DRIVERS are shocked to discover that a bad habit behind the wheel could be slashing their cars value.
Despite what you might think this habit has nothing to do with the way you drive.
GettyA bad habit behind the wheel can decrease the value of a car by thousands[/caption]
Heavy smokers could loose thousands of pounds when they decide its time to sell their motor.
Car dealerships are reluctant to pay the full market value for a second hand vehicle with an ashy stench.
Cap hpi – a car valuation expert – has warned smokers that they risk “easily losing up to £2,000” when they trade in a vehicle.
This is based on a car that would have an estimated value of £15,000 to £20,000 if owned by a non-smoker.
The director of valuations at cap hpi, Derren Martin, said: “Smoking inside a car is very bad news as far as vehicle resale health is concerned.
“The first thing a car dealer will do when looking at a car being sold by a smoker is to knock down the price of the part exchange.
“That’s simply down to the fact that a car for part-ex has to be made fit for resale, and this becomes considerably more difficult and expensive when that car was previously driven by a smoker.”
The two main impacts smoking has on a vehicle are physical damage to the interior and smell.
Cap hpi says the smell decreasing the value is something many smokers are often unaware of.
Derren says dealers have told cap hpi that they will refuse to buy cars from smokers because of the time and expense of removing odours and marks.
“In the majority of cases, there is often no obvious damage, however, the smell of smoke is a major problem for motor dealers,” he explained.
“Smoke becomes ingrained in the fabric of the car and climate control system, requiring a professional valet and specialist tools to clean the air conditioning.
“Many of the tobacco smoke pollutants from cigarettes attach to surfaces and build up in the internal systems from where they can be released back into the air over days and weeks after smoking,” he added.
GettySmoking can make cars have an unpleasant smell which leads to car dealerships not paying the market value for the vehicle[/caption]