actually my car has the extended warranty till 2009 and 100k miles. I haven't spent a dime on maintainance other than oil and brake change, so that versus the CPO is pretty much the same. If i'm purchasing a C32 or E55, etc etc. I wouldn't mind getting one that's modded, but just gotta make sure that it's properly maintained and extended warranty can be purchased.

also for a CPO car you will be paying more than what private seller is asking for.

over 40k in mods for the Supra, but for that kind of modded Supras you can only see it on the market 1 in a million.

Modding a C32 is not THAT cheap. it has cost me more than $13k to have it the way it is right now.

I don't know whether I would agree with you, that is a pretty sweeping statement to make. It obviously totally depends on the individual. Just because someone decides to mod their car, doesn't necessarily mean that they are more passionate about it and hence take better care of it. I can think of plenty of friends that that have modded their vehicles to the hilt and don't give a **** about waiting for the oil temps to warm up before they hammer it. It's completely different from individual to individual.

In regards to purchasing a modded versus unmodded, I would have to agree with the group that is more partial to buying the "unmolested" vehicle. I think that a modded car is more indicative of potential aggressive driving habits of the previous owner. Plus, it's also more fun to do the modding yourself and customize/mod the car the way you like.

If that's all that you did, kinda throws out your idea that a modded owner takes better care of their cars. There isn't really much to do on a low milage vehicle. The CPO warranty hasn't really become worth it yet, but in a few years, and as the miles rack up, there's a good chance that you'll be happy that you have it.

Most Supras that are around and in great shape are the heavily modded ones. If you think 40k+ is unusual, you haven't seen that scene. There are always Supras like that for sale. It's near impossible to find a stock one in good shape at this point.

13k is a lot, but nothing crazy. I'm talking about buying one with the basic stage 1+ mods. You're not saving much, because that stuff wasn't that expensive in the first place. Paying MORE for a car because it has basic mods, and losing the CPO warranty takes away anything that you were saving

my extended warranty covers everything except providing the loaner. it was offered by MB north america. I change my oil every 3-5k miles and does check up regularly. Everything is kept very clean all the time. My friend from Indiana who has a C55 says his roommate's CPO 2002 C32 is no where near as good in condition as mine. He brought his C55 down here for summer classes.

I've been to dyno meets hosted by local Supra tuner shop down here in SoCal and have seen what a great modded Supra looks like especially that one black hardtop with all the Greddy parts you can find that pumps out 830+ rwhp on 100 oct. I've some idea how much modding a Supra would cost and it's not nearly as much as you said. This is what I found through some simple search "With tuning, and a few odds and ends, you should be able to pull 450-500 RWHP (490-580 crank HP) numbers while on a stock fuel system (assuming it is in great condition). This would be a total investment of approximately $6,700-$11,500 in engine/electronic components (also includes the proper gauges)"

Evosport stage 1 plus the Powerchip is almost $3k and pumps the C32 up to 400hp. That's a basic mod? That's not expensive in your mind? As I recall just not long ago you were complaining the RENNtech stage 1 package were expensive for pulley and ECU. Just wondering how have you come to a conclusion that modding a C32 is cheap again. another case would be would you have bought Dragon's C55 S7k Kleemann if price isn't a issue? it's certainly not a CPO.

Not that I don't agree with you for CPO cars, but just showing you there is another way or some feel might be the better way than CPO. Some people would think CPO would give you a better car, but it's not always the case.

450-500 rwhp on a Supra isn't a heavily modified one. Even to reach those numbers, you have to drop some money. Heavily modifying a car always costs at least triple what you think it does. Things go wrong and parts break. It costs more than just dropping money into the motor. There're suspension upgrades, body restorating, motor rebuilding/refreshing, clutch/flywheel upgrades, etc. It adds up REAL quick. It always costs a lot more than it looks like. There isn't really a point in having a mildly modded Supra at this point. They are all old enough that everything on the car would have needed refreshing at this point, motor/tranny/body/etc, and it would be much better to buy one that someone else already did it to. The days of BPU++ing a fresh Supra are over, because they don't exist anymore. Stock or modded, if you buy a Supra, you're gonna have to drop some additional money in after the purchase.

