Know the factors that affect the resale value of a car

  Having the documentation of a vehicle, as well as giving it proper care, can mitigate the high levels of depreciation that a vehicle can go through, which tend to be greater than 20% resale when leaving the agency. When reselling a vehicle it is natural that we seek the best price when placing it […]

 

Having the documentation of a vehicle, as well as giving it proper care, can mitigate the high levels of depreciation that a vehicle can go through, which tend to be greater than 20% resale when leaving the agency.

When reselling a vehicle it is natural that we seek the best price when placing it on the market, but being a good used, we must take into account that there is a loss in value – or depreciation – caused mainly by factors such as maintenance that has been given, the level of order that you have in your documentation and payment of taxes as well as the model of the car.

This was reported by online car purchase platforms, which, in an analysis of the devaluation of vehicles in the market, explained that these goods had an average depreciation of 24.4% between 2017 and 2018.

However, this handicap can be mitigated in different ways. Keep your car in excellent conditions, here at JB Prestige Euro Automotive Service we take pride in providing the best services for European cars in our area.

Factors that maintain the resale value

To maintain an attractive placement price for a pre-owned vehicle, the platform identifies three key points: preventive maintenance, corrective maintenance and vehicle documentation.

Preventive maintenance refers to the care that takes place before any failure appears, which is directly related to the services. The firm recommends that a car should go to its first service after 10,000 kilometres and, subsequently, every 20,000 kilometres or six months, whichever comes first.

Carrying out this practice has two important reasons: maintaining the value of the car and keeping the warranty. The price of the car drops drastically when, for lack of service, it leads to corrective maintenance, which is just another name for repairs.

To give certainty to a buyer that preventive maintenance has been indicated, it is important to keep a record of the services the car has had, for which there is a service booklet, a small book provided by the agency when purchasing the vehicle. in which the agency records the information on the maintenance that is being carried out.

In the preventive maintenance also plays a very important role the care given in the aesthetic part and cleaning.

The second item that helps to preserve the value of the vehicle in its resale is the corrective maintenance that refers to any element that makes up your car and that needs to be corrected. The platform says that addressing these flaws will help to recover the value that a car has lost when it began to fail.

 

While there are components that are easy to replace (such as headlights or mirrors), we must take care that the replaced parts correspond, since a different paint job or a non-original auto part will affect the value of the car.

Finally, having a vehicle documentation in order is also important. In addition to the carnet service, experts recommend that you have the original invoice of the car (or in any case, a copy of the original invoice, although this will also affect the value of the car).

Likewise, it is important to have a breakdown of accessories (a document attached to the invoice detailing the additional components added to the vehicle) and to be up-to-date with taxes such as holdings, fines and endorsements, as well as verification.

A separate point in the documentation, beyond having a vehicle insurance -which does not add or subtract value, according to the platform- are the loss reports, which the insurer generates when he owned the car:

This document validates the amount for which the insurer evaluated the damages and can be used to verify the exact cost that your car lost and prevent a buyer from bidding far below this price, as it would be if you did not have this official paper.

Aspects that affect the resale value

In addition to the previous points, there are aspects that affect the resale value of a vehicle, of which the platform identifies six.

The first has to do with line changes and first models. Although there are model changes every year, when there are major modifications in motor or structure it is known as a line change and this has a negative effect on the price of the previous generation.

Similarly, a discontinued car will lose value because of the difficulty of finding original parts.

The second and third points have to do with mileage (20,000 kilometres per year is the average, but can be exceeded) and the wear and tear derived from the internal and external use of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, modifying or tuning a car can detract from it, since the original components are prioritised. In addition, the duplicate of keys also acquires relevance, since losing a spare part will cause the agency to deduct it from the price of the total value of the

Premium brands resist the passage of time

And we are not referring to breakdowns, no. Premium brand models lose less value than other models. A detail to take into account if in the future you plan to put your vehicle on sale.

Calls to review or widespread failures make your car lose value

It does not matter if your car is impeccable, you will not be able to get rid of the generalised “bad reputation” and its price in the market will be resented.

The garage, the best friend of your car

Having your car sleep in a garage will always be a point in its favour since it will get rid of a lot of the aggressions suffered by a vehicle that is always out in the open.

The state and colour of the paint

Do you assume that a painting and body in perfect condition help maintain the value of your car? You’re right, but colour also affects: in the second-hand market the most exotic and special colours can make you earn points against classic colours like white, black or silver.

Remember that we can help you keep your car in perfect conditions here at JB Prestige automotive service you will find a team of qualified professionals for maintenance.