Posted by James in Guide, maintenance, resale value, tips

TIPS on Keeping Your Car’s Resale Value

These tips are best if you haven’t yet got a car or you are still in the process of buying a new car for investment. Although if you have already one, you can still follow some of the tips I will provide to maintain the high value of your car.

1. When buying a car choose standard colors. Standard colors are the set of colors leaves a classic and conventional car color. You may think that these colors are the basic colors but in reality, these are the colors most buyers wanted to buy and that it is always in style no matter what. These are best seller colors that are still hot in the market although its ubiquity is actual but still preferred by most. These are the colors black, white and red. Can you have an easy time selling a pink or violet car? Now this is what I’m telling about. So if your car’s paint is more on the extreme side like a fuchsia or beige, invest on new car paint now if you’re planning to sell your car.
2. Prevention is always better than cure. This is applicable with this second tip. Maintain a routine inspection and maintenance of your car. The earlier it is inspected for any damage the earlier it is prevented to cause further damage and problems as well. Regular service check will prevent any severe damage on your vehicle that will cause it to breakdown.
3. Hydrate your car always. As I mentioned in my previous post, always keep your car’s fluid level up. Oil, fuel, coolant, refrigerant and other type of fluids used in car’s performance and functions should always be filled. Car runs smoothly with fluids. Always follow the recommended oil change every 3000 miles or every couple of months whichever comes first.
4. Do necessary repairs over damaged vehicle parts. If you have just recently encountered or get involved in an accident, fix any damage immediately. This will bring bad impact over your reputation as a seller and it will drop a large bracket on your car’s resale value.
5. Don’t abuse your car with high mileage. Logically, higher mileage over your car’s gauge means a higher wear and tear on its vehicle parts especially on tires and engine
6. Remember that rust is your vehicle’s number one enemy. Applying rust protectants is your best remedy to prevent any early rust tendencies.
7. Include cleaning in your routine maintenance. Avoid dirt accumulation on your carpets, seats and liners. Regular washing and having it vacuumed are two of the simplest way to maintain cleanliness inside your car. As for the exterior, focus your cleaning on your wheels, the trims especially. Accumulated dirt over your wheel trims can leave a disgusting appeal on your car. This dirt will also scratch your expensive wheel alloys so better clean it regularly.
8. Floor liners, cargo liners and floor mats are not just pieces of styling accessories. If put into good use, this car accessories will protect you car to the most from marring, dents, scratches, mud and spills.
9. Invest on a safe car garage or parking area. It will be very unfortunate if you damage your car while you are confident with how you store your car. Or, if you don’t have a proper garage for your car, you will eventually find your car’s paint faded and damage due to weather condition of rain, sun and snow. Plus the possibility of thief, burglars and other accidents of damage if you park your cars unguarded outside your house.

That’s it. I hope you learned something new with these tips

Posted by James in Guide, maintenance, resale value, tips

Here is my follow-up and part II post of my blog entry “Keeping Your Car’s Resale Value”.

