Does the name on a lower receiver determine resale value?

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TheGewehrGuy

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I am considering buying a Mega Gator Lower Receiver, which is basically a no-name, high, high-quality receiver for really cheap. $124

Or I can spend the extra $6 and get a S&W M&P 15 lower.

If I slap a big name, but lower quality receiver, will it probably raise re-sale value?

Not that I am ever going to sell it, but in the event that I did decide to sell it, I would want to get the most I can out of it.
 
Aero Precision is selling lowers for $75, forged 7075, they make Spikes uppers and lowers and several others names. Don't look at the name engraved, look at how it is manufactured. There is a glut of AR parts on the market and prices are down and well keep going down.
 
If you do resale, an off-brand may make it harder to find a buyer or it may lower your value. Lots of people don't understand that the name often only denotes who made the receiver. When people see "S&W" on the receiver, the assumption may be that the whole gun was made by S&W, a reputable manufacturer. Then name "Mega Gator" might be a detractor for some. On the other hand, it might raise the value in Gainesville, Florida. :)
 
It will really depend on the buyer.

My guess is though, the only name that will seriously influence the value in a postive direction is "Colts mfg" on the side.

Certainly there are some other marquee names, but none have the recognition and associated name value that Colt does.
 
Your average buyer has probably never heard of Mega Gator, I didn't until this thread. A name brand like S&W or Colt will be your best bet, Spike's at a minimum. There are probably still plenty of first time AR buyers who have never heard of them either. How important is resale to you? If it's important, spend the extra six bucks.
 
Big names for selling to the undereducated in AR stuff.

Names like Mega and Aero Precision for selling to those who know or research.

BTW, I have built two AP lowers and I find that (1) machining and fit is absolutely perfect, and (2) the anodizing is rather delicate compared to most brands. And I've read similar comments from others.

I have a Mega billet lower not yet built, but it seems great in all apparent ways.
 
it's not so much the name as it is the risk of build quality.

put yourself in the buyer's shoes. if someone offered that rifle for sale to you, your first thought would probably be, "this guy read the DIY build thread on ar15.com, bought the cheapest parts he could find on the internet, and is trying to sell me his first build. i wonder if it works?"

at least, that's what i'd be thinking. that and, if it doesn't work, there's no warranty or returns

nothing wrong with mega though, or aero, or lots of others
 
I'd go with the lower YOU like best. For me I fell in love with the SW M&P-15 stripped lower and paid $130 for it locally when I could have saved a little buying online and doing a transfer. Did the same later for an ArmaLite lower for $120. Never been sorry about the Smith though sometimes wish I'd gone with something other than the ArmaLite. (Nothing wrong with it, just plain jane compared to the glamorous S&W.)

Really the difference in cost in stripped lowers is a drop in the bucket compared to the complete rifle and today I'm real glad I didn't save $10-20 and go with DoubleStar or other lesser known rollmarks. Nothing at all wrong with them but it is YOUR build so use the parts YOU want. If you're torn between Mega and S&W I can tell you the Smith is as good a lower as any I've seen (haven't seen a Mega first hand), and easily nicer looking than ArmaLite, DS and many others. Beautiful finish, laser etching, attention to detail and nicely flared magwell. Love mine.

My son-in-law got a Charles Daly lower because it was made in his hometown (which I thought was an interesting idea). I have to say it's beautiful and rivals the M&P-15.
 
I was pretty happy with my $150 Aero Precision (complete with stock) lower on my first AR build. I ended up selling the full rifle for somewhere in the neighborhood of $250 profit.

Now I've got a factory special order CMMG that I've upgraded, but I'll be ordering another Aero Precision lower sometime around tax season. They're built to the same specs as any other mil-spec lower, and cost on average $80-$100 less.
 
Hmmm, this is such a difficult decision!

$130, I can get the S&W and get a higher resale value but I don't plan on selling it at all, I plan on keeping my first AR.

The place where I am buying the lower sells the Aero Precision on sale for $70 right now.
And the kit I am buying from the place includes an upper made by Aero Precision, so I would expect a tight fit.


I live in Washington state, about 20 minutes away from Tacoma, so it would be kind of cool to have the majority of the parts made in my state I guess. Mega also made 15 minutes away strangely lol.


Alright so here's a question:

How does Mega compare to Aero Precision?
 
