How much is a used car worth? This is a question we get asked a lot at Hyper and one that is not easily answered. To educate the buyer and to protect the seller, I am going to attempt to apply a formula to the pricing of pre-owned race cars.
A big problem with buying and selling used chassis is the seller and the buyer do not pay enough attention to all the extras, options and upgrades, not to mention spares. These items can double or half the value of a pre-owned product.
First figure out the full retail value of car being sold, taking into account all the extras, options and upgrades. Add in the retail costs of everything being offered. For example a deluxe rolling chassis does not come with any of the following parts:
• Head support and cover
• Nose wing assembly
• Chain
• Front and rear sprockets
• Water temperature gauge
• Radiator line, fittings, and ‘Y’ block
• Fuel delivery system
• Engine with fuel injection system, air box, all electronics and Power Commander
• Engine plates
• Exhaust system
• Switches
• Battery
• Clutch handle
On top of that we need to add in all the options and upgrades:
• 2” rear axle assembly
• Monotube shocks
• Adjustable shocks
• Panhard adjuster
• Anti-roll bars
• Beadlocks
• Full Containment seat
• Aluminum rod ends
• Carbon fiber body
• Weight jacker
• Fuel bladder
One can derive then that a rolling chassis that started out at a retail price of $9175 can turn into a $14,000 car, even without an engine.
Things that do not get added in at this point are engine builder upgrade costs, powder coating, assembly costs, paint and lettering.
Then take this retail price of the car and depreciate it based on what year the car is, what kind of shape it is in, and finally and most difficult is the demand factor. The factor number in the lists below is the number that is multiplied by the retail price.
Years old Factor
1 0.75
2 0.70
3 0.65
4 0.60
5 0.55
6 0.52
Condition of car Factor
Like New 1.10
Excellent 1.00
Good 0.94
Fair 0.88
Poor 0.80
Demand Factor
High 1.05
Medium 0.93
Low 0.80
No 0.60
On your particular car you may want to apply and factor in the middle or slightly on one side of these suggested multipliers. Don’t feel like you need to use this exact number.
Condition of car description:
Like new- Hard to tell the car is not new, probably less than 8 races on car.
Excellent-Almost no dents in the bumpers, the body panels are in really good shape, no bent axles, shocks, radius rods, functionally the car is perfect. The tires even look barley used
Good- Normal dents in the bumpers, the body panels are in decent shape, no bent axles, shocks, radius rods, functionally the car is good, it can be raced as is, although the tires are worn quite a bit.
Fair- Car needs to have some items replaced before it can be raced. For example the front axle may be bent, one of the front shocks may be bent, or one of the wheels is bent. Overall the car was raced hard and the components were raced hard. This condition will apply more to the 3 year and older cars.
Poor- Car is in need of obvious repair, how could anyone have raced this thing? It even still needs washed!
Demand Description: This applies to the manufacturer brand as well as the model year of car. When a manufacturer makes major changes to the car, generally the older ones are not in as much demand. Every once in a while though a new manufacture design might be a flop and people want the old one. Keep in mind too that the demand of a car in your area may be low, but it may be high in another area of the country. Sometimes advertising your car to different areas of the country is a smart thing.
High- Everyone wants one of these, it is the most popular car in your area.
Medium- There is a group of people who want this type of car but it is not the most popular.
Low- Some people want it just because they can’t afford the one in high demand or because they simply want to be different.
No-I race just for fun and don’t really care how I do. No one else is going to buy this car, so I can get a really good price on it.
Engine modifications generally do not add much value to a car. My statement here would be if it is a good reputable engine builder who builds reliable engines, you can add .6 times the value of the retail cost to purchase price if the engine has been built or rebuilt less than 7 races ago. If it needs rebuilt subtract the rebuild price (-$600). Be smart about this though, you can never tell the shape of the engine by looking at it, so you are taking the sellers word on it, maybe ask to see receipts for the work.
Lettering, paint, powder coating, and assembly add no value to a used car as 99% of the buyers are going to repaint them. If you are one who does not plan on repainting the car when you get it, then this may be something that is going to add value to the car you are buying.
Here is an example of how these factors work. Joe has an 08 Hyper deluxe roller for sale with monotube shocks, adjustable LR, fuel bladder, 32” nose wing, fuel delivery system, battery, clutch handle, sealed switches, coolant temp gage and one extra beadlock. The car is in high demand, good condition and two years old.
Full retail price of the car is $11,815.00 Multiply that number by .7 then by .94 then by 1.05 and we get a used value of the car at $8162.00. That same car sold for just as a normal roller (not deluxe roller) would look like this $9175 x .7 x .94 x 1.05 = $6339.00. So you can see there is almost a $2,000 difference in value in the same car, just configured differently.
Pay attention to exactly what you are buying and what you are selling.
