For many people, cars are an essential part of daily life. It can be hard to imagine life without the vehicle you’ve owned for years. Unfortunately, there may come a day that you need to consider buying a new vehicle. If you’re wondering how to know when to sell your car, then you’ve come to the right place.
How to Know When to Sell Your Car
With advances and improvements in technology, cars are lasting owners for longer amounts of time. More and more cars can be driven over 100,000 miles without significant mechanical troubles. But, even the best kept car will eventually wear down due to use and age. Keeping an eye out for the following signs will help you determine if you need to invest in a new vehicle.
Maintenance and Repair Costs
There is a finite amount of time any vehicle has before the costs of replacing essential components outweighs the cost of purchasing a new car. This amount of time will vary from vehicle to vehicle based on how a car is driven over its serviceable life.
You can easily compare the cost of buying a new car versus repairing your current vehicle with these three steps.
Find out how much your car is worth by visiting a vehicle appraisal site such as Kelley Blue Book and entering in your vehicle’s information.- Talk to your mechanic at T3 Atlanta to see how much maintenance is required, particularly larger service schedule items. The repairs to keep an eye on are big repairs, especially those involving the transmission, and not routine fluid changes or oil changes.
- Compare the value of your car to how much maintenance is needed to keep your car on the road.
Once you have these numbers in hand, you’ll have a better idea of whether buying a new car is right for you.
Safety Considerations
Advances in technology have made newer cars safer than ever. Rear cameras, improved crash ratings, and automatic braking are just a few of the newest safety features. Consider factoring in safety when making a decision about your old vehicle.
Gas Mileage
Fuel efficiency and gas mileage naturally decrease over time, leading to more trips to the gas pump. These increasingly frequent trips add up over time.
However, electric, hybrid, and fuel-efficient vehicles are becoming increasingly popular. If gas efficiency is important to you, then a new vehicle could save you time and fuel by reducing your trips to the gas pump.
Reliability
A reliable car is a car that always starts and doesn’t break down except in very rare circumstances. In other words, a reliable car doesn’t give you headaches!
Well-maintained cars generally stay reliable over their entire service life. But, it’s still possible that they can become less reliable as they age.
If you have noticed that your car is becoming less reliable, it may be time to visit your mechanic to find out if the problem is minor, or if it might become a larger issue.
Warranty
Now that we’ve discussed repairs, that brings us to the warranty. Many cars have long warranties, with some lasting as long as 10 years. So, do you sell a car before the warranty has expired? Or do you sell it immediately after the expiration date?
This particular question is very personal, and the answer will vary from person to person. Another factor to consider is whether you are selling it to a dealer or an individual. In some cases, selling a car with little or no warranty to a dealer may be easier than selling a car as-is to an individual.
At the end of the day, deciding to sell a car before or after a warranty expires depends on how you feel about the car, and how ready you are to get into your new ride.
Lifestyle Changes
That convertible you’ve had since college might have been perfect back then, but the demands of life have a way of influencing your choice of vehicle.
Have you become a long-distance commuter? Do you have a growing family? Does your job require you to haul construction materials? Are you at a point in life where you’re ready to get the sports car of your dreams? These are just a few of the lifestyle changes that play into how to know when to sell your car.
Rust
Although rust isn’t as big of a problem in the Atlanta area, cars that have spent time in areas where salt is used to de-ice roads may have rusty spots.
You may be thinking that some spots of rust here or there shouldn’t be a problem. However, this is not the case at all. Rust spreads over time, and grows more quickly with exposure to rain.
Given time, rust can corrode the structure and integrity of a vehicle’s frame, leading to costly repairs and potentially safety concerns. You may want to strongly factor rust damage when deciding whether you should sell your car.
Buying or Selling Your Car? Get an Inspection at T3 Atlanta!
Knowing when to buy a new car is an intensely personal decision that isn’t always straightforward. Sometimes, it’s just time to make a change! In the end, we recommend that you weigh all your potential costs against your baseline requirements of a vehicle when making your choice.
If you’re in the process of trying to decide whether to sell your car, schedule an appointment with T3 Atlanta. We can appraise how many repairs you need, which can help you determine maintenance costs versus buying a new car.
