Is it Time to Sell Your Car?

When deciding whether to sell your vehicle, consider age/mileage, if it still meets your needs, economy, reliability, safety, personal reasons and time of year.

Humans are creatures of habit. We also get very attached to our vehicles. Both of these things make it hard to know when to sell a car (or truck or motorbike or whatever). But as much as you might not want to go through the fuss of switching vehicles, or may be reluctant to part with a car that’s served you very well in the past, there is definitely a right time to sell. Answer the following questions honestly and we think you’ll know whether that time is now.

 

What’s the car’s age/mileage?

Assuming you are going to sell the vehicle eventually, you’ll want to get maximum value for it. For that to be the case, the general rule is it should be sold at about 3-5 years old or with around 50-75,000km on the clock. If a car is still under warranty, that’s obviously a major selling point. Once the vehicle is outside this range, expect a sharp drop in value.

 

Does the Car Still Meet Your Needs?

In other words, does it easily cover the travel distances and handle the road/traffic conditions necessitated by your lifestyle? And does it comfortably carry all of the family, friends, workmates, pets and equipment that you regularly transport? If the answer to either of these queries is no, you ought to be searching for a better alternative.

 

Does the Car Still Feel Economical? Reliable? Safe?

Is running the vehicle putting too much of a strain on your budget? How about the cost of maintaining it? As a rule of thumb, whenever the price of necessary repairs/replacements is more than half of the market value of the car, it’s past time you let it go. As for safety, quite simply you should never drive a vehicle that doesn’t feel safe for your purposes. Either get it fixed or sell it to a dealer who will.

 

Are There Personal Reasons for Selling?

There can be a bunch of other good reasons why it’s time to sell your car, van, ute, etc. Often, it’s just a matter of admitting them to yourself. Maybe you aren’t using it enough due to altered work circumstances or improved public transport, and it’s sitting in the garage doing nothing. Perhaps you splashed out on a luxury model that now seems excessive (high insurance doesn’t help!). It’s even possible you need the money for something else more than you require your own wheels right now. The list goes on…

 

What Time of Year is it?

No, seriously. Spring and Autumn are traditionally the best time for selling cars. They don’t tend to sell well straight after Christmas, which can be attributed to the financial commitments and busyness of the season, or at the beginning of the financial year. The second one likely has to do with all of the EOFY vehicle sales dealers love to hold, which leave less folks looking to buy in early July.

 

Seeking Top-Quality, Competitively Priced Parts?

At Auto Parts Supply in Southport, we stock a huge range. Whether you’re doing up a car to sell or making some strategic replacements so it’ll last you a while longer, we’re bound to have what you’re after. Check out our online store, and feel free to ask us if there’s an item you want that you don’t see listed. You can phone Auto Parts Supply on (07) 5503 0169 or send an enquiry via the form on this site.