If you own a car, the chances are that at some point, you’ll choose to sell it. It can be a hard thing to do; we tend to get emotionally attached to possessions, and a car is no different, especially as it can be the catalyst for many memories of good days out, family time, and adventures. 

 

However, there are a number of reasons why selling a car is a good idea, and if you’re not sure whether you should, read on to discover why it could be the ideal time. 

 

Your Insurance Is High

When you drive a car, it’s the law that you need to have insurance to go with it. In this way, if you are involved in an accident, you can claim money back, or if it was your fault, the other person can claim money from your insurance company and not you directly. 

 

However, some cars will come with a higher premium than others. This will depend on a variety of factors, including the vehicle’s age, its emissions, its overall safety rating and record, whether that particular car has been in an accident in the past, and so on. There will also be some factors that concern you personally, such as your age, where you live, and your driving style. Although you can’t really change these factors, you can sell your car and choose one that is cheaper on insurance. This could save you a lot of money and make owning a car much more cost-effective. 

 

Increasing Maintenance Costs

There are many responsibilities that come with owning a car, and one is that you must keep it well-maintained. If you don’t, you might find that it becomes unsafe to drive, more expensive to run (fuel consumption can go up, for example), and it might even fail altogether. 

 

Although regular maintenance like an annual service and inspection should be something everyone has in their budget, as a vehicle gets older, it will require more work. Things that used to work perfectly will need to be fixed, and the older the car is, the more often this will happen. If it is become prohibitively expensive to keep up with the maintenance on your old car, it’s worth looking at the cost of a new one at Edmunds and selling the old one at the same time. 

 

You Need A Different-Sized Car

Life can change quickly, and that means the car that suited you perfectly just a few years or even months ago may now not be so suitable. If, for example, you have a baby or get a new dog, or you start a business, that means you have to drive a lot of tools and equipment around, a smaller car may not work for you. In this case, it’s better to sell the car and buy a bigger one to keep everyone and everything safe and protected, and to make driving a lot more comfortable. 

 

Of course, the opposite is also true. If your children no longer need as many lifts (or they’ve moved out and are driving their own cars), for example, you might want to downsize, and again, selling a larger car and buying a smaller one is a great idea.