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What are Upgrades worth?

desmomini

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The point is OP needs a fair market value for this asset, in a form that the ex finds acceptable.

People think divorces are decided by lawyers and courts, but the reality is two people have to ultimately agree on valuations, aided (and delayed) by lawyers and courts.

Any vehicle is "worth" its guaranteed wholesale value, which is the amount a dealer will pay today to buy it from you. Anything else is pure speculation and argument.

So you need documentation - at least three printed estimates that show the money that can had, TODAY, from selling to a buyer who will definitely buy today, which is a dealer.

Get one quote from Carmax, get one quote from KBB's instant cash offer (which will connect you to two or three dealer used car buyers in your area) and one quote from Carvana or Vroom. Print the three quotes out and find the mathematical average.

You'll notice at least Carvana asks about modifications. You'll also notice that mods either depress the value or don't make a difference. Sorry, guys - that is reality.

OP's ex won't believe it either, so it may be necessary to add a token amount (a few grand) to the number, just to get her to agree to that one point and continue to move through the process.

Divorce is a constant negotiation, many small financial compromises made by people who no longer want to talk to each other.
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Cux211

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That’s a tough one because generally anything you do means absolutely jack to book value it comes down to if you can find somebody that wants to pay for what you did which is tough
 

desmomini

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Adding to the post above - in the course of a marriage, money enters the household. When a marriage is dissolved, the money that is trackable is split in an equitable fashion. This comes down to so many gray areas, it ultimately falls to the couple to agree to valuations.

So, where did the money go? Investment assets are clearly traceable and their value is inarguable. A house's value is determined by an appraisal and/or recent sold comps. Vehicles are similarly valued by appraisals (which are verifiable offers to purchase, i.e. wholesale bids from dealers).

The goods that fill a house are either valueless (you each take your own clothes) or so depreciated as to make it worthwhile to determine a specific figure (you may have paid $3,000 for that sectional two years ago, but you'd be hard pressed to find a buyer on Facebook Marketplace to lug it out of your basement.) And the lion's share of money in a marital home goes to things that disappear - food, consumables, insurance, interest, etc.

The problems with mods are (1) you probably spent a lot on them through the years, and she resented that money disappearing, (2) you may then have justified their purchase by saying things like "These 37's will make this so much more desirable when I sell it one day!" and (3) the harsh reality is most mods make resale less desirable.

So, again, you SHOULD pay her nothing to account for their "value". You likely WILL grudgingly negotiate a cursory amount, just so you can move on with your lives. In order to move past this yourself, think of this analogy - if you sell your house as furnished, you might (or might not) get a very small percentage higher than its market value, but nowhere close to the price you paid for the furniture.
 

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SFDemo

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Make sure she adds the monthy total for hair, hair products, coloring, manicures, pedicures, make up and then go backwards as added value accessories for her. Just saying, that part would be a pay raise for me ;)
 

Remorseless

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ViperJon

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This thread is a good reminder to those that upgrade their Sport and it's now "better than a Rubicon" from the factory. Nothing wrong with modding to your hearts content....but don't expect much if any return on the investment. Most people don't want cheap Chinese parts Cletus and Travis put on in the backyard.
 

Spank

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To a private party, your mods have value and you can establish that based on condition and current availability. To a dealership, they're worthless.
 

YJdude

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I'm ABSOLUTELY floored by you guys that remarry after a divorce...and some of you more than once??
Marriage is like a hot stove and divorce is like touching it. Do it ONCE, then you stay the fuck away from the stove so it won't happen again. I will never understand how anyone can put their livelihood, pension, home/assets, Jeep, etc on the line a second, third or more times.
If marriage were a game at a casino where you have about a 50% chance of winning(US marriage survival rate)... If you win you don't get anything, but if you lose you lose half of everything you own.... NOBODY WOULD PLAY THAT GAME.. EVER.
 

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ChuckQue

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The parts are worth less than a good attorney, I’ll tell you that. Don’t get hosed being “the nice guy” like I did.
 

ablsu

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The value of mods when it comes to resale are near 0. Ive sold multiple modded vehicles over the years. I just sold my low mileage lifted Sierra AT4 yesterday. $7,000 in lift and tires. Got mid to high blue book for it. About the same value if it was stock. All the mods do is sometimes will help it sell quicker, but not for more money.

Go to a dealer and ask for trade value and most dealers wont add any value to the vehicle over a stock version.

Mods are done to an individuals taste, If anything they will hurt the value most of the time.
 

Shibadog

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Divorce? Subtract the purchase price of all accessories from the low Blue book price (‘ cause after all, Nobody’d want an ‘old modded Jeep. That’s your story-stick with it😏
 

lowmpg

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The times they are a changin' at the ol' Moosie house.

Getting a divorce, and I am trying to understand the value of upgrades.

I content that if I sold the Jeep today, the value would be zero. My soon to be ex believes the value is what I paid for the parts.

Answer is probably somewhere in the middle. What do y'all think?
Depends on the buyer, in many cases 'aftermarket' devalues...it doesn't increase value. Many buyers want to do their own mods, so buying something modded may not be what they are looking for. Best case for the most value, take the parts off and sell them independently.
 

Shibadog

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I remember well old Johnny Carson on the Tonite show. He was going through divorce like #3 or so. His comment “I’m never going to get married again. From now on I’ll just go out every 2 or three years, find a woman I hate, and buy her a house”😏
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