How to ensure the best resale value for your car | tricks of the trade revealed
Joshua Dowling in
Car News
·
CarsGuide ·
8 May 2015
Motorists are getting more savvy at selling their cars privately to get more cash in their pockets. But you’d be amazed what can make a difference and cost you -- or make you -- thousands of dollars.
As more motorists sell their cars privately to eke out a few extra dollars, experts have revealed the tricks of the trade that help improve car resale values.
More than 4 million used cars are bought and sold nationally each year, about four times as many new cars.
Figures from market analyst Deloitte show dealerships make more than twice as much profit from used cars than new vehicles.
But buyers have become more savvy about selling their cars privately and are increasingly avoiding the trade-in process, to try to get every last dollar out of the vehicle they are selling.
The first rule, say experts, is buying the right car in the first place so it’s easy to sell a few years later.
“Depreciation is the single biggest cost of owning a car, so it’s important to get the best resale value for your car,” says independent wholesaler Craig Moore. “Demand for your car when you go to sell it can definitely be impacted by colours and options, as well as what condition it’s in."
For example, a purple or pink car could be worth hundreds if not thousands less than an identical model in a more conservative colour.
Buy the right car in the first place so it’s easy to sell a few years later.
And paying thousands extra for a sunroof on a new car may not add a single dollar to its value at trade-in time.
“If you were to put a sunroof in a regular family car, you’re unlikely to have someone pay extra for it when it comes time to sell, but they may choose your car over someone else’s,” said Mr Moore.
But the opposite is true at the top end of the market.
“Buyers of BMWs and Mercedes-Benzes want a sunroof, so in that instance if a car doesn’t have it, that would count against it,” said Mr Moore.
Most important of all is what condition the car is in, and having a good service history with authentic log book stamps (some less scrupulous private sellers fudge the books).
“Spending $150 on getting the car professionally detailed and steam-cleaned can add up to $1000 to the selling price of a vehicle,” said Mr Moore. “That’s the best money you can spend when selling a car.”
Depreciation is the single biggest cost of owning a car.
It turns out smoking is not only bad for your health, it can also affect your bank balance -- aside from the cost of cigarettes.
“The smell of smoke is next to impossible to get out of a car and there are a lot of people who simply won’t buy a smoker’s car; potential buyers will specifically ring up and ask if a car has been smoked in,” said Mr Moore, who has been in the industry for more than 20 years and ran new-car dealerships before starting a wholesale business.
“Animal hair is another one to watch out for, you’d be amazed how hard it is to remove animal hair even with an industrial vacuum cleaner,” he said.
The holiday months of December-January and April used to be a bad time to sell a used car, but Mr Moore says “if it’s the right car, it will sell any time of the year”.
“You can’t go wrong with black. It may be hard to keep clean but black would have to be the most popular colour in any car,” said Mr Moore. “It would be the first to sell compared to an identical car in other colours.”
Convertibles are more saleable in the warmer months “in the same way it’s not a good idea to sell a boat in winter”, he said.
As for a purple Mitsubishi Mirage or a pink Holden Barina Spark, Mr Moore says “they’ll sell eventually, but there aren’t as many people looking for those, so it will just take longer and you may have to discount if you need cash fast.”
How many years should you keep a car before selling it? If possible, before the car has tripped over 100,000km or just before the end of the new-car factory-backed warranty expires “because it gives the buyer peace of mind”.
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Written by
Joshua Dowling
National Motoring Editor - News Corp Australia
Published 8 May 2015
Published In
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