Which Modifications Increase The Value Of Your Car? | #cp

When you get a new car and you’re trying to put your own stamp on it, you might decide that you want to make some modifications. That’s great but you’re going to be spending a lot of money on the car and you want to make sure that you can recoup that investment further down the line if you eventually decide to sell it. There are a lot of car modifications that improve performance and make the driving experience a lot better, and they’ll increase the value a lot. But there are a lot of other modifications that aren’t so in demand and they might actually push the price of the car down, so you’ve got to be careful. These are the modifications that you should make to your car, and some that you should avoid. 

Infotainment Systems 
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The technology that you can get in a car these days is impressive and it’s something that potential buyers love when they’re looking at a car. You can install screens in the back of the seats so passengers can watch TV as they drive, which is ideal if you have a family. You can also get some powerful car stereos with Bluetooth capability so you can play music straight from your phone. Voice activation is a more recent development in car infotainment systems and they make it a lot safer to operate all of that tech while you’re driving. 

Most cars don’t come with all of this tech as standard, they usually have a fairly basic setup in them. If you want to keep yourself and your passengers entertained and increase the value of your car at the same time, you should consider installing a more modern infotainment system. 

Personalized Number Plates 

Getting yourself a personalized number plate is a great way to put your own stamp on the car, but most people assume that it decreases the value of the car, rather than increases it. But if you get the right private number plates, they may actually increase the value of the car by quite a bit. If you get something that is very specific to you, it won’t really make that much difference but if you get something that is sought after by a lot of people, it’s going to be worth a lot of money. Nobody else can get that plate once you’ve bought it, so the value increases over time and when you sell the car, you can either keep it and switch it over or you can throw it in and bump the price up. 

Leather Seats 

The stock interior in a lot of new cars isn’t that luxurious, especially if it’s not a very expensive car. But if you want to give yourself a little more luxury, you could add some leather seats fairly easily. Leather seats are far more comfortable and they give the impression of a quality car when you’re showing it to a potential buyer. Just be aware that leather seats require a lot more maintenance and you need to treat the leather regularly to stop it from wearing over time. 

New Tires 

Worn down tires are always a red flag if you’re trying to sell your car because it’s dangerous to drive and it makes the car look scruffy. If you’re using cheap tires, they’re going to wear down quickly and you’ll have to keep replacing them. The stock tires on a new car aren’t always the best quality so it might be best to replace them right away. It will make your car safer to drive and the ride will be a lot more comfortable. 

New Rims 
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There’s no sense in spending money on expensive tires if the rims look old and worn out. If somebody is looking at the car and the rims look old and battered, they’re going to assume that the car isn’t looked after very well. On the other hand, a set of interesting rims sets the car apart from others that they’re looking at and it also shows that you look after the car well. If you are going to replace the rims, make sure that you don’t go for anything too out there because it might be to everybody’s tastes. 

Those are all great modifications that improve your driving experience and increase the value of your car. These next modifications will have the opposite effect and can actually decrease the value of the car. 

Door Lights 

You might think it’s great to have door lights that display the make of the car on the ground when you open the doors, but not everybody does. If people don’t want that, they’ll have to take the time to remove them or at least disconnect them and that means they’re probably not willing to pay as much for the car. 

Decals 
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If you can’t afford a full paint job, you can just use decals on the car instead. Flames are a very popular one but people also like to put all sorts of jokes or messages on the car. They aren’t always easy to get off and a lot of people think that they look tacky and cheap, so it’s not a good idea to cover your car with them if you want to sell it in the future. 

Window Tinting 

A lot of people think that tinted windows decrease your chances of having your car broken into but studies show that isn’t actually true. In fact, it might make you more likely to get pulled over by the police because it can look suspicious. The other issue is that it can impair your vision when you’re driving at night so it may actually be dangerous if the tint is particularly dark. The only benefit of tinted windows is that they keep the car a bit cooler in the summer because they block out some of the sunlight, but that small benefit isn’t worth all of the other negatives. 

If you’re going to make modifications to your car, you need to be careful and make sure that you only make changes that will add value and avoid changes that will decrease the value of the car. 


Karl Young

Part-time daddy and lifestyle blogger. Father of 2 boys under 2. Golfer, scare-fan, tea-lover, traveller, squash and poker player. I write on the @HuffPostUK http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/karl-young/

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