Maximising car resale value: Four tips to get the best price
When it comes to cars, our preferences and needs are constantly changing. Combine this with the breakneck speed of development in the auto manufacturing industry, and you’ll see why protecting car resale value is very important.
Many of us find ourselves wanting to sell our current ride in favour of an upgrade every four or five years due to changes in our lives. This is totally normal – cars are probably the first thing that needs to change when lifestyles do! But this buying and selling cycle makes protecting and enhancing car resale value extremely important.
Here are our four top tips on maximising your car’s resale value to get the best price.
Four ways to increase car resale value
1. Make it mainstream
For many of us, our cars are a great way to express our individuality. We can choose the colour and add external accessories to make our car look uniquely ours, and get internal modifications to make it louder, faster or more comfortable.
Individuality is great while you’re the car’s owner – but not so great when you’re selling it to someone else. When it comes to selling a car, the more standard it is, the better.
Keep this in mind while you’re considering uncommon colours, upgrades and modifications, and importantly, when you’re choosing between manufacturers. Cars from mainstream manufacturers like Toyota, Mazda, Holden, Mitsubishi and Nissan fetch better resale values across the board because people know and trust them.
2. Choose an automatic vehicle
Automatic cars have been outselling manual ones for about 20 years, so it won’t come as a surprise that they’re easier to sell. Not only are automatic cars easier to drive – this is especially true in cities, where stop-and-start rush hour traffic makes driving manual cars a pain – but they also give you a far bigger pool of potential buyers.
Only about 9% of cars sold in Australia are manual, so if you’d rather sell to the 91% of the population that drives automatic, consider becoming one of them!
3. Be smart about upgrades
Not everyone loves leather upholstery, heated seats or sunroofs enough to pay thousands of extra dollars for them. If you compare car prices on online car sales platforms or at dealerships, a standard car will fetch around the same price as the same model of car with all your bells and whistles.
So, if you want to upgrade or modify, do so for your own enjoyment – not the car resale value.
4. Protect the interior with car mats
Investing a few hundred dollars in car mats now could save you at least twice as much when it comes to car resale value. Mats stop dirt, pet hair, food, liquids and general wear and tear from dirtying and damaging the actual interior of your car. When they get ratty, simply replace them, and your car’s interior will stay as fresh as new.
The other time-honoured way to maximise car resale value is to get it serviced regularly. This ensures it’s reliable and well-maintained, and ultimately very appealing to potential buyers.
If you’d like to get yours serviced, we’re here to help – no bookings are required, so stop in at your local Express Lube anutime.
