For many car enthusiasts this will not be a surprise, but any car is designed to be used by multiple owners. So the relevant question is, how often should a used car be changed?
In addition, many will want to know how many years you can drive a used car so as not to lose money on its subsequent resale to the next owner? And when is it time to sell a used car? On these interesting topics we will talk today.
Let’s start with new cars. Buying a new car in a car dealership, the owner expects to drive the car for at least 3 years. Simply put, until the end of the warranty period or until the full payment of the loan. Usually, a car becomes boring after 3 years of owning it. The warranty expires and the loan is repaid. Besides, mileage is already between 60 and 80 thousand kilometers. Accordingly, it is necessary to pay for expensive maintenance.
The necessity to change not cheap consumables arises. Including the replacement of timing belt, antifreeze, oil and filter in automatic transmission, brake pads, alternator belt etc. Besides you may need to have suspension repair. Shock absorbers and springs of front struts can fail. And it is recommended to change them in pairs.
In addition to expenses for maintenance, it is necessary to take into account the annual decrease in residual value of the car. In fact, over the years, the car becomes cheaper, not more expensive.
During the first year of operation, any car B or C class becomes cheaper by 20%. Then, each subsequent year, the price of the car will decrease by 10%. So at the end of three years, the residual value of the car will be about 60%. In most cases, the percentage of value will depend on the make of the car, and the technical condition.
That is why not to lose even more money, the car owner begins to look for a new car model and decides to sell his used car.
The second owner is in a better position than the first one. The point is that they will lose much less money at the subsequent resale than the first one. To a greater extent, this applies to the cars of premium brands. They usually lose up to 30% in value during the first year. After another couple of years, the value of these cars decreases by 20%, and the car is sold for half of its previous value.
In three years, however, the price stops dropping rapidly and stabilizes. Quite often after a couple of years it remains at the same level. It turns out that the car owner, who bought such a car with low mileage, freezes the invested money. Therefore, when subsequently selling the car in 2 to 3 years, he can return up to 95% of the money previously spent on the car.
It is worth noting that for a profitable sale of the car, the price will depend on the technical condition and mileage. In order to sell a premium car favourably, the mileage of the car should not exceed 100 thousand kilometers. By this time the car will have to replace the tires, timing belts with rollers, brake discs with pads and other consumables. In addition, it will be necessary to service the automatic transmission, if any. On a manual transmission, just change the oil.
In general, the second car owner sells his car before the car begins to suck money out of the family budget. By this time the car is about 7 years old.
The next owner, having bought a car with mileage, usually makes preventive repairs to the main assemblies and units, since he plans to drive the car for many years. He usually has his car serviced by the familiar craftsmen in GSCs or inexpensive car services. Usually the car is kept by such motorists for 5 and more years. They rarely sell their car at a profit.
Used cars are sold by all car owners. This process does not depend on the quality and performance of the vehicles. Progress is unstoppable and people want something new. Perhaps that is why most motorists do not have a question, after how many years to sell the car.
Usually a used car is sold when there is a desire to change something in their life. Apartments are often expensive to change. Changing jobs does not always work out. So the easiest option is to sell your used car and buy another one.
After how many years you will sell your car is up to you. Good luck and don’t make a bad choice.