8 EASY AND SIMPLE WAYS TO MAINTAIN YOUR CAR’S VALUE

1. Don’t abuse your car. This could be done by avoiding driving your car in excessive miles. The potential depreciation value of your vehicle could be directly influence by the high mileage it had undergone.
2. Keep away from rust. Rust is the number one cause of corrosion and damage on your vehicle leaving an unappealing and awful sight on your car. Since your vehicle body frames is made and molded from metal, it is wise to get rust coating and applying it over should be done regularly. As I mentioned, if you live in a place where cold climate and winters is natural be sure to wash and remove the road salt deposits on its body especially the wheel rims and underbody to prevent early rust tendencies. Target the vehicle parts that are prone to accumulate moisture, salt build-up and water such as the fenders and panels.
3. Maintain a clean and proper garage for your vehicle. Two abrasive elements, the Sun and the cold weather. These two elements are your valid and enough reason to keep a good garage for your vehicle. Extreme sunlight can fade away your vehicle’s paint and surface while extreme cold climate can have direct assault on your internal components on your vehicle’s engine like the air and fuel filter.
4. Clean your car often. By often, it means you have a regular routine for it. A periodic range of having your car completely detailed will preserve the quality of your car, not only on its exterior but its interior as well.
5. Your car is neither your kitchen nor your dining area. Eating inside your car is one of the top reasons why your car’s interior shows early sign of damage. Accidental spills will lead to floor panel corrosions as well as stain over your carpets, seats and dashboards. Avoid smoking inside your car as well.
6. Keep a friendly semblance too your service mechanic. Well not in exaggerated way, but you must frequent your vehicle with shop visits for routine inspection. You must keep your records of maintenance or repairs if it has since buyers ask this to owners or sellers first. Also, nothing beats the maintenance or repair that is done by professional or experts so do-yourself-jobs is not reliable and practical at all times.
7. Keep away from any modification that will damage your car. As you decide over a modification, make sure that it will not sacrifice any of your vehicle parts or cause damage to any of it like paint chirps and scratches or altered the original specification of your car. Alteration sometimes decreases the cars value even if you have done it to upgrade.
8. Don’t let wear and tear pass your car! If any of your car parts need replacement already, get one immediately. Or else, that component may extend further damage to its adjacent component. Say for example you have a rusty header panel, be sure to replace it or its rust will eats up its parts connected to it like then bumpers or the headlight casing.

 

Easy ways, isn’t it? If you religiously follow this and keep this in mind, you will never have the difficulty to maintain the pristine value of your car. This way, you will keep a hold and control over its depreciation value or appreciation value if yours is a classic car.

For my next post, I will share with you tips on how to maintain your car’s value. Good Day Everyone!

Posted by James in Guide, checklist, maintenance, resale value

If you keep at least a little space in your mind that you are going to sell your car in the future better remember that most often, buyers are pays more for a car that has a full set and complete line of maintenance records. After all, it is what the buyer will ask of your first. As I mentioned in my previous post, asking for the vehicle’s history of maintenance and problems should be your number one question to prioritize. On the other way around, if you would like to have no sweat in making a deal for your car, maintaining its resale is must.

So start taking extra good care of your vehicle. Maintenance of its engine performance and those components that are not easy to be and get replacement should be where you should focus more. Put on the last of your list the components that have less expensive replacement or that it is easy to be reinstalled and will not affect much the value of your car like door handles and mirrors.

Remember also that car maintenance varies depending on several factors. If you are leaving in a coastal area where early rusting tendencies is possible, then it is just appropriate to give your vehicle a double maintenance routine than living elsewhere. Take note also of the weather pattern your place has, it is a more snowy part of the country? If yes, you better install or pre-coat your vehicle and its component with rust-proofing or protectant.

To put it a manner of list, here are some question that will affect your car’s routine maintenance or that on its car value.

1. Your Place. As I mentioned, the place where you live matters.
2. Demand for your Car. In this where the principle of economics enters, as the supply is greater the demand is lesser. Say, there are lots of this particular make and model as yet, of course if you are going to sell yours its selling price will rocket down. That’s why some manufacturer releases an entry trim under limited edition so they can double its price.
3. Vehicle Performance. Who does not need extra powered car these days? 1 out of 100 buyers’ maybe.
4. Your vehicle’s popularity. This goes to manifest that if your car lacks information or reviews about it, then impacts your car in a quite bad standing. But popularity doesn’t always mean ubiquity or overproduction of its same model.
5. Damage. Especially those that is easily seen or quite visible. Be sure to repair any sign of damage to you vehicle especially those minor fender-benders. This will also leave an impression that you as a driver or owner doesn’t take good care if your car. In most instances, buyers do background check on the owner as well. Crack windshield is also a big NO and must be immediately replaced. Never mind the cost of replacement. The price mark down is more of a waste rather than the cost of its replacement. Take notice also with the scratches and dings, these may seem harmless but it will rips off much from your vehicle’s resale value.
6. What is your vehicle? I mean its make and model. There are just make and model that the price from its name. That’s what you called preceding reputation.

Well, basically that’s it. You need to ask yourself or check your vehicle with it. For my next post, I will make a short list of tips to maintain the resale value of your car. Either you have the intention of selling it or not, keeping your car maintained should be done.