It’s always a good idea to keep your car in peak condition. Not only does it make it a more stable and reliable form of transportation for you, but you may have an easier time selling it if you ever need to make a change. Unfortunately, vehicles typically don’t retain their value as well as other investments. Therefore, it’s a good idea to know some of these common things that can damage your car’s resale value when you’re looking to sell.
1. Odors
It’s far too easy to overlook the smells in vehicles that we use every day, but peculiar odors have a way of sticking to the interior of our vehicles. Some of the most common unpleasant smells come from smoking and food odors. If you regularly transport muddy tools or animals, those can also influence the air in the car. So before you start trying to sell your vehicle, we recommend giving its interior a deep cleaning, airing it out, and putting in a freshener.
2. Cosmetic Damage
It’s hard to avoid minor cosmetic damage in any vehicle. No matter how careful you are, there’s always a common risk of scratches or dents. Anything you can do to minimize cosmetic damage before putting your vehicle on the market can keep the value a bit higher. You can save some money by fixing dents yourself instead of getting professional repairs if you have a repair kit.
3. Clouded Headlights
The plastic that covers our headlights is handy but often suffers from oxidation due to sun exposure. At best, these cloudy headlight covers look terrible, and at worst, they can actually negatively impact our ability to see at night. Many people don’t consider this, but you can get a headlight restoration kit to clean out this thick plastic before selling your vehicle.
4. Missing Maintenance History
A common thing that can damage your car’s resale value is failing to keep a maintenance history. People often feel better about buying a car when it has a detailed record of things like when the owner last changed the oil or if the vehicle was ever in any extreme accidents. A suspicious lack of information may hurt your car’s value since you can’t show proof of a good service record.
5. Decals
Decals like window or bumper stickers may seem great for personalizing your car, but the person you’re selling the vehicle to may not like them. Bumper stickers regularly damage the paint when people try to remove them. If you want to show your tastes through your car, you may want to stick with license plate frames or magnets that you can remove with less effort.
