Like anyone else out there, you want to get the top value for your trade-in. That isn’t something that you should have to worry about, as long as you take care of your car. However, there are plenty of things that could depreciate your car and you may not even know about them.
Cars depreciate all the time but here are some things that can make it depreciate faster.
What can affect your car’s trade-in value?
- Make sure you watch your mileage. If you ultimately plan on trading in your car, the higher your mileage, the lower the trade-in value.
- Keep the interior as nice looking as you can. Yes, with kids that can be pretty impossible. Especially 5 years later. However, if it does get messy, you can always take the car to get detailed before trading it in. Because let’s face it: the interior is just as important as the exterior.
- Make sure you take the car in for its tune-ups and oil changes. Making sure the car is in tip-top shape keeps the value where it needs to be. The more problems with the car, the lower the value.
- This may only be something you can control when you buy the car but the color makes a difference in the trade in value. Darker color cars are worth more, such as black and silver. White also keeps value.
- This is one of the most important ones: the exterior needs to be top notch. Yes, everyone gets a bump or a scratch every once in a while. Try to get those buffed out right away to keep the value up. Park carefully and watch the amount of salt on your car. Salt can harm the paint.
If you are concerned about how much your car is worth, take it to the dealership to get it checked before started to look for a car. You’ll know how much you’ll get back and can plan.
