When to Upgrade Your Vehicle and Get Rid of Your Old One
Eventually, every car reaches the end of the road, and it’s simply too much of a hassle to keep around. In that case, you’re going to want to get rid of it and nab an upgrade as soon as possible.
However, it’s not always clear when you need to pull the trigger on investing in a new car; after all, it’s a fairly substantial investment that you’ll likely want to put off until you absolutely have to.
So, here is a brief guide to the three main times it’s a good idea to get rid of your old ride and upgrade to something a bit more reliable.
1: It’s Totaled
If your car is totaled from a severe accident, your only practical option is to get rid of it, and when you go to buy a new one, you might as well get a newer, more advanced model.
Once a car is totaled, you won’t be able to get proper coverage on it, the title will be updated to acknowledge that it’s totaled, and it can be dangerous to drive, that is if we assume it can even run afterward.
Instead of dealing with all that, it’s best to take the insurance payment, sell the vehicle to a junk car removal service, and put the two payments together to get a better car. This is quick, easy, and stress-free; plus, it puts more money towards a good car when you can no longer trade your totaled vehicle in or otherwise sell it.
2: Frequent Repairs
As a car gets older, it’s kind of like a human. Random parts start failing sporadically, and it just doesn’t run like it did when it was fresh off the assembly line. At first, this can be manageable with some preventative maintenance, but as the issues keep mounting up, it will eventually come to a point where you should just move on.
This is because it can be very costly to keep fixing minor things, even if individual repairs are cheaper to handle, and it can also pose a safety risk. The more your vehicle randomly breaks down, the more likely you are to end up stranded in adverse weather conditions; even if you do your best to maintain the vehicle via regular maintenance.
3: Advances You Can’t Ignore
Tech is constantly advancing, and while most of the advances are things you would like to have but can do without, there are certain major leaps in technology that you just cannot ignore. The car industry also sees these advances in tech each and every year.
Right now, we’re seeing the growth of EVs and how they can benefit owners, and they’re becoming less expensive over time. In the past, it was the addition of on-board computers that made diagnosing car problems easier and facilitated several of the key feature’s cars have today.
When a major leap in tech produces itself, it’s a good idea to try to adopt it early and get used to it before you’re practically forced to due to the market being saturated with it.
If you stay with the old, obsolete stuff, you can end up finding it difficult to have repairs done thanks to scarcity of spare parts, see a lack of support from the automotive industry via mechanics not working with the tech anymore or third-party parts stop being manufactured, and more.
It’s a lot easier to just sell your outdated care and hop on the new tech bandwagon if you can afford it.
Know When to Upgrade
You might be able to squeeze a year or two more out of your car in any of the situations presented. Even totaled cars are often still drivable if you accept that they’re no longer protected by insurance.
However, it’s often best to start planning an upgrade as soon as you notice these problems as they occur. This can save you time, money, and energy in the long run.
