How important are car options when selling?

[s1962a]

Are there some options that are more desirable, and do they add much value to the sale price of a car? Thinking about a mid spec 3 series type car

- right colour / interior?
- sunroof?
- driving aids such as 360 degree parking camera
- driving assistant / Tesla style auto driving?

Edited by s1962a on Friday 16th June 16:28

[revilo87]

From a value perspective obviously the ROI on most options is awful, as a buyer I’m always going to try and find the car that has the most options (within reason) and tend to avoid cars without them - might seem dumb, but I wouldn’t really want to live without the likes of winter packs for heated seats, steering wheel etc if they are possible on a prospective car I’m buying

[ScoobyChris]

I don't think it necessarily makes the car worth a great deal more, but on something like a BMW where there are lots of options, it does make it easier to sell in the marketplace, especially in a sea of ex-lease poverty spec cars! If you look at other brands like Ford, Hyundai, etc, they are all well specced as standard and I think options make much less difference.

Chris

[Geffg]

revilo87 said:

From a value perspective obviously the ROI on most options is awful, as a buyer I’m always going to try and find the car that has the most options (within reason) and tend to avoid cars without them - might seem dumb, but I wouldn’t really want to live without the likes of winter packs for heated seats, steering wheel etc if they are possible on a prospective car I’m buying

I’ve always considered a steering wheel quite important myself, don’t think I’d buy a car myself if it didn’t have one!

[anonymous-user]

Sun roofs often seem to be a liability on older cars, either leaking or getting stuck.

[Whataguy]

It doesn't really affect the sale value - I had a Ford ex management car that had a list of £22k but they had added £12k of options on top.

When selling... it didn't really matter, you just get the standard trade value.

For some cars though, certain extras are taken to be always fitted as most buyers had them, or you get less.

[Driver101]

Whataguy said:

It doesn't really affect the sale value - I had a Ford ex management car that had a list of £22k but they had added £12k of options on top.

When selling... it didn't really matter, you just get the standard trade value.

For some cars though, certain extras are taken to be always fitted as most buyers had them, or you get less.

I bet when they sold it the car with £12k options was priced significantly higher than a standard car.

The guy selling BMW on another site used to detail how much each added extra added to the GFMV on PCP.

If there was no price difference between a car with all the nice options and a basic car nobody would buy the basic car. They are cheaper.

[alscar]

Depends on the manufacturer / model but usually just makes it easer and quicker to sell if the car has most of the so called desired options.
As stated already it will sell for more than a basic car but it won’t return extra what those options cost originally.
The more “esoteric” or exotic you go , the more the options matter but you still won’t get the full cost differential back.
A poverty spec car in the “wrong “ colour will obviously be cheaper.

[RoVoFob]

s1962a said:

Are there some options that are more desirable, and do they add much value to the sale price of a car? Thinking about a mid spec 3 series type car

Edited by s1962a on Friday 16th June 16:28

I would pay a premium for a car with uprated speakers if everything else were equal. Yes, I’ve generally bought 2000-2010 cars, so there have been fewer models with these as an option and even fewer with these boxes ticked, but would simply not buy the one with the crappy speakers and would potentially pay a bit of a premium for one with a decent sound system.

I would also actively try to avoid cars with keyless entry/start (potential security risk), sunroofs (risk of leaks, mechanical failure and unnecessary extra weight), invasive driving assistants etc.

[nick1871]

Trade value = no

Private sale = yes

[revilo87]

Geffg said:

revilo87 said:

From a value perspective obviously the ROI on most options is awful, as a buyer I’m always going to try and find the car that has the most options (within reason) and tend to avoid cars without them - might seem dumb, but I wouldn’t really want to live without the likes of winter packs for heated seats, steering wheel etc if they are possible on a prospective car I’m buying

I’ve always considered a steering wheel quite important myself, don’t think I’d buy a car myself if it didn’t have one!

I thought the grammar was okay, but apologies if not - thought typing heated twice might be redundant.

Fair comment, though.

[SFTWend]

nick1871 said:

Trade value = no

Private sale = yes

This. Some cars are difficult to shift without the 'right/expected' options for that make and model. But plug your reg into somewhere like WBAC and options are not a criteria.

[Dashnine]

I’ve always tried to find the next trim level up that has the options I wanted, plus maybe a few I didn’t. Although the car ‘base’ price may be a bit higher than the lower trim level car plus options, as the book value of the car is higher, you get more of your money back some resale / trade-in time.

[ChocolateFrog]

Rather than increasing the selling price I think it's better to look at it from a saleability POV. A well specced car is going to be much easier to sell.

There's probably a handful of essentials for most people. Stuff like heated seats, cruise control etc.

[Auto810graphy]

nick1871 said:

Trade value = no

Private sale = yes

Almost the other way round as my experience is trade sellers understand options more than private sellers.

[Auto810graphy]

SFTWend said:

This. Some cars are difficult to shift without the 'right/expected' options for that make and model. But plug your reg into somewhere like WBAC and options are not a criteria.

They ask you if a car has Sat Nav, sunroof etc and price based on this.

[Driver101]

Auto810graphy said:

SFTWend said:

This. Some cars are difficult to shift without the 'right/expected' options for that make and model. But plug your reg into somewhere like WBAC and options are not a criteria.

They ask you if a car has Sat Nav, sunroof etc and price based on this.

WBAC used to ask if the car had certain key options including leather and sat nav. It no longer does. They will get the specification from the registration. That will explain why there is a variance in prices offered for similar cars.

[Auto810graphy]

Driver101 said:

WBAC used to ask if the car had certain key options including leather and sat nav. It no longer does. They will get the specification from the registration. That will explain why there is a variance in prices offered for similar cars.

Shows I have not bothered with WBAC values for some time. Autotrader and Motorway use VIN data to generate values based on an options algorithm.

The Autotrader trick on some cars such as BMW’s was to list the option packs then list the contents as separate items to increase the market value market.

[pb8g09]

I think it’s quite critical with certain BMWs.

I wouldnt buy a BMW F gen without pro nav, even if it’s cheaper without

[LeeM135i]

My BMW M135i had every option except the sunroof as it was a showroom demo car, I did get a little more for it than the run of the mill cars but it made it really easy to sell when I moved on.

With the C63S I deliberately bought a car without the driver aids, radar, lane keeping etc etc as I plan to keep it and don't want to have the liability of the extra sensors and electronics.