Buyers Opt for Vehicle Comfort Options
When it comes to personalizing our vehicles, most of us have very strong views on what is important to us.
Our dream car is unlikely to come off the production line just the way we want it. Luckily, a whole industry has grown up around giving us choices to make our car fit our vision and our lifestyle.
As we spend increasing amounts of time behind the wheel, it is no surprise that the leading area we look to improve is increasing our vehicle comfort.
A new survey of buying habits by BuyingAdvice.com shows that when asked which category of options they were most likely to add, forty-six percent of new car buyers said they are most likely to add comfort and convenience features to the new car they purchase.
That is almost twice as many respondents than those who said they were most likely to add safety equipment. Safety was the second most popular area of options with 23 percent, beating out performance, 20 percent, and external looks, 10 percent.
But does adding options add value to your vehicle? And if so, how and when should you buy your added features?
Former dealership owner Earnest Jordan says that, "any options you buy will depreciate at about the same rate as the rest of the car. But when you are looking at options in terms of maintaining the value of your car, you really have to put yourself in the mindset of the guy at the dealership who will be appraising your vehicle."
"The best options in his eyes are the ones that appeal to the greatest number of used car customers and they differ depending on the section of the market you are looking at. Someone looking at basic, cheap transportation is not going to place a great value on leather seats. However a luxury car customer is looking for that kind of option."
Likewise, according to Jordan, a premium stereo in a luxury car will add more resale value than the same item in an economy car. So loading an economy car with options is less likely to provide a good return than adding to a luxury car.
Jordan also cautions against the use of "after-market" products when it comes to options explaining, "Though you may be able to buy a similar stereo cheaper elsewhere, it is unlikely to add to the appraised value at the same level as a manufacturer or dealer installed item, particularly if the interior has to be modified for the installation."
Forty-five percent of our sample said that they expected to add dealer or manufacturer options at the time of purchase. But only 40 percent of respondents expected the options to add value to their new vehicle.
The survey was taken among 1737 users of the BuyingAdvice.com web site. They all stated they were within 30 days of making a new car purchase and were drawn from the 50,000 consumers who request new car price quotes from the web site each month.
Jordan had some further guidance pointing out that some items that are listed as options when the car is new are expected by the used car customer. Therefore they will not add to the resale value of the vehicle, but the lack of them may lower the valuation. The most notable examples of these are automatic transmission and air conditioning which many view as standard requirements even if some manufacturers still list them as options on their new cars.
There are also items that will vary in value depending on the area of the country you are living in. Heated seats offer little value in a warm climate, but can be a strong selling point in regions that see a lot of snow and ice. The same could be said of heated mirrors.
Options that risk declining steeply in value, according to Jordan, are those on the very cutting edge of technology such as navigation systems.
"What has happened with navigation systems, which were very expensive when they first came out, is that newer, better versions have come along and that has caused the early ones to lose value pretty quickly," he said.
Other modifications to avoid are dramatic paint schemes or irreversible modifications such as wider wheel arches or lowered suspensions.
"Dramatic physical modifications will always raise a red flag for the appraiser as it is very hard to establish the quality of the work that has been done and whether there is a demand for a truly customized vehicle," says Jordan.
He offers some good parting advice explaining, "At the end of the day you add options for yourself, so pick the ones you will enjoy the most. Your salesman is trying to load you up to boost his commission and the appraiser will always try and give you the lowest value for them. It is what they are paid to do. They know what they want. The important thing is for you to decide what you want and make sure you get it."
Published on Thursday, October 25, 2007 - Email to a friend
Copyright 2008 BuyingAdvice.com, INC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, or redistributed.
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