How much is a used car worth? This is a question we get asked often at Hyper Racing and it is one that is not easily answered. This guide can help you price accurately and purchase with confidence. Our goal is to educate the buyer and to protect the seller with pricing and purchasing pre-owned race cars.

A big challenge with buying and selling used chassis is the seller and the buyer do not pay enough attention to all the extras, options, upgrades, and spares. These items can dramatically impact the value of a pre-owned product.

First, figure out the full retail value of the car being sold, taking into account all the extras, options and upgrades. Add in the retail costs of everything being offered.

A great way to do this is to use our X7 600cc Micro Sprint Chassis Configurator.

Then, take the retail price of the car and depreciate it based on the chassis model year, condition, and finally the demand. Browse social media sites where used equipment is sold to get an idea of the market, and ask questions.

• Like New- Hard to tell the car is not new, probably less than 8 races on car.
• Excellent- Very few dents in the bumpers, body panels are in really good shape, no bent axles, shocks, radius rods,and functionally the car is perfect. The tires even look barely used
• Good- Normal dents in the bumpers, the body panels are in decent shape, no bent axles, shocks, radius rods, functionally the car is good. It can be raced as is, although the tires are worn quite a bit.
• Fair- Car needs to have some items replaced before it can be raced. For example the front axle may be bent, one of the front shocks may be bent, or one of the wheels is bent. Overall the car was raced hard and the components were raced hard. This condition will apply more to the 3 year and older cars.
• Poor- Car is missing parts and in need of obvious repair. How could anyone have raced this thing? It even still needs washed! Our advise? Run the other way! The technology is changing so fast, it will be hard to get spares, and the time you will take to fix it up will long outweigh the savings.

This applies to the manufacturer brand as well as the model year of the car. When a manufacturer makes major changes to the car, generally the older ones are more available. Every once in a while, a new manufacturer's design might not be as popular and people want the old one. Keep in mind too that the demand in your area may be low, but it may be high in another area of the country. Sometimes advertising your car to different areas of the country is a smart thing.

• High Demand- Everyone wants one of these. It is the most popular car in your area.
• Medium Demand- There is a group of people who want this type of car but it is not the most popular.
• Low Demand- Some people want it just because they can’t afford the one in high demand or because they simply want to be different.
• No Demand-Perfect for someonewho wants to race just for fun and does not care about performance. No one else is going to buy this car, so the price should be very low.

Engine modifications can impact the value of a car. If it is a good reputable engine builder who builds reliable engines, add to the value of the retail cost to purchase price if the engine has been built or rebuilt less than 7 races ago. If the engine needs to be rebuilt, subtract the rebuild price. Buyers, be smart about this though, you can never tell the shape of the engine by looking at it, so you are taking the seller's word on it. If in doubt, ask to see receipts for the work.

Lettering, paint, powder coating, and assembly add no value to a used car since most of the buyers are going to repaint and re-letter them. If you are one who does not plan on repainting the car when you get it, then this may be something that is going to add value to the car you are buying.