Smart owners will realize that a car is more than just a tool to get you around from place to place. It’s also a financial asset. It’s one of the most expensive objects that most of us will ever own. Getting its financial potential out of it means treating it as an investment. Depreciation is unavoidable, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be doing what you can to get the best financial returns from the car. Here, we’re going to look at the car as an investment, as well as an opportunity to make money.
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Buy smarter
As with all journeys, the journey to being a more financially savvy car owner begins at the beginning. That is, with how you buy your car. Getting a better deal on a car is easier than a lot of people realize. It’s all about negotiation and clever tactics. For instance, buy on days where there aren’t a lot of people at the dealership. When dealers have more people to sell too, they’re okay with pushing the price of cars up at the cost of seeing a few of those people walk away. Instead of splurging on the outfitted model of a lesser car, you could consider getting a better car cheaper as a base model, too.
Taking care of it
One of the biggest things that is going to affect the value of a car when you sell it is how well you maintain it. Smarter owners take care of their car. They also make sure that they have the proof that they’re doing so. Most cars will come with a maintenance schedule. Having that filled out is proof that you’ve been doing your part to make sure the car is working up to standard.
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The truth about modifications
What is the truth about mods? Well, most of them don’t add any value, to start with. There are a few, like safety gear implementations, that can. But no-one is going to think your car is worth any more just because you put a spoiler on it. Instead, focus your money on replacing the standard parts that could look better. Fresh the wheels and get new lights fitted. Invest in making sure there are no scratches or dents that a buyer could use to knock down the price a bit.
Get paid to drive
Investing in a car isn’t all about seeing returns when you sell it, however. You can end up making a lot more money off it if you choose to use it to actually make money. A car can not only help you with your finances. With apps like Lyft, it could actually become a full-time job. These taxi apps are not only cheaper than the old kind of taxi services, but people tend to find them more convenient as well. There are also courier apps like Amazon Flex bot, MyFlexHelper and similar, that allow you to be very efficient and make good money fast. You could take it on as a full-time job or just a side gig to help you get more money in.
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The wonders of marketing
Taxi apps aren’t the only way you can make money from your car, too. If you don’t want to spend your time taking people around, you could just as easily get paid to just drive. The most reliable way of doing that is by applying to those who want to wrap your car in advertising. Yes, it can make your car rather gaudy looking. If you don’t mind that element so much, however, there are businesses that will gladly pay you. All you need to do is simply to drive in areas with high volumes of people.
Picking up some side work
If you don’t want to be obligated to drive all the time, it’s easy to just make a bit of occasional money off the car, too. Sites like TaskRabbit are used by people looking for help with all sorts of projects. DIY and home maintenance are the most common. However, those looking for those with vehicles to transport things are almost as common. From the three points above, it should become abundantly clear that a car isn’t just an investment. It’s an asset that opens up real money-making opportunities to the average owner.
If you’re willing to put a little effort in, there are plenty of opportunities to make a bit of extra cash off your car. While you’re doing that, take care of it and make sure you prepare for any sale by making the little changes that can make all the difference. It’s likely you could be getting a much better deal for your vehicle than you think.