It’s true that cars are assets, but they are depreciating assets. Quite simply put, a depreciating asset is something that loses value over time, rather than gaining it. Other than a few classic cars that hold collector’s value, cars start losing their financial and functional value from the very day they are bought. Therefore, knowing when to sell your car is key to getting a good price for it, when you need it. On that note, here are a few indicators that it might be time to consider selling your car.
When It’s Coming Close to Running Its Full Course
The average consumer vehicle is expected to run for anything between 150,000 miles to 300,000 miles, but very few cars reach those milestones in decent condition. Well-maintained cars that have been driven for anything between 50,000 miles – 80,000 miles tend to be the sweet spot for finding good offers, especially if you don’t believe in selling cars before getting a proper use out of them. On the other hand, cars past the 100,000 mile mark are significantly harder to sell at a decent price.
When You are in Urgent Need of Funds
An urgent need for funds is one of the most common reasons why people sell their cars, especially when it comes to the premature selling of sports cars and luxury vehicles from leading brands. Perhaps it’s a medical emergency, a professional mishap, a lawsuit, a bad business year, or any of the other myriad reasons.
The bottomline is that selling a car is one of the fastest ways to get access to quick cash. It’s usually not as fast when it comes to expensive makes and models though, but there’s a way around it. If you own a Lamborghini, Ferrari, or Porsche, click here to sell your Lamborghini fast, after just a quick online estimation.
When You Want a New Car
Most people exchange their old vehicles, before replacing it with a new car. However, that’s only advisable if your vehicle has truly run its course and it’s not in a decent enough condition for you to put it up for sale. Barring those specific circumstances, you should always try to sell your car, rather than exchange it for a discount. Selling will almost always fetch you a better price than exchanging the vehicle.
Beyond a certain point, the cost of maintenance will gradually become too expensive to maintain. You should never wait that long. A very old, malfunctioning car is not just difficult to sell; the price it will fetch may not even be worth the cost of your effort.
In case you have a completely broken down, ancient car on your hands, it’s likely to end up in the junkyard. In that case, you will find a better price by directly selling it to a nearby junkyard, rather than trying to sell or even exchange it at a dealership. Dealerships provide discounts on broken-down old cars only after calculating a small profit that they are likely to generate from selling the vehicle to a junkyard.
