Due to the automotive ecommerce industry expected to reach a value of 176.24 billion by 2031, reselling your car is becoming more accessible. You can sell your car yourself easily online with no more dealerships in between to take a large portion of your profits. A solid way to increase your profits is by retaining your car’s resale value. It will enable you to get more funds for your designated expenditures with a few cost-effective adjustments. Here are three tips for you:
1. Protect the Exterior
The condition of the car’s exterior is essential in reselling since it gives buyers the first impression of your vehicle’s overall condition. Regularly washing your vehicle is essential to prevent corrosion from grime and dirt. For stains that are difficult to remove, consider using a car polish and gently buff it to remove those marks. Avoid automatic car washes since they can scratch your car’s paint.
To protect the exterior of your car from discoloration, wax your car at least twice a year or consider installing a paint protection film (PPF). PPF is a thin, transparent layer of film applied on your car’s exterior surface and protects its paint from chipping, scratches, and damage. It also prevents staining from tree sap and bird droppings and keeps it clean by repelling water and dirt. Additionally, it makes maintenance more manageable, as you can wash your car with regular soap. So, when selling your vehicle, you won’t need to get expensive repairs or repaints. Having a PPF on your can be a valuable selling point, and a professional paint protection film installer like Pure Precision Custom Detailing can get you the best results.
Having clean and shining wheels will give the buyers a good impression of how your car is maintained and in good condition. Wheels get a layer of brake dust and grime from the road, which can lead to rust, corrosion, and pitting. Consider cleaning your wheels at least once a month, mainly with an alloy cleaner, to remove the dust without damaging the wheels.
2. Regularly Maintain Your Car
The most important thing to do as a car owner is regularly maintaining it to ensure its best condition. Avoid skipping regular servicing, especially if you use your vehicle often.
Here are essential things you should get checked or replaced regularly in your car.
- Brake fluid
- Transmission oil (for automatic cars)
- Engine coolant
- Filters (air filter, cabin filter, fuel filter, and oil filter)
- Engine oil
Not maintaining your car leads to significant problems in the long run and depreciates your car’s resale value. You must also adequately update the car service history book. Accurate and detailed records of what has been done to your car can appreciate its value greatly when reselling and selling it quickly. Buyers want to know the work done on the vehicle and the problems it faces most often, so they prefer buying cars with a recorded service history.
You can take a folder, file, or notebook and store the details of the service your car received with information and, ideally, a receipt from the maintenance shop. If it’s not mentioned on the receipt, write down the mileage when you got the servicing done to give a precise idea of when it was serviced or replaced.
3. Keep the Interior Clean
Your car’s interior puts up with a lot over time, resulting in scrapes, stains, scratches, and foul odor, which impacts your car’s resale value, so you should clean your car’s interior regularly. Use a vacuum and crevice tool to clean the carpets and seats, especially the tiny gaps in the seats where food and debris get stuck and cause damage to the seats over time. Your car’s upholstery or leather seats should be treated with a fabric cleaner to lift stains and foul smells.
Avoid smoking in your car, as it can significantly depreciate your car’s resale value by making the car headliner smelly and yellowish, which is difficult to clean. Even small cigarette debris can burn off your car seats. Additionally, even if you stop smoking a while before reselling your car, the smell remains and proves difficult to remove.
Endnote
You can sell your car easily now due to online car-selling platforms, but to achieve a high resale value, you must invest in repairs that considerably improve your car’s condition.
