Stupid Question About Modded S4

[PopTart]

Hey Guys,

Longtime reader...first time poster here. Is it difficult to sell a Modded car? Obviously an exhaust is easy to switch back to stock. But what about an APR tune? If I try to sell my car to Audi dealership, they can easily find out the ECU was tuned. Will they even offer to buy my car? I really want an APR tune. However, I don't want any headaches in the future when I go to sell.

[VeeDubbinJetta]

Yes you can always flash back to stock if you are concerned. I can't say I've ever heard of a dealer scanning a car before offering to buy it from a customer. As someone who was a technician for 7 years I never saw this happen, granted this wasn't at Audi but I have to imagine it's the same. People mod leases all the time, so go have fun, you won't regret it

[Crucible35]

If you're trading an Audi in to an audi dealership, especially if the car may qualify for CPO, they will scan the car. Sure, tune a car under warranty, but understand that you may be TD1 after your first visit to the dealership....which will invalidate your warranty.

[OnEaNgRyBuNnY]

TD1 does NOT inherently void your warranty in the US. There are laws to protect the consumer. The dealer must reasonably show the part modified causes the failure and the burden of proof is on them. I even had a stock turbo replaced when I had an APR tune and ran an MBC because of my rapport with the service manager. That being said, CPO eligibility is not protected so yes, it's more possible they may be able to exclude eligibility.

When I traded my 2010 A3 with APR dp, tune, and intercoooler, plus an intake, for my 2013 S4 they gave me the same exact number I could find from any resource for my A3. They tried to take $500 off the price they offered because the carpet was coated in husky hair and I told them
It'd be a deal breaker if they did that and i got the $500 back. They asked about the intercooler but no one said anything about the tune. Your experience may vary.


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[bayonet14]

I think it depends - had a B7 STG II when the B8s first came out.... I told my sales guy it was a STG II (then just play hard to get) when the sales guy is trying to get you in a new / or new to you car...
Use it as a negotiation point (I guarantee you this - that sales guy wants your car & wants to sell you a car / and no doubt he has a potential client in his call back list looking for a car like yours)

Time of month / or where that dealership is in sales for the quarter all come into play as well - needless to say ... they wanted my STGII S4 / were going to sell it as a AS IS / No warranty / and he already had a buyer lined up should I have traded that car / that minute ... and it did not hurt this was my previous sales guy who sold me a different Audi

Point being - I got into a new 2013 then - the funny thing - they guy who got my car / after the dealer did whatever prep... it was flashed back to stock. They dealer did leave the power pulley installed . but it was returned to a stock flashed ECU....

But to sum it all up again - use it as a negotiation point ( you are never married to a sales person or dealership) so shop around even across state lines (besides as a private sale YOU always make more $ than a trade at a dealer and thats cash in your pocket/bank)
Mod it - now if you go beyond what cannot be easily reversed...you pay to play - if its a lease and want any decent return on investment at lease end...you will have to return the vehicle to stock/pay out of pocket anything you did not keep/reinstall yourself - but can make that up if you sell your mods on the secondary market/forums
In the end you sometimes have to work for it / there will be give and take in the negotiations...so get off here & out there and find your ride!

[SR7D1]

I had a B8 A4 with APR(CORSA) exhaust, APR intake, APR ECU Stage II, ECS performance brake kit and SS lines. Traded it in on my current S5. Before I went to the dealer, I returned the car almost completely back to stock.

Reinstalled:

Stock air filter
Stock exhaust
Went to APR dealer and flashed back to Stock file (free)

One thing I regretted was not keeping the stock brake pads and rotors when I originally did the performance upgrade, or the brakes would have been back to stock too, except for the SS lines, too much of a PITA to swap back.

I did all of that for 2 reasons, I could sell the performance parts for about half of what I paid for them and I didn't want to new owner to get a TD1.

