. Some of these owners are more likely to tear up new stock Evo's than high dollar custom ones from my experience. People buy highly customized, turbo, supercharged and built motor cars every day for premium prices, so this should not be a general issue that affects the pricing of Evo's used. Everyone should buy new then, and if they cannot afford the Evo and it's new aftermarket parts, then buy a lesser performing bargain beater car. Used Evo sales have turned to merily being a swapmeet of cars because of this kind of general attitude and can no longer bring the prices they are actually worth. The cars are being de-valued because of this nonsense. Custom high performance cars are being sold at high dollars at auctions like Barret-Jackson and many others and true performance car guys worldwide don't seem to have these issues like some of the Evo owners here in the States do.

The Evo is a world class car and why should any of us leave the market as it is with people who are helping to de-value what we own. No offense, but that is not an intelligent statement from any rare or customized car owner. We are not talking about a Honda Civic here. Most people who even know what an Evo is custom or not and it's history as well as legendary status, would no way shape or form want their cars value to be dropped through the floor by ignorant buyers. That's like not saying anything or not complaining about all the Evo drivers that go out and wreck their cars by doing stupid stuff and raising our insurance rates. Boy oh boy have alot of Evo owners on this forum hit the ceiling about that one happening, including myself. Lowballing is affecting values on the regular market enough on a National scale that if something does happen to someones Evo (totalled or stolen)and they have to file an insurance claim, they will take an even greater hit to the wallet because of lower value. So lowballing in this market affects many aspects of it and trickles down to things that most owners don't even think about. This is not some delusional comment either. Most people do not look at the total picture, it's all about the lowball deal they are about to get.

Actually I'm beginning to think the Evo should have never been brought to this country based on some of the owners attitudes. I drove Evo's in Europe before they were here in the States, and I can tell you whether they are new, used , or customized people in general still respect the status and value of the Evo line. Also, if someone is worried about reliabilty in a vehicle custom or not, then why buy a high maintenance Evo anyway, buy a Toyota.

Nuff said, I'll step off my soapbox for now since obviously mine and others concerns fall upon deaf ears in the community about lowballing.

 

Believe me, I love the evo and have pride in my car. Going through the red tape to get my evo when it came out says a little about the desire for the car. I think the hard part of value on this car is the simple fact it is a Mitsubishi. Dont get me wrong, I like Mitsuibishi, but it is definitely not the car maker that comes to mind when thinking of a high line vehicle. A good example would be the Nissan Skyline coming to the U.S. They had talks of making it an Infinity to help it sell better (im sure there was other reasons too). Im glad they have decided (to my knowledge) to keep it a Nissan. I feel that in todays society we get too caught up on the label of something. Just as the Altezza came over as the IS300 to also help sales. Its hard to say how well that car would have sold for that price if it was listed as its true colors.
I think that because the evo is so new to U.S., that in itself gives it a hard time gaining a respectful value. For individuals that dont know about the evo, its hard for them to imagine a 4 cylinder Mitsuibishi costing 30k.
Lastly, I think another enormous contributor to the value included with low balling is the Lancer. It makes me sad and makes me laugh when people think Im driving a modded Lancer. You try to explain the difference and it is simply not worth your time. It did not help having the Lancer released prior to the evo. The image was already set as an 15k~ car with no power. It will be interesting to see the desire for the evo8 and 9 when the 10 comes out.

 

So, in the end the seller is at fault for accepting low offer and driving the market value down.

I’m sorry guys, I’m not trying to be an a$$, but this discussion is getting nowhere and really is a big waste of time for everyone. Whatever you do, you can't change the way free market works.

 

im willing to divote my time to making them cleaner. give me the power i shall see it thru. im on here enoff as it is. give me something to do.

 

Anyone who drops $50,000 into an Evo and expects to get all of that back should instead return the car back to stock, sell all the parts on eBay, then sell the car. That is the only way you are going to come anywhere close to making your money back. If it upsets you that modifications don't increase the value of the car, then don't modify your car.

 

I think this whole thread is hysterical. First of all the thread started by the suggestion that it is wrong to mention the sick prices of South Coast when a seller is trying to get x amount for their car. Well, I am one of those jerks who mentions the prices at South Coast and guess what...I think I would be wrong not to. You guys think it's fair that some uninformed guy spend 25 plus on an 03 with a turbo back...because he doesn't no any better. Local small dealerships sell an RS IX for over 30k and an MR for almost 40k. Is it OK what they are doing. If I see someone selling a three year old car with 50,000 miles and little mods trying to get 30k...well thats stupid. I also love the made up resale value numbers half the sellers try to say...my stock 03 kelly blue book is 29,000 with no mods. How the hell is an 03 worth 29,000 when an 06 RS IX is 26,000 out the door at South Coast.
You want me to cry about pricing I am pissed that I paid 31,000 for an 04 VIII with out the sun roof or premium sound. You don't think if South Coast had sick prices back than I wouldn't have spent 800 to flat bed a car from Cali to CT. It should be a buyers and sellers market...and we should all be able to speak up and make sure everyone is informed. I doubt people have lost sales if they were asking a fair price to begin with....just because members inform everyone on prices.

Finally....a moded car is an interesting situation. If you trust the person and mods than I understand how a car has value in addition to list price of a used car. But I also think mods don't entitle a seller to butt loads of extra cash when they want to dump their car. Unfortunately, stripping a car and selling parts is more profitable for a seller in most cases.

 

This is economics at work. Modifying your car does not entitle you to get your money out of it. That is why you sell the parts and then sell the stock Evo. The only thing my modded Evo would help me do when I sold it is make it stand out from a stock one.

 

Best thing to do in this situation is to just say "Please don't offer lower than x amount". What may seem low to you might be reasonable for another person.

 

I disagree. Something is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Something may have a "market value" of $20k but if the highest interested buyer is looking at $18k as the magic number, then it is only worth $18k. Try waiting or listing your vehicle/item in other places. The trick is to find the buyer who thinks that your vehicle/item is worth $20k or more.

But there will always be teenagers running around car forums with lines like "my parents are going to help me out but I can't go above $17k, although if I pushed them I could get $18k..." so good luck to market value.

This happened to the S2000 during the first 3 years of production. Everyone and their brother went out and got one and either couldn't afford it, and had to sell it at some amazingly low price to get out of the 14.9% loan they were in, or they thought that the car was more than it was, which happens with the Evo as well, and many people traded it back in shortly after purchasing so the market was all of a sudden flooded with cheaper used S2000s.

The lowballing may be an issue but the FS forum here is fairly tame in the way of crap threads compared to other car forums. One thing I can't stand is the "testing waters" or "feeler" threads, such as this one here testing waters . Now I know Aniel is a good memeber and I am not picking on anyone, but either your car is for sale or it isn't. If you want to sell it for $26k then sell it for $26k, don't say your looking for $26k but then allow everyone to low ball you. If you won't sell unless you get $25k or $26k then just put a firm price on it. If it doesn't move, lower the price or try it somewhere else. Now you'll have a thread that someone may or may not want to sell the car depending on the reactions of others, and the thread will now be filled with lots of people who want to low ball you or just want to see how rough you like the water.

Sorry if any of that sounded childish. I'm fairly new here and I enjoy this forum a lot. I just can't stand testing waters.. lol, sorry.

 

this is one of the funnest things i have read in a long time i gues no one on here ever took a econ class lol ever heard of supply and demand lol

 

I'm sure they have, they're just venting. I know here in the area I live (Southwest Indiana) I've seen 1 evo since they came out.....only 1. So people aren't getting into them much here and you'd lose your *** on one if you wanted to get rid of one.