Maintaining Your Car’s Value: Tips & Tricks
If you’re the owner of a vehicle, one thing you’ll likely want to do is keep its value as high as you can. By keeping the value of your vehicle higher, you can get more for it when it finally comes time to sell or trade in your vehicle. Luckily, there are several simple things you can do to maintain your car’s value and improve your investment over time. Below, we’ll highlight what impacts the value of a given car and what you can do to help maintain its value while you own it.
What Brings Down the Value of a Car?

Image by Giorgio Trovato is licensed with Unsplash License
To understand how to best maintain your vehicle’s value, it helps to first learn what causes a vehicle’s value to drop in the first place. When determining the value of a car, the two largest factors are its age and condition. Vehicles that are older and have some mechanical problems will naturally have a lower value than a newer vehicle that’s in great shape.
Mileage plays a big role in determining the condition of a vehicle. Typically, the more miles on a car, the more wear and tear there is on its internal parts. Therefore, vehicle values drop as you accumulate miles. In addition to this, the vehicle’s maintenance and accident history contribute to its value. Vehicles that are well cared for will have a higher value than similar vehicles with a long history of accidents and little maintenance. Knowing this, you can retain the value of your car in several ways.
6 Tips to Maintain Your Vehicle’s Value
Below are six tips you can use to maintain your vehicle’s value:
Keep It Clean
One simple way to start is by keeping your vehicle clean. Regularly washing your vehicle helps to eliminate abrasive debris on the surface of your car that can cause damage to the paint or result in color deterioration. For example, in many areas, there’s often salt on the roads during the winter months. As you drive, this salt can splash up onto the underside of your vehicle. If you don’t wash this off regularly, the salt can eat away at the underside of your car, slowly wearing down the parts over time.
In addition to helping to reduce wear, cleaning your vehicle can also improve its curb appeal, which is an important way to retain value right before you sell it. A clean vehicle looks better and will make a positive impression, whether you’re selling the car in person or sharing pictures online.
Perform Regular Maintenance
One of the best things you can do to maintain your car’s value is to perform regular maintenance. Your car is a highly sophisticated piece of machinery that needs regular care to ensure it’s always at its best. Regular maintenance can not only help to reduce the amount of wear and tear on your vehicle but also prevent costly repairs. For example, getting an oil change every few thousand miles will help you keep your engine in great shape, reducing the likelihood of it needing engine repairs.
Inside your owners manual, you should find a recommended maintenance schedule. This will include oil changes, along with other recommendations such as transmission fluid changes, brake pad replacements, and tire rotations. Do your best to stick to this schedule for the best results. You should also bring your vehicle in for maintenance if you’re experiencing any problems with your car, such as a drop in performance or if you hear strange noises.
Use High-Quality Replacement Parts
At some point, you’ll likely need to replace some parts within your vehicle. This could be the brake pads, sparkplugs, tires, or something else. Whatever it is you need to replace, the best way to maintain value in your vehicle is by using high-quality replacement parts. There are two reasons for this.
First, high-quality parts are less likely to break down and will deliver a better performance. This means you won’t have to spend as much money on repairs in the future, and your car will perform as well as it used to. Second, when a potential buyer examines your vehicle, they may want to see genuine original equipment manufacturer parts inside it. Providing a vehicle history report that shows that you used high-quality replacement parts will help to raise the value compared with aftermarket replacement parts.
Drive Safely
Car accidents can cause a significant drop in vehicle value, even if the accident is relatively minor. Therefore, to maintain the value of your car, you’ll want to avoid accidents.
While you can’t control everything that happens on the road, especially other drivers, you can at least do your part to protect your car by driving safely. This means doing things such as obeying all the traffic laws in your area, checking before you change lanes, parking in a safe area, and avoiding distractions while you drive. Establishing some basic safe driving habits can go a long way toward keeping you free of accidents and maintaining your car’s value.
Buy Protection Accessories
To help protect parts of your car from wearing down, you can purchase some accessories. For example, you can get rubber floor mats to prevent water, dirt, mud, and other debris from impacting the car’s floor carpeting. You could also buy seat covers or a liner for the floor of your trunk to better protect these areas. A small investment in protection now can pay dividends when it’s time to sell your car.
Establish Good Habits
Finally, try to establish some good habits inside your car that will help protect it. For instance, you can have a rule where you don’t eat or drink while in the vehicle. This can prevent accidental stains from appearing on the seats or carpet and keep your car cleaner at the same time. You may also want to avoid smoking inside your car, as smoke can leave a lasting smell.
Take Care of Your INFINITI Car at Herrin-Gear INFINITI
If you need help maintaining the value of your vehicle, the team at Herrin-Gear INFINITI in Jackson, Mississippi, can help. Contact our service station today, and we can formulate a plan to keep your vehicle in great shape. No matter what sort of issue you’re having with your car or what sort of maintenance you’re looking for, you can rest assured our service center can assist you.
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