How Much Is My Car Worth Now

Let’s face it; reselling your car isn’t something most people spend a lot of time thinking about. However, spending a little time right now can pay huge dividends in a year or two (or more) when you go to sell your car. I’m going to explore two easy ways that you can use to improve your vehicle’s resale value with minimal effort.

First, learn to keep records of everything you do to your car. Get the oil changed regularly? Keep the receipt. Got that belt replaced or put on new snow tires? Keep the receipt. When a potential buyer is looking at your car in a couple years, it will be worth considerably more if you are able to show beyond a doubt that you did all your regular upkeep, kept records, and cared enough about your car to take maintain it well. Buyers can recognize this, and it can often mean increasing the value of your car at resale time by 5-10%. The easiest way to keep records is to keep them in the car itself. Take a large envelope and stick it in the glove compartment. Any time you get work done on the car or spend money related to maintenance, just put the receipt in that envelope. If you don’t, you might wish you had when a potential buyer asks what you did to maintain your car or truck.

The second best way to increase your resale value over time is to leave your car factory-stock. Studies show that customized vehicles almost never get sold for what it cost to customize them. Further, heavily customized vehicles are often worth less than their factory-stock counterparts. In addition, customized cars are harder to sell, since you are narrowing the potential field of buyers to only people that will like your customizations. If you simply cannot resist the urge to customize your vehicle, get it done by a professional, preferably at a place that will guarantee their work. This reassures a potential buyer that the work was done right and the vehicle was not damaged. This is particularly true of stereo equipment, where unskilled individuals can easily damage wiring, speakers, and other electrical components.

Upping your resale value isn’t rocket science. Keep your vehicle clean and well maintained, don’t heavily customize it and keep all your records. If you take a few simple steps right now, you will be glad you did at selling time.