Depreciation is the process by which your car loses its value over time and it’s a fact of life for any car on the road. However just because you can’t stop depreciation doesn’t mean there aren’t steps you can take to slow it down. Here are some of our top suggestions.
Shop Smart
If you’re really worried about depreciating value then the time to start thinking about it is before you even own the car. Depreciation may happen to all cars but it does not affect all cars equally, some brands depreciate slower than others, some types of cars like trucks depreciate slower. Even the colour of the car can affect the rate of depreciation.
If you want to make sure your car depreciates as slowly as possible, look into the current depreciation trends and figure out what brand/model/colour combination will maximise your chances.
Regular Maintenance
While it’s not the primary reason for depreciation, a car’s physical degradation will obviously make it worth less, which is why if you want to fight depreciation you should be taking your car for regular scheduled maintenance checks. However it’s not the maintenance that’s the key here, it’s the proof of having the maintenance done. If you have physical proof that your car has been well maintained, then you’ve got a golden ticket when trying to sell it later on.
Limit use
Milage is a very important consideration when calculating a car’s value. Quite simply the more miles a car has the less valuable it is. If you want to slow the car’s depreciation consider driving it less often. While not driving at all is also bad for the car, limiting it to the minimum you can manage could be advantageous later on when it comes time to sell.
Buy Used
It’s often said that a car loses 30% of its value as soon as you drive it off the lot. That sounds like quite a lot so why not just skip that step. That 30% rule only applies to new cars, it does not apply to used ones. While there might be some stigma to buying used, if you’re looking to combat depreciation then used is the way to go. A car with a few years under its belt has already lost the majority of its value and will not be depreciating at a much slower rate. Ideal if your plan is to sell the car again after only a few years of use.