RENNtech *is* overpriced. $3500 for a pulley and ecu flash is really inflated. Luckily there is Evosport. You can get that same stuff for about a grand less. Evosports Stage 1 upgrades are ~2800 bucks and it includes a lot more than RENNtech's pulley/ecu. Toss in several hundred bucks for an install, and you've got a 400hp nice german sedan for about 3300 bucks in upgrades. That's not bad at all.

No, I wouldn't have bought a blown C55 from some guy that I don't know. No warranty. I didn't used to care about warranties, but I got tired of heavily modified cars. I got too old for it, and now I just want to stick to mild mods and not have to worry. But yes, if someone was looking to immediately heavily modify a C55, buying one that was already done well would be a good idea, make that previous owner eat up a lot of the cost.

Frank, I've already pointed out that CPO isn't always the best way to go. But if you're looking for a low mileage C32, hell you might as well go CPO.

The original statement was that it would be worth 1k extra for a car that already had the ODPS. I still say *no way*! The ODPS is 1800 bux + install. Say its just over 2 grand. So you're 'saving' 1k, but lose the CPO warranty. I don't think that that's worth it.

Guys lets look at this for a different point of view. So we are talking about voiding a CPO warranty or a factory warranty after you pay extra to have a CPO car. Instead of assuming a couple mods will void the warranty think about how you can avoid that issue.

Having taken a car with stupid amounts of mods on it to the shop for warranty work over and over I can say mods have nothing to do with warranty status. The big issue falls with your relationship with the service writter, the shop foreman who over sees your car, and the tech who will wrench on the car. If you are close with all 3 guys, treat them as a friend and not a guy who is keeping your car working, take them something like a 12 pack now and them (bottle of something -- wine, vodka etc), and just keep your relationship on a level beyond client-customer they will NEVER want to void a claim and likely will encourage you to do all the modding your heart desires.

Having done this with many dealerships, I have created a great network of friends and they all love working on my car. I never hassle them about getting the car done quickly, worrying about them puttinga 2 mm nick in the paint and in the end they love to see me come in. Hell I am about to go cycling with the shop foreman and my my service writter today -- great guys!

Mod away but just keep a good relationship with the dealership. They never will tell anyone the car is modded and you will have a full CPO warranty AND the mods. If you do have a SERIOUS failure they will let you remove your mods and go back stock before the write the claim up and call the regional rep over to inspect the car.

Mods are not the end of your warraty!

Canyon, I agree. I am modding my car and I know that I won't lose my warranty. What I was referring to was buying a car that was already modded. If the car was modded, it would not get a Certified Pre Owned (CPO) status, so you wouldnt get the MB extended warranty with it.

sorry i knew i missed something but who reads ever line in every thread

If the car is 4-5k less without CPO it might be a good deal but i personally live for warranty work and would pay a whole not to know I dont have to break out the old visa every time it throws a senor or eats a set of control arm bushings.

MB parts add up in cost so quickly you cant even believe. When you realize these blowers only last till about 100k miles you just hope you can make yours fail before you lose the warranty The intercoolers tend to start leaking too so always watch for the known weak points and get them replaced during that last year of warranty! Just dont wait till the last month because then the regional rep sits there and tries to figure out how to decline the claim based on the cars age

How do you do this when you have only been to the dealer once in the 5 years you have owned a C32

you are a very novice owner...

No dealer will honor modded cars, unless they installed themselves and even then they give you a hard time. They must know you or have a good relationship.

CPO does not mean its a fresh car... how do you figure?

a CPO means it has been returned to the dealer and reconditioned.
Havinga an extended warranty is a plus on any deal, but it does not guarantee a virgin or fresh motor.

