Car customisations and various extras are increasingly popular among UK drivers who are seeking to improve the way their vehicle looks, feels and/or drives. But when the time comes to sell, the very same extras may or may not increase your car’s value. Furthermore, some can even lower your car’s value on the resale market....

Car customisations and various extras are increasingly popular among UK drivers who are seeking to improve the way their vehicle looks, feels and/or drives. But when the time comes to sell, the very same extras may or may not increase your car’s value. Furthermore, some can even lower your car’s value on the resale market. Before making any changes, alterations or additions to your vehicle – especially pricey ones – it’s a good idea to consider their impact on the resale value.

Five extras that will boost your car’s resale value

Navigation system. Not having one has become hard to imagine for most drivers, with the majority preferring built-in systems over the portable ones or using smartphone apps. Having navigation system built-in can thus be a major advantage when it’s time to sell your car.

Bluetooth transmitter. Bluetooth is also a must-have for most drivers when buying a car including those who are buying used older vehicles. And many will highly appreciate if Bluetooth transmitter is included even though they are very inexpensive and easy to install.

Personal number plates. There is a huge market for personal number plates and the most sought-after letter/number combinations are extremely valuable, sometimes even more valuable than the car itself.

Alloy wheels. Wisely chosen alloy wheels will help make your car stand out from the crowd. As a result, they can considerably boost its resale value and make it easier to sell.

New floor mats. Even a simple thing as a set of new floor mats can make a big difference when selling your car, in terms of both the price and the time spent on the market.

Five extras that may lower your car’s resale value

Alloy wheels. Confused? It’s because alloy wheels are one of those extras which can either increase or decrease the value of your car, depending on what is popular at the time you are selling your car.

High-end stereo system. Everyone wants their car stereo system to sound good, but for most buyers of used cars, a high-end stereo system is a turn-off especially if it means they would have to pay a higher price.

Custom car paints. These can lower your car’s resale value for two reasons. First, most people prefer the traditional colours and second, it means a higher cost in case repairs are needed.

Spoilers, loud exhaust pipes, grills and guards. These extras are more likely to decrease rather than increase your car’s resale value because most people simply prefer the original design or want extras to meet their very own preferences.

Bumper stickers. They can often be very difficult to remove and most car buyers know that. If you have got any bumper stickers, it is therefore a good idea to remove them before putting your car on the market.

I hope this has helped you is you are looking to buy or sell a car.  Good luck, and all the best.

Rising to over 1,800 metres above sea level, the road from the town of Guarcino to the ski resort at Campocatino bustles with snow-lovers during winter months. However, for the rest of the year Via Campocatino is a barely used mountain road just 80 kilometres east of Rome that’s made for driving. “Stock up with...

Rising to over 1,800 metres above sea level, the road from the town of Guarcino to the ski resort at Campocatino bustles with snow-lovers during winter months. However, for the rest of the year Via Campocatino is a barely used mountain road just 80 kilometres east of Rome that’s made for driving.

“Stock up with Amaretti biscuits in Guarcino – one of Italy’s oldest towns – and prepare for a very twisty, very challenging drive to the top,” said journalist Steve Sutcliffe, who ventured there in a new Ford Fiesta ST for the latest film in Ford’s ‘Europe’s Greatest Driving Roads’ series.

Reach the top and views of the Monti Velino nature reserves in the north, and the mountain ranges of Lazio to the south east can be found. Rome itself can be seen to the north west.

“If you’re there on a cloudless evening the sky will be awash with stars; you even pass an astrological observatory on the way to the top that collaborates with observatories from around the world tracking asteroids, that’s how little light pollution there is here,” added Sutcliffe.

This is the eighth film in the series which has seen Sutcliffe drive everything in the Ford Performance catalogue, from Ford GT supercar across the stunning Atlantic Ocean Road in Norway to a Focus RS across Blakey Ridge in North Yorkshire, UK. As the first Italian road to be featured, the stunning Via Campocatino scored a maximum ten out of ten for scenery, food and drink and thrill factor, with an overall score of 53 out of 60, the joint third highest of the series.