T3 Atlanta also offers free inspections of Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, or Infiniti vehicles before you buy. We recommend a 3rd party inspection of any vehicle you are considering in order to help you make the best choice possible when buying a new car.
Water damage is a problem anywhere, but can be especially bad in cars. After all, cars are designed to keep water out. They’re enclosed spaces without much ventilation when the engine isn’t running. As if that’s not difficult enough, the carpet lining in a car isn’t removable; only the floor mats can be taken out to dry.
Move the car somewhere that is covered, such as a garage, carport, or under a tarp, to avoid more water getting in.
Once your car carpets are dry, sprinkle baking soda over the affected area. Let sit for at least half an hour, then vacuum. Repeated as needed.
You may have heard that tires do not wear evenly on AWD cars. In many cases, front tires do wear more quickly than rear tires.
Although T3 Atlanta does not perform tire work, we can diagnose and repair issues with the powertrain, axles, transmission, and more. We are experts at Toyota, Lexus, Nissan, and Infiniti repair. Visit us at one of our two convenient Atlanta locations!
A hybrid car is one that is powered by both electricity and gasoline. In essence, hybrids have two engines. One is fuel powered; the other is electric. Unlike a purely electric car, you do not need to plug most hybrids into a wall outlet to recharge. Hybrids have a built-in system to recharge while in use.
Higher upfront cost: As a direct result of the additional technology beneath the hood, hybrids can see buyers spending considerably more upfront, even used.
Bulbs tend to be white to off-white in color
Increased visibility and safety: Xenon and LED bulbs are much brighter and usually have a longer range than halogen bulbs. This means that you’re more likely to see road hazards and still have enough time to avoid them.
Normal: ‘Normal’ or ‘standard’ spark plugs are generally tipped with a copper coating. These wear down fairly quickly, with an average lifespan of 20,000 – 40,000 miles. The biggest benefits of copper-tipped spark plugs is that they are affordable and run at cooler temperatures than spark plugs with exotic metal tips.
If you don’t have an owner’s manual, you can always find the specifications at your auto parts store. You will need to know the following information:
Engine is idling roughly
Maybe you’ve moved away and can no longer take your car to your trusted mechanic. Maybe you have recently purchased a brand that your mechanic does not service. Whatever the reason, you’re needing repairs and not sure about the quote you received. Perhaps it’s time to get a second opinion for car maintenance.
Listen to your instinct. If you aren’t getting a good feeling about what you’re hearing, then don’t hesitate; listen to that feeling! There’s a good chance that you have that feeling for a reason. Move on to another mechanic.
No one is looking forward to the next time they need to take their car into the mechanic for service. That said, when that time does arrive, you can be assured that the team at T3 Atlanta are comprised of award-winning experts who are prepared for any customer’s vehicle problem.
Although cell reception is widespread these days, there are still large parts of the US which do not have reception. Having a backup is a great way to avoid getting lost. Most state border visitor information centers will have free maps. You can also download offline copies of maps to your smartphone or tablet for easy reference.
What to have in an emergency kit:
Especially useful if you are travelling with kids, activities for the car will keep the young ones occupied so they aren’t constantly asking that age old question: “Are we there yet?”
The vehicle condition refers to the overall state of the vehicle in relation to its age and use. This includes:
In more recent years, it has been argued that 100,000 is the new 200,000. Some cars seem to last forever, and more and more are appearing on used car lots with the odometer reading well over 90,000 miles.
Buying a used car is a great way to save some money while still finding the best fit for your needs. The experience can be very rewarding if you’re willing to do some extra legwork and have the patience to hold out for the right fit.
Despite what most people think, a car alignment has nothing to do with adjusting the tires or wheels. Instead, the alignment refers to how the suspension is adjusted, and how it makes the tire/wheel combination sit in relation to the road.
A car that isn’t properly aligned doesn’t perform at its best. Poor alignment means you don’t enjoy handling that is as crisp as normal. Your vehicle will ride more roughly, negatively impacting comfort even if the road is smooth as glass.
Uneven tire wear. Perhaps the most common sign, this includes the inside or outside edge of your tires wearing out faster than the rest of the tread. If both edges are worn down faster than the middle of the tread, that’s a sign you don’t keep your tires properly inflated.
