Car Care

Botox for Vehicles: Reducing the Look of Age and Wear on Your Vehicle for Maximum Resale Value

You may be at a crossroads with your vehicle. It could be that you have fallen out of love with it and have your eyes on an upgrade. Or, it might be that you have had to come to terms with the fact that your current vehicle no longer suits your lifestyle, i.e., your bachelor-mobile does not have room for a car seat and stroller or your sports utility vehicle does not deliver the cost-effective ride that goes with your long commute to that new job.

Having possibly skimped on the TLC to your current vehicle, reality has set in that you will not get much as a trade in or for a private party sale. The dilemma is what to do on little time, a minimal budget, or both.

You may have passed through the room while your other half was watching those shows on the home and garden network about how to add value to your home before you try and sell it. Well, many of those very same tips can be applied to your vehicle when you are ready to trade it in. There are quite a few of simple improvements that you can make to your vehicle that will make it more attractive and valuable for re-sale purposes.

Time-Saving Tips

You may have a very busy lifestyle and find it hard to fit in certain maintenance tasks that keep your vehicle looking its best. In fact, this is probably the top reason vehicle owners give when explaining why they have let their vehicles go without regular maintenance.

While you may need to dig all the pennies out from underneath your seats and then find a few other dollars to spare for these tips, time is saved and your vehicle receives more attention. The use of various mobile services is just one example of how the true value of service partners can be realized.

For a fee that is usually substantially larger than going to the on-site locations of these service providers, they will come to your home or office any day of the week or time of day. These service providers include mobile car washers, detailers, oil change and vehicle repair teams, tinting and window replacement specialists, upholsterers, and entertainment system installers. What could be better than have someone else wash, wax, buff out scratches, and vacuum the interior of your vehicle while you carry on working?

Many companies will also pick up your vehicle while improvements or enhancements are being done and leave you with a temporary ride. These services save time as well as minimize the inconvenience of sitting at a shop while you are missing work, school or appointments.

Very Necessary Budget-Savvy Solutions

If you cannot afford to use such convenient services, there are other solutions that are bound to fit your budget constraints.

• A good detailing job—polish, wax, paint touch-up, wheel cleaning, and an interior spring cleaning—on your vehicle can add the “curb” appeal that will raise resale value and provide a substantial return on your investment. You can either do many of the detailing projects yourself or you can take it into a car wash and detailing location. These projects should cost about $100 if you are taking it into a shop but less if you buy the products yourself and supply your own labor.
• It is important to get any major dings or dents fixed and deal with rust, especially on the bumper. Prices range from $50 to knock out panels to $200 for bumper repairs and upwards depending on how much needs to be straightened out and if any re-spraying of paint is necessary.
• Broken, cracked or chipped windscreens should be fixed. This will be noticed immediately and may pose a hazard. This may cost a few hundred dollars based on the type of windshield.
• Tires with worn or thin tread should be replaced. New tires will make the car more attractive and the potential owner will feel more safe and secure.
• Worn interior seats, stained carpets, and muddy mats can easily be fixed and add a lot to the look of the resale car.
• Mechanical issues should be dealt with as soon as possible, including oil changes and overall maintenance service, which can save you from having the vehicle come back to haunt you after you have sold it.
• Make sure your maintenance records are up-to-date. If they are not, then take the time to reconstruct from receipts when you had repairs and oil changes.

All of these suggestions may cost nothing to upwards of a few hundred dollars each but they all have one thing in common—these solutions will add double or triple the amount to the value of your vehicle. It is well worth the time, effort, and money to apply these to any vehicle you plan on selling.

Treat the New Vehicle Better

After you have traded in your remodeled vehicle to the dealer or sold it to a private party, it is time to take a whiff of that new car smell and mint-condition drive. As you leave the showroom, the best thing you can do is to make a promise to your new “baby” that you will take better care of it.

One suggestion about getting off on the right foot with your new relationship is to use a low-cost service provider that can be your partner in taking care of this vehicle. Having a helper makes it that much easier to maintain the vehicle on a regular basis rather than waiting to the last-minute to implement all of the aforementioned solutions. Wouldn’t it be easier to have expense and maintenance tracking, service reminders, fuel economy reporting tools, recall alerts, and a repository for important vehicle information, such as insurance, warranties and trip logs? This kind of assistance would leave you with no excuses about lack of time to take care of your vehicle because, essentially, there is a partner who is doing most of the work for you.

As a busy multi-tasker with already too much on your plate, it pays to use some of the mobile services listed earlier in this article when and if your budget allows. All of these tips are worth their weight in gold in terms of helping you maximize the investment you have put into your vehicle—from the purchase agreement to the monthly payment coupons to the repairs and car washes. When the status report on your resale vehicle comes back as excellent rather than average, you know that it really did pay to take care of it!