Three upgrades to avoid if you plan on reselling

Trying to resale your car isn’t the most pleasant experience.

After spending 1,000s of hours and dollars on your vehicle, come sell time you are only retaining a small fraction of the total amount you have spent on the vehicle. And in some cases, people are selling their car because of harsh economic factors and usually at a lowered "I’m desperate" price.

For some, we have upgraded our vehicle consistently over the years and anticipate a fair payout after the additional maintenance. However, that’s always the case as even manufacturer installed navigation systems are costing those selling their vehicle as the market has transitioned to smaller, in-dash systems. These are often times less expensive, and come with more options such as Bluetooth and Mp3 compatibility.

Here are three things that have the potential to cost you 100s when you re-sale your car.

Big Wheels are for Kids

Many of us have been inspired, or tempted to buy larger (19 or more inches) wheels for our car. But what your favorite rapper didn’t tell you, was that these come with higher insurance premiums and can be used to deny insurance claims based on operation ‘unsafe vehicle’.

Also, potential buyers don’t always want the car for the same purpose that you bought it for. Your dream car might possibly be the next person’s work vehicle. By contrast your work vehicle may be the next person’s dream car.

Keep factory wheels on your vehicle come sale time and include that you have additional set(s) in your advertisement. If at all, buy only wheels that will enhance performance as this can be applied to sale price.

“Comes with earplugs”

Music has defined moments in time, generations and individuals. Without a stereo, you car is unappealing. With a megawatt sound blaster, your car is un-buyable. Keep the sound system basic and sell an expensive sound system either separately or as an added cost to anyone interested in the vehicle.

Vanity

That really cool spoiler that is seen on the faster cars is there for a purpose. It helps to stabilize the car an eliminate drag. The odd looking shark-fin spoiler hurts your resale value because not only does it serves no purpose, it actually adds weight, reduces aerodynamics and isn’t appealing to half the people that see it.

There are a multitude of things that can work for and against you as you resale your car. Keep in mind that season will also play a factor and so will the local market. But these three steps should start you off in the right direction so that you can get more money for your vehicle.

That additional money will lessen the burden of buying a new vehicle.

—Javier Johnson

Articles that may be related to this one

• June 29, 2010 -- What you need to know about auto upgrades