What Goes into Your Car’s Resale Value? | All-Fit Automotive
So, you’re getting ready to sell your vehicle. What can you expect to get for your old ride? There are many factors that can affect your car’s resale value. If you’re looking to get the most for your car, you’ll have to make sure it’s well-maintained and runs smoothly with all of its parts in good working order. Think about what goes into the buyer’s mind when they’re looking for a pre-owned vehicle, and factor those standards in when you decide it’s time to sell. With that in mind, let’s go over some ways you can boost your resale value.
Current Vehicle Condition
One of the most important factors that goes into determining resale value is the visible condition of your car. Not only is a clean, well-maintained vehicle more desirable, it also shows that you’ve taken good care of the car, which could translate to sound mechanical upkeep as well.
Starting on the car’s exterior, make sure you’ve kept the quality of the paint job. Also, take care of any dents or scrapes that crop up over the course of years of parking and day-to-day driving. Make sure your windows work properly and are free of any holes or cracks, and take extra care to clean the interior. Vacuum your seats thoroughly and stop by a car wash or auto body shop for a strong air freshener. Remember, there’s nothing quite like that new car smell!
Mileage
Total mileage is another important factor when determining any resale value. Cars with a high mileage are indicative of many years of use, and many buyers and dealers generally equate higher mileage with more mechanical problems. Keep in mind that resale values start to drop off quickly after 100,000 miles, though some makes and models are valued for their longevity and may hold or increase their resale price depending on their condition.
Mechanical Upkeep
Have you invested time and money into your car’s health? Many car owners document all of the work that has been done on the car. If major repairs and maintenance work have been done more recently, the car may appear more attractive to the buyer.
Regular maintenance checks are also a good sign for an informed buyer. This indicates that the owner of the car is taking good care of it, and addressing any issues that come up, as opposed to letting them go on to cause further damage and wear.
Vehicle Type
Make, model, and year are all essential considerations that go into the resale value for many cars. Different makes net varying resale values simply because of these distinctions. For example, Japanese manufacturers like Nissan, Toyota, and Honda produce cars that are well-regarded for their enduring quality, with many consumer reports that support these brands’ claims for durability and affordability when it comes to maintenance. However, quality and track records can be wildly different even in different models and model years. A given car model will have a general set of statistics for field performance, which buyers and sellers pay attention to when negotiating sales.
Of course, you can also expect a car’s value to increase significantly if it is a sought-after classic model that is only available in limited numbers.
Features
Extras that add comfort to your car’s riding experience also factor into the total resale value. Various features like power windows and locks, automatic transmissions, leather seats, sunroofs, stereo systems, anti-lock brakes, and other perks will definitely bump up the value of your car. So, if your car has these, make sure they’re working properly.
Putting It All Together
If you go to look up the value of your car by make, model, and year in a trusted reference like the Kelley Blue Book, you will often find different tiers of value given your mileage and the condition of your car. To determine your car’s resale value, it helps to look up these resale values and estimate the condition of your car. After that, you can add or subtract value based on the various features of your car as discussed above. After that, it is up to the buyer to agree to your price.