How Much Does Detailing Increase The Value Of Your Car?
We all know that the better shape a car is in, the more it is worth. Whether you go to trade in your car or sell it privately, a car that has been well maintained is going to earn you top dollar. When people sell a car, they tend to focus on the mechanical aspects of the vehicle, and perhaps rightly so; a car that will not start is not going to fetch a high asking price. But what about the appearance and aesthetic side to your vehicle? Maybe you run the car through a car wash (learn why that is a terrible idea here) and give it a quick vacuum, but that’s usually it for the average seller. What if you were to detail your car prior to selling it? Detailing is certainly going to be more expensive than a quick car wash, but is it worth it? That is what we are here to find out. Let’s see what the numbers have to say.
Kelly Blue Book Value
For this experiment, we will be using Kelly Blue Book’s (KBB’s) ‘What is my car worth’[1] calculator as well as KBB’s ‘What is my car’s condition’ assessment.[2] Many people think their car is not that bad. As detailers we hear it all the time: “Oh it just needs a quick wipe down, the interior is in great shape,” or “I wash it regularly, it just needs a quick buff and wax.” Meanwhile, it takes a detailer 12 hours to bring the car that wasn’t ‘that bad’ up to a professional standard. So, let’s look at KBB’s condition quiz and see what kind of condition our hypothetical car is in.
Aesthetic Problems Only
For this experiment, we are only concerned with finding out if detailing can raise my vehicle’s value and if so, by how much. KBB has various values of fair, good, very good, and excellent with most vehicles falling into the good category. So, we are going to set all aspects of the car to perfect condition beside just two factors. We will set paint and body work to have minor scratches. Not even major scratches, chips, dents, or anything like that, just some minor repairable scratches. As for the second factor we will be altering, we are going to change interior upholstery to be a little stained or faded or worn down. Now if everything else was perfect on the vehicle (never had any bodywork performed, no defects in the windshield, wheels are flawless, there is no odor in the car, all electronics work, no problems with engine and transmission, A/C works great, brakes and tires are like new) most of us would say that the vehicle sounds like it is in incredible condition. But with the blemishes of minor scratching on the paintwork and some faded interior, KBB gives us a rating of just ‘good.’
Wide Range of Vehicles
At this point, many of us would just sell the car and get whatever we can for it, right? But what if you got rid of those minor scratches and interior stains. What would that do for your value? Well, let’s take a look. We analyzed some of the most popular vehicles in America.[3] Our lineup includes: Ford 150, Chevy Silverado 1500, Ram 1500, Toyota RAV4, Honda CRV, Tesla Model 3, Lexus RX, Audi Q5, Mercedes GLC, Lincoln Navigator, and Toyota Camry. This list gives us a good range of vehicles in different categories from trucks, to crossovers, to sedans, from different manufactures, and different price points as well. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration, the average person drives around 13,500 miles every year.[4] That number is probably a little lower in 2020, nevertheless that number will be our average miles driven per year. Then we took each of our vehicles and ran them through KBB’s ‘What is my car’s worth’ calculator to get a trade in valuation and a private sell valuation under good condition and then again under excellent condition (remember, the condition of a car with a perfect mechanical state and minor scratches and stains is good, not excellent) . For every vehicle (besides the Tesla Model 3 due to age), we went back through 10 years of data which resulted in about 100 data points.
Results
So, after all that, what did the numbers say? The trade in values of cars increased an average of 10%, which translated to an average increase of $1,666, in cars with an excellent condition versus a good condition. The private sale values, which typically yield higher profits than trade ins, increased an average of 9%, which translated to average increase of $1,772. So just by having your car detailed, getting rid of those minor scratches and fixing up the interior you pocketed approximately an extra $1,700 in your pocket! Who doesn’t want an extra $1,700?
Book today
At this point you’re probably saying, yea an extra $1,700 sounds great, but what is it going to cost me to get rid of minor scratches and to have the interior detailed? Great question. Here at Fort Worth Auto Detail, we offer many different packages depending on your needs and specific situation. On a car that you are selling, it probably does not make sense to go with our diamond package to put a graphene ceramic coating on the car to last several years. That package is better suited for the new car you are purchasing. For most of our clients, we would recommend something like our silver package on the exterior and interior which includes a light polish to remove those minor scratches and the right amount of care to have your interior looking better than ever.
Conclusion
Whether you have a vehicle you are getting ready to sell or your new vehicle needs to be protected, contact us today and we would love to talk you through how we can protect your investment.
Sources:
[1] https://www.kbb.com/whats-my-car-worth/?ico=kbbvalue
[2] https://www.kbb.com/vehicles/path/condition-quiz/?showgenericquiz=true