Vehicle depreciation is a major consideration for anyone looking to sell their vehicle, as it can drastically affect your car resale value. Here are ten factors that can affect the resale value of your car. Watch out for these and keep your car in the best possible condition for sale.
- Leaves
If you park under a tree, you probably get plenty of leaves falling on your roof and hood every day. These seem harmless, but in heavy rain, acids can wash out of the leaves and leave spots on your paint. Worse, leaves that collect between the hood and windshield will eventually decompose, potentially causing rust and clogging airflow and drains inside the car.
- Tyres
While it may seem counter-intuitive to replace parts of your car right before selling, worn-out tyres can affect your car resale value enough to be worth the investment. Bald tyres tend to grip less effectively than new ones, making the car feel less safe to drive – especially in wet weather. To keep your tyres in good condition over time, always inflate them to the correct pressure.
- Droppings
As with leaves, the acids in droppings left by birds, bats and other creatures can cause lasting damage to your vehicle’s paint, and by extension your resale value. If you spot droppings anywhere on the car, wipe and rinse them off as soon as possible.
- Delayed Servicing and Maintenance
Getting your car serviced when it seems to be running fine can feel like a waste of money, but regular services are essential to minimising vehicle depreciation. Many of your car’s parts will have passed their “best before” dates, and will need replacing before they cause problems.
Also, even if you never have any troubles with your car, an irregular service record gives buyers much less confidence in your vehicle than a regular one.
- Mileage
A vehicle’s mileage is often taken as an indicator for how many kilometres it has left in it. As a result, cars that have done a high number of kilometres are seen as less reliable than low mileage cars, and tend to sell for less. You can keep the numbers down by only driving your car when you really need to, or taking public transport one day a week.
- Cosmetic Imperfections
While a couple of scratches are practically inevitable when owning a car, bear in mind that every cosmetic blemish reduces your car’s worth to prospective buyers. This also goes for any issues on the interior, so take care of your vehicle.
- Noises
Most people don’t want a car that makes unexpected sounds. Strange noises such as knocks around corners, squeaky belts or grinding gears can all erode buyer confidence, as they can signal underlying issues that may be expensive to fix in future.
- Colour
Colours and paint jobs go in and out of style like anything else, which is why trendy colour today may cause your car to sell for less in a couple of years. As a general rule, neutral colours that are more universally liked tend to sell at higher prices.
- Modifications
While you may expect modifications to improve your car resale value, the opposite is actually true. Like overclocking a computer, modifying your car may improve performance but cause parts to wear out faster. Buyers may also see modifications as an indicator that the car has been exposed to more extreme driving and conditions.
- Location
Supply and demand factors into any financial exchange. A hatchback may sell for higher in inner city areas where small and manoeuvrable vehicles are desired, but less in rural areas. The opposite can be true for large off-road vehicles, so try to maximise your car resale value by advertising in the right areas.
