8 out of 10 Americans will tell you that they drive often. While fewer people actually enjoy driving, there’s no denying that being behind the wheel of a car is an everyday reality that’s hard to escape.
What can make one’s relationship with their car even more strained than it may already be is vehicle cosmetic damage.
While you may not think of cosmetic damage to your car as a big deal, many iterations of cosmetic flaws bring about bigger issues. These issues can cost you in several ways if you’re not careful.
Not sold on the drawbacks of cosmetic damage and the idea that you shouldn’t wait to remedy car flaws quickly? If so, keep reading and let us explain the drawbacks of ignoring your car’s cosmetic issues.
1. You’ll Start to Dislike Your Ride
Loving the car you drive can go a long way in improving your commute. That’s pretty self-explanatory as most of us can agree that driving around for an hour in a car you enjoy is a lot more pleasurable than being stuck in one you can’t stand.
As your car starts to build up cosmetic flaws over the years, you’ll find yourself progressively resenting your vehicle. That resentment may bring down your mood and believe it or not, could affect the attitude you have towards other areas of your life like work, relationships, and more.
2. Other Aspects of Your Car Will Start to Go
When you’re in love with your car, you treat it well. You’re mindful when eating it in, you’re quick to clean up messes, wash it regularly, and so on. When you couldn’t care less about your car, junk starts to build up in your back seats, you start blowing maintenance appointments, and ultimately, start to let your vehicle deteriorate.
Ignoring vehicle cosmetic damage, even if it’s a small flaw, can start to put in motion the larger issue of not caring about your car’s well-being. That’s a slippery slope you’ll want to avoid.
3. The Time Before Your Buy Again Will Condense
When people start to let their cars go, they begin getting eyes for new vehicles. That’s not necessarily a bad thing since it’s always fun picking up a new car.
The issue is that the faster you buy a new car and get rid of your old one, the more that car will end up costing you.
For example, if you buy a car for $10,000, drive it around for seven years, and sell it for $500 when you’re done, your car ended up costing you about $1350 per year. If you buy a car for $10,000, stop taking care of it, resent it, and sell it after three years for $1000 to buy a new car, your car will have cost you $3000 per year to drive.
That’s a big difference that’ll make a big impact on your wallet.
4. Safety Could Be Compromised
Some cosmetic flaws go beyond being just cosmetic.
Think about a badly dented bumper. Sure, a bad bumper won’t affect your ability to drive but if you get into an accident, with your bumper damaged, its “crunch zone” is reduced, shrinking the protection you have between you and the object you’re hitting.
You never know when that weakening of your car’s safety could mean the difference between you walking away from an accident fine or being seriously injured.
5. Small Cosmetic Issues Could Keep Expanding
Auto damage doesn’t always stay stagnant. Window cracks, for example, will worsen over time.
We’re sure many of you have seen small dents in window shields “web” outwards, turning what could have been a small crack fill job into a full-on window replacement.
That’s why it’s important to stop by a repair or replace windshield shop as soon as possible when you notice cosmetic flaws in your glass.
6. Repairs Will Get More Expensive
If you know that you’re going to fix cosmetic damage that your car has incurred, you may as well do it right away if you can afford to. Not only does quickly fixing your cosmetic damage let you enjoy the fix for longer but repairs are getting more expensive by the day.
Believe us when we say that a bumper fix today is going to be cheaper than a bumper fix two years from now. You’ve got inflation to thank for that!
7. You May Miss Out on Helpful Warranty Provisions
While your auto warranty isn’t likely to cover a car repair bill that deals with cosmetic snags, you never know what provisions you might have in your car’s agreement that could help. If you do have some sort of cosmetic provision and you wait too long to get help, that provision will expire which would mean money lost.
All of that to say that it never hurts to take your car into your dealer the moment you notice a cosmetic flaw. That way, you can explore what all of your options are.
Cosmetic Damage on a Car Is so Much More
When your car sustains cosmetic damage, that damage doesn’t just hurt the look of your car. It hurts your psyche, your car’s safety (in some cases), and your wallet.
To dampen those effects, we hope you take our advice and get your cosmetic issues managed as quickly as possible. If you’re detail-oriented, believe us when we say that you’ll be glad you did.
We wish you the best in managing your car damage and welcome you to read more auto repair content on our blog to continue fulfilling your need to know.
