What Car? research has revealed that almost a fifth of car owners say they avoid carrying children when possible to enhance their vehicle’s resale value.
In order to find out which habits vehicle owners avoid in order to help boost the value of their cars on the used car market, What Car? surveyed 1070 in-market buyers, of which 987 were current vehicle owners.
Overall, 17.9% of respondents stated they try to avoid transporting young children in their car whenever possible, while 66.2% said they don’t allow smoking in the car.
In an effort to increase the vehicle’s potential value, a third (33.6%) avoids transporting pets in their car, and 38.7% avoid using it for towing. However, nearly a third (30.2%) of drivers had no limitations in place.
As part of the survey, What Car? also questioned buyers on whether any of the above would be a dealbreaker when considering a used car. For 58.6% of respondents, a model which had been smoked in was a dealbreaker, while 30.6% also said they’d avoid cars which had carried dogs or other pets. 36.5% of buyers said they would ignore a car which had been used for towing.
When someone under the age of 18 is inside the vehicle, it is illegal to smoke in any car unless you’re in a convertible with the roof fully down and are using an e-cigarette. Breaking this law could lead to a £50 fine.
Although nearly a fifth avoid carrying children in their cars to improve the secondhand value, previous owners with kids were a deal-breaker for just 4.3% of potential used buyers. Meanwhile, nearly a quarter (24.3%) were fine with all of the above on a used car.
