Keep your classic car away from these popular modifications.
Are you looking to improve your classic car with modern upgrades and modifications? While that can be a good idea, the wrong improvement can do more harm than good to a vintage vehicle’s value.
There are many ways for classic car owners to modernize their vehicles, but too often, new classic car owners ruin their vehicle’s value with unnecessary and cheap improvements. Believe it or not, there are many wrong ways to upgrade your classic car. Maintain your vintage vehicle’s resale value by avoiding these excessive modifications that make car collectors cringe.
Outlandish Paint Job
While a fresh coat of paint can help the value of a vehicle, an eccentric paint job can significantly reduce it. Outlandish paint jobs deflate any vehicle’s value, especially classics.
Pro tip: Research popular color schemes of your classic car from when it was first introduced to make it look like it’s new again.
Collectors typically desire simpler colors, so skip the flames and bright, neon colors when choosing a paint color for your classic car.
Neon Lights
Installing neon lights is perhaps the worst way to upgrade your classic car if you care about its resale value. They may look cool on a slick and modern car, but they’re one of the quickest ways to torpedo a classic’s value.
To many collectors, these lights are offensive to the beauty of the vintage design. Plus, neon undercarriage lights are illegal in some areas and states. It’s your car, and you can do what you want, but every classic car enthusiast will tell you to avoid neon additions.
Lavish rims
Like neon lights, rims are another extravagant upgrade that may look stylish on a modern vehicle but can stick out like a sore thumb on a classic car. Not all new rims are bad, but they should fit with the vehicle’s overall aesthetic and not look like a cheap aftermarket upgrade.
Your classic car should have enough style and panache to draw the eye of passersby without requiring the help of spinning or distracting rims. And, like the paint job, extravagant rims can be polarizing, so it’s best to stay simple with the design.
New Interior
The interior is another area in older cars that typically sees a lot of upgrades, but if owners aren’t careful, they can damage its value. As we mentioned, classic cars are more valuable the closer when they closely resemble their original condition, so upgrades like new interior trims or upholstery can do more harm than good.
It’s best to clean and restore the interior to its original condition as much as possible rather than completely replace parts. You can patch up the interior and make it look new again, but completely renovating it won’t make it attractive in the eye of classic collectors.
These are some of the worst ways to upgrade your classic car, but there are far more productive options for modifying your vehicle. Consider improvements that enhance the quality of the car without compromising its originality.