Hmmm, this is such a difficult decision!
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Over six bucks?! Man, we need you in Washington :D

Seriously, for the price of a lunch at McDonalds you can have a quality lower that will enhance the value of your rifle in the event that you do ever sell it. You never know.
 
...The place where I am buying the lower sells the Aero Precision on sale for $70 right now.
And the kit I am buying from the place includes an upper made by Aero Precision, so I would expect a tight fit...
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Well that puts a new spin on things. Aero Precision is a quality lower and in your case is $54 less than Mega. Since you're going with an Aero Precision upper it makes sense to mate it to the same brand lower - and save money.

Odds are you'll do another build down the road and could go with Mega then... :p
 
Hmmm, this is such a difficult decision!
Click to expand...

Yeah, right. Just wait. The more difficult decisions are down the road. Like right after you first shoot and realize you didn't build the one you really wanted. The you sell off parts or cannibalize your upper to build the upper you really, really want. Then you realize you need between 2 and 4 uppers because you really, really, really want a few different things. The you realize you should build another lower for all these uppers so you don't have to switch as often and you can try out that other stock you've been wanting....it just never ends!?
 
If the buyer can discern it's not a factory shipped and assembled gun, it will not have the same price. Kitchen table guns, even if all one brand, still take a hit. And given that the $6 for S&W is the issue, I would have bought Spikes, or AGP, or something else for $80 and moved on. It's already a home built, and that's what most buyers will see regardless.

What counts more is if it's ALL from the same maker. ALL Colt sells for more than frankenColt, or frankenNoveske, or whatever.

Timing will determine a lot, too, selling a parts gun right when the new Improved Carbine is coming out on the market - speculating that it's everything the ACR was and more, including the right price - will kill resale of AR's. They will be yesterday's C&R, sinking into the abyss of cheap ex-military grade guns now known to be less than what we thought. :uhoh:

New and cool usually trumps old school, and the marketers work that to the fullest.
 
How does Mega compare to Aero Precision?
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Both have essentially perfect, flawless machining based on receivers I own and on all I've read elsewhere.

The AP lowers I have have somewhat delicate anodizing as I noted earlier. The Mega has anodizing that looks about the same but since I haven't assembled it I don't know how it will hold up. Neither one truly looks like genuine milspec Class III hard anodizing because they are both too black, too uniform and too thin looking, but I'm not an expert so maybe they are in fact anodized to that standard (I am going based on the anodizing I see on Bushmaster, older Armalite (2003) and DSA lowers, all of which appear to be correct hard anodizing, as well as anodizing I see on various other parts that I believe have been hard anodized). As an aside, true milspec hard anodizing tends to be dull and slightly gray looking, not very pretty.

Basically, for someone getting into ARs, I don't think there is any meaningful difference between the forged lowers from Aero Precision and Mega, and I would buy the cheaper one.
 
Timing will determine a lot, too, selling a parts gun right when the new Improved Carbine is coming out on the market - speculating that it's everything the ACR was and more, including the right price - will kill resale of AR's. They will be yesterday's C&R, sinking into the abyss of cheap ex-military grade guns now known to be less than what we thought.
Click to expand...

That's quite a negative prognosis for the venerable AR platform. I had no idea it was on the verge of total obsolesence. :scrutiny: BTW, the "right price" of that outlook is a pretty big contingency.
 
Aero Precision is a big Company that produces the receivers for Armalite and Spikes Tactical. Bothh of these companies are top notch in what they offer, so, I would buy the Aero Precision lower any day of the week.
Matter of a fact I have 10 on order in consecutive serials right now. Going to hide them in the safe and forget about them for a while.
 
45 years of the AR won't make it go away, but once a new model becomes issue, the M16 will be as old hat as the Garand.

A generation is waiting for THEIR battle rifle, not their grandpa's. The Army won't screw it up, it will have better features than the M16. It's already been seen with the new models, all it lacks is a comfortable price and an acceptance stamp.

Check the retro forums elsewhere, collectors are driving up prices on early parts, in some categories, they are as expensive as new. Early AR15's already qualify as C&R's, in a few more days, 1961 will be the threshold year. In this decade more will qualify and be shipped direct to C&R license holders without brokerage through an FFL.

They only have to be 50 years old. Home delivery of an "assault weapon" is just around the corner. All it takes is a C&R, time, and cubic feet of money.

Some of you will be taking advantage of it.
 
Don't mean to highjack but, other than the heavier barrel/more accuracy, what is so new about the new M4A1?
 
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