Enjoy.

We might be speedily powering through the year, but you might not be doing it in a particularly new car. That’s because many of the motors we have long most eagerly anticipated for 2018 release are still yet to see the light of day… or, should we say, the light of a showroom near you....

We might be speedily powering through the year, but you might not be doing it in a particularly new car. That’s because many of the motors we have long most eagerly anticipated for 2018 release are still yet to see the light of day… or, should we say, the light of a showroom near you.

The variety of upcoming stellar cars for 2018 is immense, ranging from beefy vehicles to more conventional options. Here are some of those cars that we reckon warrant the most attention.

Mercedes-Benz A-Class

Whatever you think of Mercedes‘ switch of the A-class to a more traditional design, the move undoubtedly gave A-class sales a shot in the arm. Nonetheless, if you have found innovation wanting since the change, the next iteration of the A-class might satiate your tastes.

Set for release this summer, it features impressive interior technology and new engines that have contributed to The Telegraph opining that “this should be the best A-class yet.”

Audi A1

If you like your cars compact, you will probably struggle to look past the Audi A1 – which, despite only being set for arrival this winter, already has us salivating.

One big reason why is that it will shift to the MQB platform’s A0 version used by the Volkswagen Polo and SEAT Ibiza. Furthermore, a 90mm-lengthier wheelbase should make the new A1 roomier than the current one. The new vehicle is estimated to cost from £15,000, indicates Auto Express.

Audi e-tron

For release this summer, Audi is also readying its first purely electric vehicle, which it has kept concealed so effectively that we haven’t yet seen a production version (above is an artists impression of the Audi Q6 E-tron). The closest we got was catching sight of camouflaged e-tron prototypes at the latest Geneva Motor Show.

Still, we can speculate that the vehicle could offer a range of roughly 310 miles on one charge.

Ford Ranger

This won’t be in UK showrooms until late 2018, but we already have a good idea of what it will look like in those showrooms, as the car made its debut at the Detroit Motor Show in January.

Not that there have really been many changes made to what you see with the present iteration. The headlamps have been reshaped and front grille slimmed down – and, for the UK model, Ford might bring the fuel-efficient 2.3-litre EcoBoost petrol engine that features in the US model.

Dacia Duster

They say that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but we’ll probably make an exception for the Dacia Duster. After all, while the 2018 version of this SUV very much draws upon its predecessor’s platform, Dacia has implemented an array of pleasing changes to the vehicle’s outer appearance.

Those changes include a new honeycomb grille and higher bonnet line. Like with the current Duster, there are both petrol and diesel engines, albeit refined compared to the current ones.

Hyundai Nexo

Admittedly, there are good reasons to decide against purchasing a hydrogen car here in the UK – not least this country’s limited infrastructure for use in refuelling vehicles of this type.

However, if you remain intent on a hydrogen fuel-cell car, the Hyundai Nexo lined up for UK release in November is, by our reckoning, one of the best options. This five-seat SUV should, judging from test-driving by Auto Express in Korea, let you drive quietly and comfortably considering the car’s size.

Large cars can also be very expensive, however – and, indeed, the Nexo is estimated to carry a £60,000 price tag. That can make insurance pricier, too – but Call Wiser can help you find a value-for-money policy, and so dampen eye-wateringly high premiums.

We love this car, so here’s a beautiful video we came across by Petrolicious. Imagine yourself in Lancia’s position in the early 1980s. Your Stratos has recently won three consecutive World Rally Championships (1974-76), but you can see the writing on the wall, writing which reads “all-wheel-drive.” How do you build on this past success...

We love this car, so here’s a beautiful video we came across by Petrolicious.

Imagine yourself in Lancia’s position in the early 1980s. Your Stratos has recently won three consecutive World Rally Championships (1974-76), but you can see the writing on the wall, writing which reads “all-wheel-drive.” How do you build on this past success and continue to be competitive in the new decade?  For Lancia, the answer was the 037, which would ultimately become, in 1983, the last rear-wheel-drive car to win the WRC Manufacturers’ Championship, before AWD competitors like the Audi Quattro and Peugeot 205 T16 completely changed the sport forever.

