Anyone care to comment on the subject of modding rifles and their values?
I have a couple guys who are urging me not to put any rail or forend or gas block on my 6920, as they say it will lose approx 40% of it’s value if a potential future buyer knows that these mods were once done to my rifle.
Of course, I would be honest with the buyer, and let him know that even though the rifle is in it’s stock form (as it would be if I ever were to sell it), it was once modded up a bit, and had a rail, gas block, etc.
Has anyone around here found this to be true, or witnessed this first hand???
Basically, one thing that I need to do is ask myself IF I am ever going to possibly sell the rifle, and this will determine a lot right there.
However, I would very much like to know about rifles that were once modified with accessories, and how this affects their value???
Rule #1- don’t booger anything up.
Second, buy once, buy right. Start with a good rifle that you should have no reason to sell. As long as you follow the first rule you can remove anything you add and you shouldn’t have a problem getting full RESALE value. But, keep the factory stuff. I have found it’s not worth selling off little parts just for a little extra cash. It’s better to keep them around as spares and if you ever decide to resell, you can put them back on.
It’s kind of like cars in a way. You won’t hurt a cars resale value by putting new wheels on it right after you buy it but it will still be worth much less than brand new for the simple fact that it’s used.
Some used rifles get much closer to their original cost than others.
Unless you have a M16 or a early Colt or Armalite(the original pre Colt Armalite) AR15, you can modify the thing all you want and not reduce it’s resale value as long as the modifications are done properly. The whole “modify a firearm and reduce it’s resale value” thing is a collectors thing. A old firearm all beat up and unsafe to shoot but in unaltered condition can be worth more to them than a well maintained, low round count, refinished one made around the same time.
I tend to agree with Kilo. No matter what you put on it, the guys behind the shelf at the gun store are going to lowball you. As long as you put high quality kit on you carbine you should be fine. I often see modded guns on the EE go for more than their original forms. The gun store people may try to rape you, but if you sell on the net you should get a fair price.
mod that carbine as you want.
just keep the factory stuff so you’ll be always able to reassemble is as out of the box 
Why not just get another upper and keep your original components, don’t mess with your original factory upper if you’re worried about the value going down.
As for other mods like free float handguard and low profile gas blocks, you could do that on your new upper, add rail panels, VFG, light, change the grip to what’s comfortable to you and change the stock that have a better cheekweld like Vltor, SOPMOD, Magpul, etc., just keep your original components that you removed.
Also get top of the line brands to go with your high quality carbine and even if you sell your parts later on they would keep most of their value, don’t sell them to a dealer, they’re going to make a profit by buying it at a very low price from you.
I modified my Colt AR6721 Tactical Carbine with a better mid length gas system barrel but with the same quality or better than the production barrels, installed a LaRue FF mid size rails, changed the grip to the Magpul MIAD because it fits me better and changed the stock to a better cheek weld, high quality battle proven Vltor modstock kit (with all Vltor parts, hardware and buffer tube), it should not bring the value down mostly with the buyers that want those high quality components already installed, I’m not selling it.
There are some members here that get a second same exact model rifle and keep it factory stock as a backup.
I know there are some guys that don’t like to change a factory Colt but most guys like the way I upgraded my carbine and it’s my weapon so to each his own.
Change your carbine the way you want and enjoy it.
if i buy a used gun, the condition it’s in (wear and tear of the ‘working components’, approx number of rounds down the barrel) is going to matter to me more than what’s hanging off it, stock or aftermarket.
actually, if a gun has aftermarket parts on it, the seller usually has the stock parts along to go with it, and it sweetens the deal (IMHO).
as others have mentioned above, unless it’s some kind of genuinely collectable gun that may appreciate in price, i wouldn’t worry about modding it. resale value is never on my mind when i buy a gun to shoot.
Let’s pretend you install a LT 9.0 and LT GB. Did that just decrease the value of the weapon?? Hell no! It is now worth a lot more money to a good number of people who don’t want the hassle of installing a FF rail system.
C4
A lot has to do with ‘who’ assembled the modified weapon
I might tend to pay more for a modded gun from a well known smith…
You can get a Shaw barrel a CMT upper and a bcg from Joe Snuffy the ‘Ragman’
and have his brother slap on some DD or LMT extras…or get a Bravo Company upper half…with the extras and have Paul do the work…
Who ya gonna trust more?..to do the work right…
I’d tend to pay more just for the ‘assurance’ factor…
imo
Non-permananent mods that return the gun to original configuration are fine.
Permanent mods, or remnants of same, that were expertly done may be fine, or may devalue the gun depending on what they were, and how the new buyer feels about them.
Most decent quns will maintain a base value, unless critical components are compromised.
I personally wouldn’t pay a premium for simple bolt-on items regardless of who put them on. Rails, buffer tubes, even replacement grips…don’t seem that hard to me when I installed mine. As long as nothing is stripped or damaged, I can always redo it to specs.
For someone that doesn’t want to deal with that or doesn’t have the tooling to install such items, then I would recognize the importance of having that extra peace of mind on buying a commercially customized unit.
Most AR15 stuff is bolt-on anyhow and there aren’t really any “permanent” mods to do off the top of my head. On my Saiga-12 conversion, I had to ream existing holes in the receiver and mill off the tang. Now that’s permanent 
On a modern rifle, they’re produced in significant quantity that if you want to mod it, go for it… if it’s truly a ‘collector’s piece’ then just put it in your safe and mod a gun you’ll actually shoot. In that case, it doesn’t matter who does the mods, it’s more a matter of if they were done right.