Up To Speed: Keeping Your Vehicle in Tip-Top Condition

How Can You Keep Depreciation in Check When Buying a New Car?

15 November 2022

Mary Gomez

All cars depreciate when brand-new, and some performance cars can lose even more value than average. It's hard to get around this fact when you buy a new vehicle, and most people have come to terms with the phenomenon before they visit the dealer. Yet there are ways to cushion the blow to ensure that you get as much value for your trade-in or outright sale when that day finally arrives. What is one of the key strategies to remember if you're about to buy a new pony car and want to be as careful as possible?

Retaining Value

Value is subjective and can vary considerably based on your point of view. In other words, it's not always down to technical considerations but can sometimes be influenced by other factors. For example, many people think that a used car will likely be more reliable and last longer if the seller has been a good steward. In other words, if they took the time to service a vehicle per the manufacturer's recommendations and could prove this to be the case, that vehicle should be in better condition.

Taking Control of the Situation

Of course, an individual owner cannot affect the average selling rate of a specific model as this will depend on market forces, economic factors, and so many other things. This is why depreciation tends to be difficult to forecast and can vary significantly from one person to another.

Proving Your Careful Owner

Yet it is easy to prove that you were a careful owner when it's time to put the vehicle on the market. A prospective buyer will be able to see with their own eyes if the bodywork is still in good condition, the interior looks very reasonable for its age, and the car drives well. They will also want to see some documentation to prove that you looked after the vehicle and this is where the logbook comes into its own.

Keeping up with Logbook Servicing

So, don't automatically assume that you can convince a buyer of your stewardship but ensure that your logbook is always up-to-date. This means that you need to take the vehicle in for a service when recommended and, crucially, make sure that the dealership stamps the logbook to confirm. And if you have any "gaps" in your logbook, get in touch with your service centre to rectify the issue before advertising your car for sale.

To learn more about Mustang logbook servicing and other types of logbook servicing, reach out to an auto service near you.

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About Me

Ever since I was a child, I have been fascinated by racing cars. When I was little, of course, I only had go-karts, but eventually I graduated to a junior dragster and now I have my own racing car. It is a very expensive hobby, even for an accountant, therefore I make sure that maintenance and servicing are a top priority. Fortunately, my brother-in-law is a mechanic, so he services the car in between events and leads my crew on race days. I have learnt numerous simple tricks to improving car performance and keeping it in top mechanical shape. These same tricks apply to any car. This blog will hopefully encourage drivers to take car servicing seriously in order to keep their vehicles running safely and economically. I hope the tips within these entries prove to be useful and help your vehicle to operate smoothly.