6 Tips to Increase the Resale Value of Your Car
- Written by Diana Smith
Most of the time, the biggest value of the car that you own is on the day that you’ve bought it. Depreciation mandates that, with each passing year, your car will be worth a bit less. Still, a huge portion of this value can be preserved by taking good care of your car. Other than this, you can develop a car selling strategy (even if you’re not selling it right away). This way, you can turn the value of this asset into something much more reliable.
Find a suitable platform
The platform that you choose will be vital for your ability to reach your audience. People who buy cars usually visit these pages and by listing your car here, you can easily get in touch with them. The trick is in selecting all the right categories, as then you enable people to find you via the filter system. For instance, they can use a stroller to set their price range, age and model of the vehicle. Provided that your car fits all these categories, it will pop up as a result of their search.
Optimize your page
Another thing you need to take into consideration is the optimization of your car’s page on one of these platforms. The thing is that you want to post the right photos and in order for this to work, you must first take the right photos. Fortunately, there’s an abundance of decent car photography guides and tutorials online for you to consider. Another thing worth keeping in mind is the fact that you want to write a decent description. Sure, you may be sentimental about your car but a potential buyer is not there to read your literary work. Keep it simple and to the point.
Improve its performance
This issue can be quite controversial for several reasons. First, there’s the problem of cost-effectiveness. It’s usually not worth your while to invest in performance parts for the vehicle that you intend to sell in a month or so. However, if you plan to sell the vehicle in a foreseeable future but, for the time being, you intend to still keep it as your primary vehicle, this might just be a great idea. For instance, you can browse through the race motors category and see if there’s a model that would be a great fit for your own vehicle.
Drive carefully and focus on the maintenance
In order to keep the value of the car high at all times, you need to understand the basic concepts of proper driving habits and adequate maintenance. In other words, this is not a trick or a maintenance project, it’s a continuous effort to prolong the useful life of your car. Now, the depreciation hits personal vehicles quite hard, which is why there’s only so much that you can do about it. Cars lose value over the course of time but the condition still counts and definitely goes into the price.
Keep it clean
Keeping the car clean is important for several reasons. First, it matters from the perspective of the first impression. Seeing a messy car is not a problem for a buyer. They know that they can just wash the car themselves without much effort. However, keeping the car dirty even while you’re trying to sell it can be an indicator of poor overall maintenance on your part. Other than this, some dirt accumulates and causes even greater damage over time.
Take note of all your paperwork
Previously, we’ve mentioned that future buyers may be fearful about your car’s history. This is why it’s such a great idea to take note of all your paperwork, especially maintenance records. The papers should speak in your stead, seeing as how written and material evidence tends to be far more conclusive, objective and, at the end of the day, even convincing. In the digital era, scanning or even photographing these documents is far more convenient, it takes less space and it’s easier to share.
The car that you own is one of your most valuable assets. This is why its resale value is so important for your overall net worth. You see, as an asset, the resale value of your car is something that determines how much money you can acquire in the shortest amount of time. Its appeal can shorten this time, which virtually turns your car into a liquid asset. This means that you don’t actually need to have the intention of selling your car in order to want to keep its resale value high.