Three Ways to Retain Your Car’s Value

We all know that cars are terrible when it comes to depreciation. As soon as you drive a new car off the lot, (so the adage goes) it immediately depreciated by 50%. As car owners we understand this, but it doesn’t prevent the financial sting from hurting. Therefore, the best way to limit the amount of money that you lose on your car in the end is to take care of it in a way that allows it to retain as much of its original value and condition as possible. Regular visits to the mechanic , protection from the elements and small alterations are all ways in which you can try to retain value. Here are a few ideas to get you started..

1. Protection

Believe it or not, the way in which we store our car can have a huge impact on its sell-on value. You need only look at the difference it makes to your storage costs to understand that having your car exposed to the elements is a surefire way to sustain damage and general wear and tear. For this reason, you should take measures to protect your car as much as possible. whether it’s parking it under a carport or garage, investing in a canopy or car-cover, or even having it regularly treated with protective polish, the more sheltered it is from the elements, the more likely your vehicle is to retain value.

2. Improvement/Customisation

Before you get too excited and rush off to buy that $14,000 sound system you’ve been eyeing off, improvements and alterations need to be balanced out with the value they’ll actually add to the vehicle. Small improvements such as rims, a body kit or a new paint-job can really help maintain that value, but in terms of the really large changes like sound systems and turbo exhausts, you need to think long and hard about whether you’re ‘improving’ yourself into a corner. By all means make changes to your vehicle to improve the comfort and style of the car, but don’t funnel thousands of dollars into it unless it’s a passion of yours, because chances are you’ll never get your money back on those types of investments.

3. Servicing

A car service is like a trip to the doctor–it’s annoying and a little intimidating but it’s always better to know what the situation is early on rather than to wait until it becomes terminal. Regular servicing is simply a cost you need to factor into the car when you buy it. In fact, service costs can vary depending on which model of car you buy, and the more expensive models often have more expensive parts, so bear this in mind when choosing a car.