5 Tips for Maintaining Your Vehicle’s Resale Value

The car resale value of your next (or current) vehicle may be on your mind. There are many things that go into your resale. Including, but not limited to: car maintenance history, car make, and car model.

The GMC Fort Walton Beach team is here to help with five handy tips for ensuring your vehicle resale value stays as high as possible near Navarre, FL.  

Research the Best Resale Value Vehicles 

Choosing the right vehicle in the first place will go a long way toward maintaining vehicle trade in value when you’re ready to get a new car or truck, and GMC’s professional grade vehicles offer the reliability required to command top dollar.  

Trucks have always held their value incredibly well, and the GMC Sierra, GMC Sierra Heavy Duty, and GMC Canyon pickups are no exception to that rule. One critical choice for truck shoppers is whether to go with 4×2 or 4×4, and our GMC sales team is happy to help you select the perfect truck for your needs and resale goals.  

Carefully Maintain Your Vehicle’s Interior 

Customers shopping our Pre-Owned inventory often ask whether a vehicle has been smoked in, and many of them will immediately lose interest if even their dream vehicle contains a whiff of a dream of an ashtray.  

It’s a tough fact for many owners to face but, if you smoke in a vehicle you’re decreasing its resale value in a dramatic way. It’s not just the smell that limits value though – many smoker’s vehicles suffer from staining in the headliner as well as burns on the seats and carpet.  

There’s another type of stain that impacts seats and cars in many vehicles and it’s those generated by drinks and foods which are spilled by even the panhandle’s most careful drivers.  

You’ll never convince this blog author to give up his morning coffee, but I also recognize that my occasional spills are slowly turning my tan carpets a darker brown in spots and hurting my car resale value. I’ve also somehow managed to get ketchup into the most awkward places possible in my truck’s interior, and I’ve slowly covered my seats in bits of melted chocolate despite being confident I’d gotten everything in my mouth.  

These minor spills accumulate over time and, while some of them can be removed, those that linger will limit the resale value of my vehicle.  

We’re sure this won’t be a popular topic, especially when we all have busy lives life near Panama City, Florida, but maximizing resale value requires taking care of the inside of your GMC SUV. Consider carefully before smoking or eating in your vehicle if a high resale value is a priority for you.  

Watch Out for Rust 

Alright, Fort Walton Beach isn’t in Minnesota, and your vehicle isn’t going to rust from exposure to road salts. That doesn’t mean your vehicle is immune to rust, however, and you’ll want to quickly tackle any rust you see developing. 

Rust is an insidious foe to maximized resale value, and many buyers will walk from a possible vehicle if it displays even the slightest hints of iron oxide.  

You can help prevent rust from starting by paying more attention to your vehicle and catching it early on, but you can also: 

• Wash it regularly

• Wax it frequently 

• Apply touch up paint where appropriate 

• Cover it  

• Keep it in a garage 

• Live around beautiful Miramar Beach, Florida 

You’ve likely already got that last one covered, but remember that even a little bit of rust will negatively impact your vehicle’s resale value.  

Regularly Service Your Vehicle and Keep the Records 

Cars with great resale value are those which have been consistently maintained and have complete records of oil changes, tire rotations, battery replacement, swapping of air filters, brake pad swaps, and fluid levels.  

Folks in Florida looking for their next vehicle will absolutely inspect a car’s maintenance history, so choose a reliable GMC service department who can centralize your vehicle’s service history as well as provide you with copies for your records. A strong record of ongoing maintenance is a boon to resale value. 

Staying on top of regularly scheduled maintenance won’t just help your future resale value – it’s going to make your vehicle safer and more reliable every time you get behind the wheel around Crestview, FL.  

Carefully Choose Car Customizations  

There are many benefits to customizing your vehicle, but very few personal tweaks produce a positive impact on resale value. You may love the fender flares, custom wheels, unique grille, and custom paint job on your Sierra 1500 but that doesn’t mean there will be demand for that combination of tweaks when you’re ready to upgrade.  

We love seeing customers showing off their customized GMC vehicles, but it’s important to understand that investing thousands of dollars has to be for your enjoyment and not for resale value. It’s similar to a homeowner deciding whether to remodel their master bathroom – that investment is typically for the owner’s quality of life more than it is a move to increase the home’s value.  

Accessories that help protect your vehicle can have a positive impact on resale value though, so you may want to consider paint protectant film as one possible customization. Window tint is an easy choice for most of our customers around Milton, Florida as well.  

Selecting your Car Service Center Near Fort Walton Beach 

Regular service intervals are critical when you’re seeking to maximize your vehicle’s resale value, and the GMC service department here at GMC Ford Walton Beach is here to help. 

We offer GMC service coupons and parts specials that make it more affordable to properly maintain your vehicle, and you can schedule your GMC service near Mobile, Alabama to let our certified technicians keep your vehicle in peak operating condition.  

Have GMC maintenance questions? Call the service department here at GMC Fort Walton Beach at (850) 659-7424 for expert GMC guidance on regular car maintenance and more.