Car 'Extras' Important to New Rochelle Drivers

One sign that the economic downturn might be over—or at least not as awful as it has been—is that, with a couple of exceptions, car sales are up compared to year-to-date figures last year.

According to charts published online by the Wall Street Journal, all classes of cars except "large" show gains ranging from 3.3 percent for midsize to 10.7 percent for small.

Pickups and SUVs showed gains as well, with only the minivan decreasing in sales.

So what extras are important for the [people who are buying these vehicles?

At Honda of New Rochelle, Sales Manager Mohamed Latif said people ask for wheel locks and spoilers.

"Some of them would love to update the size of the wheels, from 16 inches to 18 inches," he said, adding that they can give the car owner a better ride.

The extras don't always make the car's resale value go up.

"To the customer, of course, they are more valuable," Latif said. "Some stuff like running boards or a roof rack will increase the car's value. Wheel locks won't."