Resale: weld in roll bar
 

So, what do you guys think a 4 point welded in roll bar would do to resale value on these cars if the full interior was still in the car.


**No need to comment, post, preach about roll bar/seat/harness combos etc. Lets keep discuss related to the short and long term financial parts of this part/install.

I think you know the answer. Once you do that, you've 100% committed to making it your track beast.

"Never beat on?"

"Nah"

-looks at rollbar-

This.


You have to remember track cars only appeal to a limited number of people out there. The average person isn't going to want a roll cage in their street car. Once you go through the work of adding a roll cage...it's moved well beyond being a simple street car, which unfortunately decreases its value.

I know it will be an automatic deterring thing for many. Some cars seem to always get them(Miata or s2k) and values are on par with "stock" vehicles.

What are we thinking 2k? I'll probably keep the car for at least 2 more years. By then, more people might be looking for one that is "ready to go".

Reminds me of a drag bike picture the local shop used to have pinned up. 1 wheel in the air launching and said, 'For sale: Low Mileage, Only Driven on Weekends.' :lol:

Those are convertibles. Roll bars are often installed in convertibles to make them safer (or at least appear so) in the rare instance of a rollover on the street. Nobody puts a roll bar in a hard top for street use.

The irony of the situation is that many (most?) track guys do not want a car that is "ready to go". They are in fact the ones that either look for one that has been written off for really cheap or a low miles pristine one driven by a grandma someplace.
Don't know about actual dollar value but would be willing to guess that a welded in bar is gonna kick the living crap out of resale.

That can be true, some also look at modded cars from the basis of saving money in the long run.


I know thats how most of the people I race with are. Buy cars already built, save bunches of money, and just have to redo a couple things.

A roll bar in a street car is a BAD idea. When your head hits an airbag or padded interior it hurts. When your head hits a roll bar its a lot worse. Stay away unless its a track car and you are going to do seats and belts.

Along that same line, you don't want to be wearing a 5-6pt harness on the street.

That said, for the OP, value also depends on how the bar is done. A buddy of mine has an e92 M3 that we installed a 4pt and Recaro shells in but he had the bars powder coated space gray (to match the black/red/gray theme) and had the interior refinished/carpeted and so it looks like it rolled out of the factory that way (similar to a Porsche GT3 RS). In his case, even though it's seen a few track days, it looks like a show car so it will retain more value.

As for the Miata/S2k's, they look sportier with roll bars, it adds safety, and most importantly, it's not interfering with back seats or storage so there's really no downside value wise to having one. Plus most sanctioning bodies won't let those cars on track without a full spec cage that passes the broomstick test so simply having a roll bar wouldn't necessarily indicate a 'track car' to a potential buyer.

My reasoning for wanting something back there is for running HANS. There doesn't seem to be much on the market for a decent harness bar that doesn't cost the same price as a roll bar.

The bar wouldn't be ghetto. Properly installed, painted, interior reinstalled, etc. I do STX Class SCCA autox, so can't loose too much with this. The GT3 style idea is what my mind thinks.

Yes, there are back seats, but they are useless. I ussually just throw some random stuff back there anyways.

I'd never buy a used car with a cage, unless if it were a full track build and I had no intention of driving it as a daily. It'd have to have race seats, harness, $$$ suspension, and track reliability mods (oil cooling, etc...) with documentation. Otherwise, it'd be more cost effective to buy a salvage title car and do it myself.

This is going to be the thought process of the pretty much everyone looking for a track car. Even the guys who have enough money to go buy a brand new car and turn it into a track car.

They want the fun and experience of building their own car versus buying one that's pre-built, or mostly built. The only people I see wanting something pre-built are the dude-bro's who don't really know what they are doing and don't care. They think a track car is going to give them "street cred" with the other dude-bro's they run with.