Last year, I bought a new car. Rather than trade in my old one, I decided to sell it myself. Before I put it in the market, I took the car to a local shop and got my old baby a new paint job. The new paint made all the difference with the car. While operationally it was sound, the outside was not all that great. After the fresh coat of paint, the car generated a lot of attention from prospective buyers. I even had a bidding war going on between two parties who really wanted it. If you have an older vehicle to sell, it pays to invest in a new paint job. Let me tell you more about why this strategy works. Follow my tips for selecting the color and the paint type, and you'll get a great price for the old jalopy.
Selling Your Older Car: Why a New Paint Job Matters
3 Car Dealer Extras You Should Always Avoid
Nora Boyd
Are you thinking about purchasing a new vehicle? Are you which optional extras you should avoid and which ones may be worth the money? Sometimes, it's perfectly fine to pay a little extra at the dealership for things like heated seats, when you live in a cold climate, but not all extras offer the same value for your money. Some of the options that you should definitely skip when you're at the dealership include:
Fabric protection
While the car salesman may talk up this extra, it's actually nothing special. For a few hundred dollars extra, the dealership will take spray cans of fabric protector and apply them to the fabric interior. For a fraction of the price, and very little of your time, you can go to the store and purchase the same cans of fabric protector. As long as you follow the easy instructions on the can, you can have the same protection that you'd otherwise get at the dealership. When the protection inevitably starts to fade, which will happen over time or after you get the seats steam cleaned, you'll know exactly how to apply the sprays so that your seats are protected again.
Window tinting
While it can be nice to have tinted windows as soon as you drive off the lot, this is something that you should consider waiting on. Not all cars need the same amount of window tinting and picking out a tint while still at the dealer could result in your picking out a tint that is too light or too dark for the vehicle that you're driving. After you've driven the vehicle around for a month or two, then you can return to the dealer or go to a specialty shop that does window tinting and pick out the tint at that point. This way, you'll be better poised to tell whether you might actually not want the tinting on certain windows or if you want the full amount of tinting that is available.
Insurance products
Some dealers will offer to bundle various types of life, disability, or even auto insurance into your regular car payment. While the idea behind this is sound in that you'll be able to pay off the vehicle even if something happens to you, insurance isn't something you should purchase from the dealer. As with everything else, you should be able to get the same coverage from an actual insurance agent for much less than the extra amount that gets rolled into your monthly car payments.
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