Your car will be worth 15% less when you trade it in if it’s used for these common things
WHEN trading in your car to buy another, you expect it to be worth less than when you bought it.
But there are things to keep in mind when using your car that could boost how much you'll get for it by as much as 15%.
According to research published by towing, smoking in, or transporting young children and pets can reduce a used car’s value by more than 15%.
In a survey of 2668 in-market buyers, with 456 in the market for a used model, What Car? found 85% of used buyers would be less likely to consider a vehicle that had been smoked in over an otherwise identical model.
Around 60% would be less likely to consider a model that had been used for towing, while 47% would avoid models that had had pets in them.
Just less than 17% would avoid models previously owned by families with young children.
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The research also found any of these characteristics can easily reduce a used car’s value over an otherwise identical model.
Smoking and pet ownership were the biggest problems for used buyers, with nearly 85% of buyers expecting to pay less for cars that had been smoked in.
Some 64% expect to pay less for cars that had transported pets.
When asked how much less they’d expect to pay, 40% said they would expect to see the list price reduced by 15% or more compared to one which hadn’t been smoked in.
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When asked how much less they would expect to pay for a vehicle that had transported pets, 37% of buyers said they would expect to pay between 5-10% less compared to an otherwise identical model.
Buyers were slightly more tolerant of young children and towing, with 62.62% expecting to pay less for a car had been used for towing, and 42.00% expecting to pay less for a car that had transported young children.
Steve Huntingford, editor, What Car?, said: “Mileage, service history and overall condition are usually the big factors that determine a used car’s price, but as our research shows, habits of previous owners can have a significant impact on the perceived value of a used car.”