[OnEaNgRyBuNnY]

even across state lines

Funny, that was my experience. I'm from PA and drove down to a dealer in Silver Springs MD for my S4 as it was the best price available. My dad just returned from Florida to pick up a CPO 650xi convert. If you have the time and resources, the best deals are rarely in your backyard. I think this helped with my negotiations (on the trade in, the deal was otherwise set unless something was not as they told me) as they took me a lot more seriously when I said I would just hop in my old car and drive back if they wouldn't budge and they knew I wouldn't be coming back.

I do regret not taking the fmic off and reselling it as I keep all stock parts and could have returned it to stock and made some extra money.


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[bayonet14]

Funny, that was my experience. I'm from PA and drove down to a dealer in Silver Springs MD for my S4 as it was the best price available. My dad just returned from Florida to pick up a CPO 650xi convert. If you have the time and resources, the best deals are rarely in your backyard. I think this helped with my negotiations (on the trade in, the deal was otherwise set unless something was not as they told me) as they took me a lot more seriously when I said I would just hop in my old car and drive back if they wouldn't budge and they knew I wouldn't be coming back.

I do regret not taking the fmic off and reselling it as I keep all stock parts and could have returned it to stock and made some extra money.


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Its crazy how if you do cross state lines - prices gyrate due to region / zip code / - thats why i will research and look at what cars are going for in other states (another negotiation tactic) or have a friend that has access to Mannheim so you can pull by vin....see what vehicle you are in the market for and what they are going for at auction - also see how long a vehicle has sat on a lot that dealer/salees person wants to move

Thats how I scored my 1st 911 in VA while I lived in GA

[OnEaNgRyBuNnY]

Its crazy how if you do cross state lines - prices gyrate due to region / zip code / - thats why i will research and look at what cars are going for in other states (another negotiation tactic) or have a friend that has access to Mannheim so you can pull by vin....see what vehicle you are in the market for and what they are going for at auction - also see how long a vehicle has sat on a lot that dealer/salees person wants to move

Thats how I scored my 1st 911 in VA while I lived in GA

Yeah it is. Also crazy manheim is such a resource these days. I live 15 minutes from the original auction in manheim, PA. Bought an f-250 directly from them with the help of an authorized dealer and got a chance to check out the vehicle on one of their lots, the operation is crazy huge and still seems to function like clockwork. Impressive indeed.


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[SportVier]

If you're trading an Audi in to an audi dealership, especially if the car may qualify for CPO, they will scan the car.

And they will use the fact that it was tuned as a point of negotiating leverage: "We're going to have a hard time selling this..."

If you are fairly sure that you will ultimately be trading in your car at an Audi dealer, I would not risk it. Trading in elsewhere or selling privately, no worries.

[OnEaNgRyBuNnY]

And they will use the fact that it was tuned as a point of negotiating leverage: "We're going to have a hard time selling this..."

If you are fairly sure that you will ultimately be trading in your car at an Audi dealer, I would not risk it. Trading in elsewhere or selling privately, no worries.

As I stated before, I HAVE done this and NOT experienced what you are talking about AT a dealer. I disagree with you 100% that this WILL be the case. It MAY and that is where being educated and informed comes in, to counter their argument.

I don't think anyone will disagree that the best course of action is to bring the car back to stock form before attempting a trade, however.


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[PopTart]

Thanks for the responses guys. If I flash the ECU:

Audi: "We're gonna have a hard time selling this. Here's 50% of the KBB value. Take it or leave it."

Carmax: They have no idea what a tune is, so I'll keep my mouth shut.

Private Buyer: "Great, I was gonna get the tune anyways. You just saved me $1000."

[SportVier]

Thanks for the responses guys. If I flash the ECU:

Audi: "We're gonna have a hard time selling this. Here's 50% of the KBB value. Take it or leave it."

Carmax: They have no idea what a tune is, so I'll keep my mouth shut.

Private Buyer: "Great, I was gonna get the tune anyways. You just saved me $1000."

Exactly. You have learned well, my son.