7 tips to make your car last (and increase its resale value)

A new car begins to lose value the minute you drive it off the lot. But with these seven tips, you can limit trips to the mechanic and increase your vehicle's resale value.

7. Wash off brake dust

Ina Fassbender/Reuters/File
Visitors look at car wheel hubs during a press presentation prior to the Essen Motor Show in Essen last year. Keeping car rims clean takes minimal effort and helps a vehicle's potential resale value.

If you have beautiful alloy wheels, or even just “okay looking” alloy wheels, they contribute massively to your car’s aesthetic appeal and are usually worth at least a few hundred dollars as an option.

Every time you tap the brakes, a little bit of black dust is emitted and most of it lands on the alloys. You may have noticed the front wheels of city-dwelling cars looking especially dark from constant braking in stop-and-go traffic. The effect is magnified in the event of a panic stop, and if you slammed your brakes on the highway your wheels might look like they had been sneezed on by a dragon (assuming soot accompanies all that fire breathing). This is unsightly if left unchecked, but worse, it can stain permanently and reduce the marketability of a car when you’re ready to sell.

Enthusiasts might swear by rim-cleaning products to extract maximum shine, but if you're willing to do it often, all you need is a damp rag to remove most harmful brake dust.  Think of it like leaving food stuck in your teeth; unattractive in the short term and harmful if left for days.

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