I think we might have a disconnect here. When most guys say that "you won't get your money back", they mean that the cost of labor + parts won't get automatically added to the value of the vehicle. but (assuming the mods were done well with good parts) some value will get added to the rig. If you add a $4000 paint job to a $2000 truck, you won't get a $6000 truck, but you can get maybe a $4000 truck. maybe? Essentially the parts/labor depreciates, but the truck will gain some value.