Does a 5MT swap increase the resale?
 

I'm in the process of acquiring a nice, Red, '96 SVX that needs a transmission. I have a good '97 transmission....

I'd like to fix the car and drive it for awhile, but ultimately resell it. Does it seem like having a MT swap drives the price up, noticeably? From the craigslist pictures :rolleyes:, this car looks very nice, so there's a realistic possibility that it would pull buyers from a serious distance.

Re: Does a 5MT swap increase the resale?
 

If you manual swap it, the 96 will always have the check engine light on.

I think the swap does increase the value, but less then you would typically spend doing it, maybe by about $1000

Re: Does a 5MT swap increase the resale?
 

A Ha! That's what I forgot. If I were keeping it, that wouldn't bother me, but I hate explaining that it's OK to ignore a DTC when I'm selling a car...


That might be the straw that pushes me to keep it an auto. Thanks!

Re: Does a 5MT swap increase the resale?
 

No. The "value" of these cars is dismal. All the time, effort amd resources spent converting will eat up any profit you'd make in selling.

Re: Does a 5MT swap increase the resale?
 

I paid more to get a manual gearbox. But I think the market these days is tending more towards originality. If it really is clean and relatively rust free it could bring a decent price at auction. There's one on bringatrailer.com right now that you might want to follow to get some idea of the market. Hagerty's price guide shows values on the upswing as well.

If you do opt for the manual, make sure it's a quality job. I'd love to see what a well done 5-speed WRX swap would bring on BaT!

Re: Does a 5MT swap increase the resale?
 

I think for me personally I do want a 5 speed or 6 speed more than anything else and would purchase for that higher price, especially if it was clean, rust free and still had good paint, ..but if it were a 96 or 97 I would want the autotrans to be in it.

Just seems to me that the 96 and especially the 97 deserve to be stock and with the "check engine light" issue it makes it so that it could be harder to pass inspection.