What about the options you choose? Do they affect the price at trade in or resale time?

Most people have a list of options they would like to have when they purchase a vehicle.  We also have a list of absolutely must have options, or at least most of us have that list. Another list that is part of the deal but we don’t see it like a list, is more of a “has to have to consider it” list.  These are things like automatic transmission, necessary if you can’t drive a stick. Four doors or five passenger’s seating might be others.  The things that are so important they don’t need a list. 

What we need to realize and consider when buying a vehicle are the options that protect resale value.  An example is air conditioning. Certain models without air conditioning have terrible resale value.  Imagine trying to sell a Honda accord in North Carolina that did not have air conditioning?  It would eventually sell but it would be difficult process and that thus affects resale value.

Two doors instead of 4 Doors, in some models, might have that effect as well.  It’s supply and demand.  If a customer wants two doors they may consider four door models but if a customer needs four doors they usually won’t consider two door models.  One is more marketable than the other, especially your standard sedan models.

They don’t make four door models of sports cars because who would want them?

A jeep in the Northeast with two-wheel drive instead of four-wheel drive is another example.  The two-wheel drive version cost less than the four-wheel drive model originally but the resale difference when they are sold as used vehicles is probably more than the original price difference.

Color can make a difference as well.  White cars probably sell the best in the south but a black car or a purple car might not be nearly as popular although they cost the same originally. Harder to sell means lower resale value.

Stick shift is one of the killers for resale.  You buy a small car with stick shift and it saves you a chunk on the initial investment but when you go to trade it in at a dealership the value is much lower or when you sell it on your own, the number of available buyers is much smaller. Yes, that means lower resale value.

When you go to buy your next vehicle consider the options in terms of resale not just in terms of what you want. It could save you thousands in the long run