How to get high resale value from any car?

The pre-owned automobile market has now evolved into a proper market where a lot of people are preferring to buy a pre-owned vehicle instead of a new one. Branded stores like Mahindra First Choice and Maruti Suzuki True Value even offers a warranty on some of their products. This makes buying a pre-owned vehicle a very compelling choice for a lot of people. This also makes sense as you will have to shell out a lot less money when compared to buying a new vehicle, the pre-owned vehicle now also comes with warranty and you can spend the rest of the money with some accessories or something else. However, there were a lot of launches this year and there will be even more next year. So, a lot of people will be upgrading to a newer car which means that they will be selling their old one. Many people will be hoping to get a good value from their car as it can be used as a down payment for the new car. However, there are certain factors associated with selling a car. The maintenance of a car is one of the biggest factors that play the most important role while selling the car. Today, we list down 10 things that you should not do in order to get the most value from your vehicle.

No Loud Colours

People have their favourite colours which are not always silver, white or black. However, these are the colours that you should opt for. These are considered ‘neutral’ colours which most of the people might not love but they would not hate them either. This helps in putting your car in the radar of the buyer. He might consider the car as his second or third option if not the first one. Colours like Orange, Yellow, Pink or any other loud colours do not have a good resale value. Colours like these show scratch and scuff mark more easily. These colours are also more expensive to get repainted as the workshop would have to specially make the colour. There are numerous tones of Orange. So, the Orange that we see on Tata vehicles will be different from the one on Hyundai. However, colours like Black or White will almost be similar to all manufacturers.

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Mods

Many people like to modify their vehicles, according to their liking. For instance, they will use power upgrades, different ECUs, performance air filters, lowered suspensions, wheels etc. While you must like these mods, the buyer would want a stock vehicle as he will doubt on the reliability and also, in general, there is a high chance that he won’t like your mods as everyone has a different taste.

One thing that you can do is modify the vehicle in a limit, where bringing it to the stock condition is easy or you would have to find a very specific enthusiast buyer who is looking for the same mods that you have applied to the vehicle. Another option you have is to sell the vehicle and the aftermarket mods separately.

Good Brand Image

A brand image might not look like the most factor when you are buying your car. However, it is very important for the buyer who is buying a pre-owned vehicle. He would want a brand which is trusted and has a good reputation. For example, there are a lot of Maruti Suzuki vehicles on the road. So, it is obvious that the buyer will look for a Maruti Suzuki because he has seen a lot of them on the road. There is a certain trust factor associated with brands that a higher reputation as people know that the product is tried and tested and is performing well because a lot of people are buying it.

Poor after-sales service means less value

Pre-owned buyers are usually ready to shell out a few bucks on repairs and service when they are buying a vehicle. So, brands like Maruti Suzuki or Hyundai who are known to have a good sales network hold their value better than other brands. So, even if the buyer finds a problem he can go to a nearby service centre and can get it repaired easily. However, brands like Volkswagen or Skoda whose after-sales services are expensive and there are not a lot of service centre out there, the vehicle would not be able to hold its value. Due to which high maintenance vehicles do depreciate a lot faster and lose their value.

No extended warranty

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The warranty doesn’t only mean peace of mind for the buyer, but it also provides peace of mind to the pre-owned buyer. If you decide to sell a car which is still covered by the extended warranty, you can get a much better value with it. The extended warranty helps in keeping the vehicle in a good shape and increases its resale value. A car with a warranty will always be considered by a buyer first due to which cars with the extended warranty hold their value much better.

Rusting

Rust is the enemy of machinery which means it is also one of the biggest enemies of vehicles. Rust simply means that the car is not maintained properly and it will affect your resale value significantly. Even small rust can spread and affect more important parts like suspension, chassis and other bits. Due to which the repair costs will increase. People usually do not buy any vehicle which is showing any sign of rust. So, make sure that you maintain your vehicle properly and if you see any sign of rust, you should get it repaired as soon as possible or you will be paying a lot more.

More Owners means Less Value

As the number of owners increases, the chance of the vehicle being misused gets higher. The person that you are buying the vehicle from could be a gentle driver, but you cannot say or assume the same for the buyer that was using the car before him. So, it is important that you must know the buyer and the car should not have multiple buyers.

Accidental case

Accidental cars do take a hit big hit in their value because, at the time of the accident, we cannot really tell how much the damage has happened to the vehicle. For instance, it might seem that the damage has only been done to the front bumper, but some kind of twig can puncture the radiator without you knowing. You will fix the front bumper, but the radiator damage might go undetected. So, you should always drive properly and avoid such mishappenings.

No service records

Service records have now become an important part while selling a car. If you have a proper service record the car will be able to hold its value much better as the buyer will be able to trust you that the vehicle has been maintained properly. Service records also help in proving that if a part of the vehicle has been changed then it has been done from an authorized service centre.

Insurance Policy affects resale value

Type of insurance policy has a big impact on the resale value. If you have a bumper to bumper insurance (comprehensive insurance) the vehicle would be able to hold its value much better. This type of insurance policy will give peace of mind to you and to the buyer also.

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