Is it time to sell your sports car?

Is it time to sell your sports car?

The jaw-dropping looks, break-neck speed and prestigious reputation of owning a sports car make them desirable vehicles for any car enthusiast. But their high maintenance costs, small interior and impracticality for urban life make them difficult assets to keep up with. As your priorities, lifestyle and budget change, sometimes you have to opt to sell your sports car and buy something more practical. 

While losing the need for speed may be a tough pill to swallow, here are 4 convincing reasons to sell your sports car and close the book on that chapter of your life:

#1 High insurance premiums

Sports car insurance premiums are amongst the most expensive cover out there.

Why? Because drivers of sports cars are more likely to drive fast and cause accidents.

You may have been able to foot the insurance bill for the first year, but now that you add up those exorbitant monthly costs (and what else you could do with this money), you wonder if it’s all worth it for an occasional weekend thrill ride. 

The right question to ask is: “Does the rush of adrenaline, the feel of the wind in my hair, top of the range sleek looks and ludicrous speed of a sexy sports car outweigh the monthly insurance debit order?” 

Man drives luxury sports car

#2 Poor fuel-economy

With a few exceptions (like the Ford Mustang and Tesla Roadster), sports cars are stereotyped as having high fuel costs.

This is because they are designed to run at high speeds and not created for the stop-start urban lifestyle of South Africa (particularly during load-shedding).

With their low clearance level, they were also not designed for the regular navigation of speed bumps, potholes and badly-maintained roads, (perhaps you should rather go green and sell your sports car for a hybrid).

Fuel costs have radically increased over the last year, adding another hurdle to overcome for the head-turning charisma of your teenage dream sports car.

Woman texts from the back of a sports car

#3 Expensive maintenance and repairs

As if high fuel prices are not enough of a burden to bear, there’s no getting around the fact that sports cars are extremely costly to maintain and repair. 

Need to replace a worn-out tyre? Sports car tyres are way more expensive than those required for urban sedans or hatchbacks.

Even a simple oil change costs more on a sports car because the process is more labour-intensive.

Many mechanics are uncomfortable working on sports cars, so it’s tricky to find a cheaper place to service your car instead of returning to the Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche dealership.

Not only do the routine services and repairs create a hole in your pocket, a minor fender bender can result in sky-rocketing repair bills for these high-end cars. 

#4 New priorities

While owning a sports car is not a privilege that most South Africans could ever afford, the high running costs of these cars are often not the main reason for selling up.

Buying a flashy, exhilarating and trendy supercar that makes the average motorist do a double-take is fun when you’re single, a have a sizeable paycheck for multiple vehicles, a midlife crisis to overcome or are a seasoned sports-car fanatic, but as life events change, so does the justification for the sporty supercar.

Man steps into a sports car

Marriage, new interests that require more storage space, a few visits from the stork, and you suddenly need to upsize your wheels.

Selling your sports car will also have the added advantage of fewer pull-overs from the cops, less speeding fines and prioritising comfort and safety in the urban jungle (with a SUV, sedan or even a minivan).

Sell your sporty ride for the best price

You may be feeling nostalgic and depressed as you bid farewell to your sporty wheels, but here are 3 reasons to celebrate the sale:

  1. Sports cars hold their value much better than other run-of-the-mill vehicles
  2. There is a market of people looking for pre-owned sports cars, waiting to buy yours
  3. There is an impressive, hassle-free, customer-service-oriented car selling platform waiting to give you the best price.

Don’t sell yourself short by falling for a single under-value offer or trading in your ride.

And don’t let your need for speed end when you turn off the ignition. Sell your sports car at break-neck speed through a trustworthy online platform.