I took a page from the McLaren F1 and had all my exhaust shielding gold-plated. Will that bump resale value?
When it comes to mods and resale value, it really depends. Will putting headers and an exhaust on your car diminish resale value? No, but you also can't expect to get all the money back for the mods you put in.
Will painting your NSX bright pink have a negative effect? You bet, because it is more of a personalized mod. The more personalized your car becomes, the harder the sale. It starts to become a subjective call, instead of a simple by-the-numbers commodity trade.
It is interesting to note that the collector car trade itself is changing. There is a shift away from static events and toward more driving-focused events. As a result, on older cars, mods like disc brake upgrades, dual circuit master cylinders, and modern ignitions are not only accepted, but actually encouraged for safety. Perfect originality is becomming less important because it effects driveability and enjoyment.
Also, the older a car becomes, the less significant mileage becomes in determining value (in my opinion) - because maintenance becomes more important as a car ages. Once a car is ten years old, it is more a reflection of its owner history and maintenance log than mileage.
Once a Corvette (or any car) has had a frame-off restoration, the value is based more on the quality of the restoration and less on mileage.
A well-maintained NSX with detailed service history will continue to be a good investment. I often compare the NSX to the Pantera - more of an enthusiast car, not mainstream, borderline exotic. Its rarity is its greatest asset, because as more cars get wrecked and engines get blown up, they only get rarer.
For the time being, I think we (current NSX owners) are in the cat bird seat because supply is now fixed, parts are still easily available, and the successor is still years away. Right now, it still costs about 32-35K for a nice early NSX (cheaper cars are out there, but you have to include repair costs, which usually bumps you back up to 32-35). Prices have been at that level for at least the last 5 years - not much movement.
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