To compete in Group B events, Lancia was obliged to meet homologation rules by producing 200 street versions of the 037. While visually striking and invigorating to drive, the 037 Stradale remains, at heart, a race car and is thus anything but comfortable. This, however, is precisely what appeals to owner Philip Toledano, who grew up watching Lancia–more specifically, the Stratos and 037–dominate European rally racing. “It’s not like [the 037] was just a sports car designed for people who wanted to go fast,” says Phil. “This was designed for a purpose, and I love things that were designed specifically for a purpose, like a tool–except it’s a fast tool that scares the crap out of you.”

The interior of the 037 Stradale belies the car’s racing heritage: the dash contains a circuit board, conveniently located for periodic resets by the navigator; a navigator’s light stands at the ready; and the oil temperature gauge is located on the far right side of the dash, in front of the navigator’s seat. The 037’s exterior is similarly eye-catching. Sporting a Pininfarina body and a 2.0 litre, supercharged Abarth engine that, as Phil puts it, makes Star Wars-like noises as he revs through the gears, the car attracts onlookers wherever it goes. Usually, however, this 037 is but a screaming red blur, leaving those onlookers little time to realize what they’ve just seen.

The London Concours 2018, hosted at the Honourable Artillery Company from 7-8 June, will be showcasing the flame-spitting ‘Beast of Turin’ – a 28.5-litre Fiat S76 land speed record car from 1911. Originally built as one of two, the ‘Beast of Turin’ is now the only remaining Fiat S76 land speed record car in existence after...

The London Concours 2018, hosted at the Honourable Artillery Company from 7-8 June, will be showcasing the flame-spitting ‘Beast of Turin’ – a 28.5-litre Fiat S76 land speed record car from 1911.

Originally built as one of two, the ‘Beast of Turin’ is now the only remaining Fiat S76 land speed record car in existence after Fiat dismantled the other example just after World War One. Its colossal 28.5-litre inline-four engine is the largest purpose-built car engine ever, and produces around 300hp. In 1911, it achieved a two-way speed of 116mph, and was also clocked at 135mph on a later run but disqualified because it couldn’t complete the return leg.

The car has recently been the subject of a ten-year restoration project, and was fired into life late in 2014 for the first time in more than a century. Its appearance at the London Concours marks a rare opportunity to see one of the world’s finest early 20^th Century speed machines.

Appearing alongside the ‘Beast of Turin’ are a number of other pre-war rarities that were among the quickest vehicles of their day. Each hand-picked around the event’s central theme of ‘Speed’, the Honourable Artillery Company lawn will play host to a 1924 Bentley 4.5-litre, 1932 Bugatti Type 55 and 1935 Lagonda M35R.

You could be in with a chance of grabbing yourself a pair of tickets to this wonderful event, by entering our competition.

The London Concours is a celebration of speed of all types, lining up more than 80 of the quickest cars and motorbikes ever created. From the more modern era, showgoers will be treated to a 2013 Lamborghini Aventador Roadster, the latest Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and performance icons like the McLaren F1, Mercedes 300SL ‘Gullwing’ and the Lancia Delta HF Integrale evo.

Away from the main car displays, the London Concours is focused around the worlds of entertainment and luxury products, with pop-up boutiques from top-end watchmakers, Breguet and Glasshutte, as well as arthouses such as Collier Dobson.

There are a number of hospitality options also available, with preview breakfasts, three-course lunches and evening cocktails hosted across the duration of the event. For hospitality enquiries please contact Caroline Monks (caroline@thoroughevents.co.uk)

Tickets to the London Concours are available from londonconcours.co.uk, with a full day adult admission ticket costing £35, and concessions from £18.

Blenheim Palace Classic & Supercar returns for its 2nd year on Sunday 2nd September 2018. Created by luxury automotive organisers, Salon Prive, the thrilling event was a roaring success drawing crowds of over 10,000 visitors to its first show. The family-friendly day will showcase more than 300 of the world’s greatest classic and supercars in the...