The transmission is made to handle 700lbs of torque and 600hp+...

400hp from a C32 is Sh*T for this transmission.

Also the internals of the C32 are bullet proof and additional boost is nothing to worry about.

You must be confusing a C32 for a Honda or Subi. These engines are proven.

C32's are cheap to mod??

Here is my last point. Evosport Stage 1 is $2800 for parts alone, they will charge atleast 4 hours of labor x $95.

SL55 splitter/filteres is $400+
plugs & wires $300 plus installation
springs $ 400 + installation
headers $1200 plus installation


this does not include Bi-xenon and wheels and tires and any other cosmetic parts.

compared to any other auto community, AMGs are above average in respect to (hp per dollar)

You're missing the point. Buying a car that is premodded means that it isn't CPO. I just spoke with my dealer when they installed my bixenons, and they don't mind basic mods. Of course they gave me the disclaimer about if the mod breaks something, they won't cover that.

jgsx, your point is clear, but I think you've missed my point.

I'm talking about a modded C32 that already has the factory extended warranty which everything is still under warranty except you won't get a loaner. The factory extended warranty covers up to 7yr/100k miles. Now this versus a CPO non-modded C32 at similar if not the same price. Also like cyncarvin said, CPO doesn't guarantee anything. I think you also know that all these mods are easily removable. If the modder don't mind to part out their car. They can trade in their car to the dealership with all it's original parts in place and the dealership won't be able to tell any difference.

Like i've said, I don't mind buying a modded car if everything checks out.

On the case of the Supra, when were we talking about a heavily modded one?? I thought we're on the case of buying a basic simple modded one as you were using it to compare to the basic simple modded C32. If you want to heavily mod a C32 you can spend up to $15k easy on engine/tranny alone. also No Supra owner of right mind would sell their car cheap if they've spend $40k in mods. would you?

btw, Dragon's C55 S7K Kleemann I believe has warranty by Kleemann.

Ok, I see what you're saying. If the car already has a CPO or extended warranty, that is pretty much doing the same thing as what I am doing.

A low milage CPO vehicle is the best bet for getting a virgin C32 unless you actually know the previous owner. I doubt that someone would buy the C32, mod it, then turn it back to stock and flip it all in under 10k miles. It is possible but unlikely.

I got the C32 to do mild mods. I chose the C32 because it is a solid platform.

Yeah, someone that spent 40k+ on a Supra has no choice but to sell the car for cheap. They're on eBay frequently. Mods don't add much in value. About 7 months ago I sold a project car in pefect condition, well over 60k in work done over many years, sold it for 20k and I was happy. I'm not going to build another money pit, that's why I'm only doing mild mods. The reason why I was talking about heavily modded Supras is because there isn't really a point to getting a mildly modded one anymore. They're all high milage now, and even if it was stock, it would need significant refreshing, so you might as well get one that was already was juiced up.

I think the point (of this original thread anyway) is some guy is selling his NON-MODIFIED (unless you count the lighting) C32 at a discount from what he was originally asking for.

Nick

Yeah, we really drifted

Thanks for noticing Nick!!

LOL! well at least he's getting free bumps...

Maybe Benz dealers are different, but here's an experienced perspective from an Audi owner:

1. When "corporate" Audi came down hard on the dealers regarding fixing lots of blown turbos, control arms and related parts, the dealerships came down hard on the owners and stopped doing warranty work when there were ANY mods that could have ANY effect on the failed part.

2. CPO is a warranty, and nothing more. You cannot count on the dealership to have done ANYTHING with the car. They may fix things that need to be fixed (e.g. new tires), but for the most part, they just slap a warranty on it. I was looking at a 2002 Audi S6 (340HP V8 Avant) at a local Audi dealer. It had garbage mismatched tires, dirty interior, and it had a check-engine-light on!

I wish I could say that Benz dealers are better than that; but this Audi dealer also sells Benz.