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5 Things to Consider before Modifying your Car

Things to Consider before modifying your car

5 things to consider before you ‘pimp your ride’

For some people, nothing gives them greater satisfaction than customizing their new vehicle to their own liking. While there are some obvious benefits to modifying your car, there’s also a significant downside when it comes to vehicle customization.
Here are five things you should think about prior to modifying your new car:
It won’t be cheap
If you’ve already put down a few thousand dollars on a new car, you likely won’t have a ton of money left in your budget for modifications.
What’s more, there could be hidden costs involved with customizing your car. For example, if you’ve modified your engine, you may need to switch to premium fuel, which will cost you more each time you visit the gas station.
The cost of driving a vehicle can already be quite expensive for some. You don’t want to go deeper into your bank account for something that may seem nice, but isn’t a necessity.
It’s up to you, but for many, customizing just isn’t worth it.
It could cause a safety concern
While some alterations can actually make your car safer, others can be quite dangerous.  Unfortunately, there’s always the risk of an improper installation or a faulty part that could put you and loved ones in serious jeopardy.
Before getting any customization done, it’s important to perform the proper due diligence and look at reviews of the company doing the modification.
Your warranty could be voided
While you may not have to worry about your warranty being voided for something as simple as a body modification, you could run into trouble if you’re altering your car’s engine in some way.
Even if a related part is impaired, the car manufacturer will likely blame the damage on the modified engine and your warranty claim will be denied.  If you bought an extended warranty with your car, it’s probably in your best interest to avoid any internal modifications.
It could increase your insurance premium
While not every alteration will affect your premium, some can have a huge effect on your monthly payment. If you’ve added a great deal of power to your engine, insurance companies will recognize that you may be more likely to get into an accident and will increase your premium accordingly.
It will (likely) hurt your trade-in value
While it’s not always the case, modifications will typically lower the value of your vehicle.  Modifications aren’t for everyone and a dealer will likely have a difficult time finding another buyer who shares your interests. As a result, you’ll likely receive a lower amount than you otherwise would when you eventually choose to trade it in.
In addition, a prospective buyer won’t know for certain how the alterations were done or who they were done by. While it’s entirely possible that they were completed by a professional, it could be difficult to prove.
Remember that just because you value something highly doesn’t mean another person will.