What can affect a car’s value?

When you think about what could affect the value of your car, one would immediately say the year it was built or how many kilometers it has driven. In fact, many different things, positive and negative, can change the value of your car, and even a lot!

What can increase your car’s value

Damages: how much damage the car has? A little or no damage/marks can fetch a high price.

Complete Service History: Potential buyers can see that the car has been regularly serviced and maintained.

Colour: Some colors will certainly be more attractive to future buyers than others. Since different colors are popular on different models, it’s probably not worth spraying on a repaint.

Additional optionals: Extra features like a satnav system, a dash cam, a rear-parking cam, or a multimedia system can get a much higher selling price.

How and where the car is sold: Selling your car through a specialized portal means getting a quick and easy sale, with minimal effort, and possibly a better deal than a private sale.

What can reduce your car’s value

Mileage: The long mileage that is reported by the odometer is certainly the number one factor in a car’s depreciation. The more miles a car has, the less it is worth. Consider that on average you drive about 15,000 miles a year: if your car has less mileage, it may still have good appeal to a potential buyer, impacting less on the depreciation of its value.

Modifications: Generally, cars that have not undergone modifications are preferred by buyers. Or, they may not discourage potential buyers, but some insurers may refuse to insure a car with certain modifications

Wear: Most people will tend to expect some wear and tear in a used car, a stamp, a stain, or even just a small mark on a bumper. In some cases, when it comes to selling, it may be necessary to replace or repair damaged parts, to facilitate the sale for certain sums.

Broken car parts: Similarly, if a car needs repair or parts replacement, it will have a negative effect on the car’s value.

Accident History: If you want your car’s value to stay as high as possible, first you’ll need to avoid accidents, which will weigh in at the time of trade-in or sale, because they will show up on the vehicle history report. Even in the case of a minor accident, with a professionally done repair, many potential buyers would prefer to buy a car with a clean vehicle history report.

Number of previous owners: The more owners a car has had, the less the car will be worth, as a general rule.