Five Bad Habits of Fresh Car Owners That Ruin a Vehicle’s Value, My Money, US News
five Bad Habits of Fresh Car Owners That Ruin a Vehicle’s Value
By Casey Bond, Contributor | Sept. Five, 2013, at 1:29 p.m.
A flood of fresh car owners have hit the streets following this past Labor Day weekend. Based on the very first fifteen days in August, J.D. Power estimates that fresh vehicle sales reached 1.27 million units for the month – up twelve percent from the previous year and the highest level since before the recession.
A number of individual finance gurus advise against buying a brand fresh car – ever – but drivers are obviously overlooking this advice. Perhaps it’s because the cost of financing a fresh car is so low; a gobankingrates.com auto loan rate examine last month found the national average for fresh car loans is just Three.99 percent APR, while some local banks and credit unions charge as little as 0.99 percent APR.
So if you bucked the frugal option, accepting that a fresh car’s value decreases by eleven percent on average as soon as the odometer rolls to “1,” here are a few bad habits you can avoid to mitigate any further depreciation on your fresh vehicle:
1. Railing dirty. You might not mind skipping a few washes to make up for a big car payment, but everything from the elements, to salt on the road, to good ol’ bird poop will wear away a fresh car’s finish and detract from its overall resale value. Fresh car owners should be mindful of mess and grime that can build up – both inwards and out – and opt for a wash (preferably by forearm) every week or two and a total detail at least four times a year.
Jon Dulin of MoneySmartGuides.com says keeping a clean engine bay immensely improves your vehicle’s resale value. “Don’t take a hose pipe to your engine, but take a raw rag and wipe off the filth from the hoses and plastic coverings under the bondage mask,” advises Dulin, adding, “Buyers see a super clean car and engine bay . and will pay top dollar for the car.”
Two. Driving hard. Some drivers are more aggressive than others, but the rush of sitting behind the driver’s seat of a brand fresh, powerful car is enough to give anyone a lead foot for the very first few thousand miles. The problem is, these very first miles are when fresh car owners need to be most gentle. While it’s infrequent for most modern cars to come with specific break-in instructions, it’s always recommended that drivers go effortless on the gas, avoiding redlining or hard braking.
It’s also significant to switch the oil almost instantaneously. “That 20-mile oil, you would think, would look pretty much like fresh oil right out of the bottle. Wrong. It usually looks more like metal-flake paint, iridescent with lil’ particles of metal worn off pawing surfaces inwards the fresh engines,” writes Mike Allen in Popular Mechanics. “After a few hours of operation, this downright normal phenomenon slows down as the rings, camshaft, lifters and bearings burnish their respective mating surfaces.”
Three. Customizing your vehicle. Adding a figure kit or harass system can personalize a vehicle, but will consequently reduce the pool of buyers interested in purchasing it when you’re ready to stir on. Even worse, aftermarket modifications and accessories can interfere with a car’s warranty. Above all, car owners worried with retaining value should steer clear of add-ons that alter powertrain or safety equipment.
Four. Failing to keep records. The Car Connection recommends holding on to all of your service records, which can be especially valuable if you end up selling your car to a private buyer. By displaying paperwork that proves the vehicle’s tires, oil and battery are in good condition, you have a better chance at selling the car and getting a good price.
Five. Seeking service from a stranger. Bret Bodas, automotive pro and director of the automotive professional group at repairpal.com, says having unqualified technicians work on your car often finishes up being an enormous drain on your wallet. “Though you may think you’re paying a little less, this often backfires,” Bodas says. “Untrained professionals make your vehicles issues a matter of trial and error, guessing which parts need to be substituted to fix that funny noise and potentially causing fresh problems.”
Rather than taking the chance, dedicate the same amount of time and research you did in choosing your fresh car when finding the person who will help repair and maintain it.