Over the years, your car naturally goes through some wear and tear. If you’re driving every day, all year round, it’s inevitable that your car will experience some damage from UV exposure, snow, ice, salt, road debris, and more.
When it comes time to sell your vehicle, though, you’ll probably be looking at your car with a more critical eye than ever before. After all, the condition of your vehicle has a direct impact on its resale value. A vehicle that needs repairs, even just cosmetic repairs to the exterior, will have a lower resale value than a car that’s in pristine condition– that’s just how it works.
What lowers a car’s resale value?
There are two major factors that come into play when determining your car’s resale value. The first is its accident history, which can be looked up through the car’s VIN number.
When a car is in an accident, its value is diminished even if all necessary repairs have been made. While this can seem unfair, the diminished value is determined by aftermarket parts that have most likely been used to make the repairs.
However, even if you’ve gotten your repairs done at a dealership with all of the correct parts, you will still experience some loss in value. The quality of repair is a major determining factor in resale value as well.
The other major factor when determining resale value is current condition. Even a car that’s never been in an accident can have a disappointing resale price if there’s damage or visible wear and tear. For example, if your car’s paint job is faded, scratched up, or otherwise damaged, it’ll fetch a lower resale price.
How can I increase the resale value of my car?
The first piece of advice we can provide when it comes to ensuring the maximum possible resale value for your car is to seek quality repairs if you ever get into an accident. While you might save money in the short-term by getting repairs from a local garage, you might be stuck with lower-quality aftermarket parts that could give you future troubles and bring down your resale value.
When at all possible, you should go to a dealership for car repairs.
Our second piece of advice: detailing! If you detail your car before you sell it, the resale value will increase. Please note that detailing means more than a quick car wash and interior vacuum– it’s essentially examining your vehicle with a magnifying glass to address everything that needs to be cleaned, repaired, or restored.
A detail may also include repairs to the paint job, fixing cosmetic issues like scratches. You should know that a car’s paint quality and condition is one of the biggest factors in resale value– which makes sense, because it’s the first thing people see when they look at the car!
What else can I do to improve my car’s paint quality for resale value?
Ceramic coating is a great option for keeping your car’s paint looking like it’s brand new, even if your car is several years old.
Essentially, ceramic coating is a clear polymer coating applied over the car’s paint that does a great job protecting it from the elements and from daily wear and tear. Not only does it cover the paint, it’s chemically formulated to bond with the car’s paint to greatly increase the level of protection. As an added bonus, it adds a layer of shine, too!
Ceramic coating is a great way to increase the resale value of your car because it makes the paint look incredible– and lasts for years. It protects the paint job from virtually everything you can think of, from road debris to UV exposure to corrosion.
Can I apply ceramic coating myself?
This is an important question– and the answer is no. There are some DIY “ceramic coatings” available for home application, but ceramic coating is something that absolutely should be left in the care of a qualified professional.
If you want your car looking great when it comes time to sell it, ceramic coating is a no-brainer. For qualified professionals to apply a ceramic coating to your vehicle, look no further than the experts at Autobahn. Give us a call at 501-708-0903 to schedule your appointment today!
