Five Effective Ways To Combat Car Depreciation
Buying a car is one of the largest purchases you will make. However, unlike other investments, a vehicle won’t hold its value over time. The moment you drive your new car off the dealership’s lot, it starts to depreciate, resulting in a huge loss of value. This means that, if you were ever to sell your car, you would lose a large sum of money in the process. There is no way to avoid this, but you can reduce it. With that in mind, here are five things you can do to combat car depreciation.
-
Stick To Neutral Colours
Most people pick the colour of their car based on their own tastes and style. However, you must remember that, if you were ever to sell your vehicle, your style wouldn’t matter. While you may be a fan of bright colours, lots of people out there aren’t. Because of this, you should stick to neutral tones. If you don’t want to, then get a light paint job before the car is put up for sale.
-
Buy A Used Vehicle
New cars depreciate much quicker than used ones tend to. Rather than hunt for a brand new vehicle, therefore, you should shop on used car sites, like Otter Vale Motor Services. This would allow you to avoid a huge amount of the car’s depreciation right away. That being said, this will only save money if you pick a car in good condition, as it will have fewer mechanical issues.
-
Keep The Mileage Low
Mileage is one of the key factors in vehicular value. The more miles that your car sees, the less it will be worth. This means that you must try to keep your mileage as low as possible. Perhaps the easiest way to do this is to avoid using your car for any long-distance journeys. Stick to town or city driving for your vehicle and rent a car if you need to take a trip across the country.
-
Watch How You Drive
It’s not just how far you drive, but the way you drive that determines the worth of your vehicle. Cars that have been poorly driven usually reveal themselves during test drives. They don’t turn corners effectively and won’t brake or accelerate as quickly as they should. To avoid damaging the car, you must learn to be a better driver. Avoid harsh braking and follow the rules of the road.
-
Carry Out Maintenance Tasks
Taking good care of your car is the best way to maintain its value. As well as driving sensibly, this means that you must carry out certain maintenance tasks. Among a lot of other information, you will find the maintenance schedule for your vehicle in the owner’s handbook. Make sure that you follow this timetable to keep your car in a good working condition.
Car depreciation is a cost that no driver can avoid entirely. However, with the advice above, there is no reason why you can’t combat depreciation and save yourself money.
