Do Sound Deadening Materials Increase Car Value?

Do Sound Deadening Materials Increase Car Value?

Do Sound Deadening Materials Increase Car Value?

When shoppers evaluate a used vehicle, they usually focus on mileage, paint condition, service history, or interior wear. But there’s a growing trend in the automotive market: buyers are actively seeking quieter cabins, and vehicles treated with quality sound deadening are selling faster and often at a higher price. A silent interior feels newer, more refined, and more premium — and that perception directly influences resale value.

Modern soundproofing isn’t just about blocking noise; it’s about improving the overall driving experience. Upgrades like SoundSkins mats, insulation rolls, and vehicle-specific kits work behind the scenes to reduce road hum, eliminate rattles, and enhance the clarity of audio systems. When potential buyers step inside a vehicle that feels solid and acoustically controlled, the difference is instantly noticeable.

Why a Quieter Cabin Feels “More Expensive”?

Buyers associate silence with quality because most factory luxury vehicles prioritize acoustic refinement. When your car mimics that premium feel, it stands out from similar models on the market. Reduced road noise, smoother panel response, and improved bass accuracy give the impression that the vehicle has been well-maintained and thoughtfully upgraded.

A car that sounds better psychologically translates to a car that’s built better — even if the improvement is from aftermarket materials.

How Soundproofing Adds Real Resale Value

How Soundproofing Adds Real Resale Value in Car

Here’s how proper sound deadening can help your car command more money:

1. Removes the “old car” sound

Vibrations, metallic buzzing, and hollow panels make a vehicle feel aged. SoundSkins absorbs these issues, making the cabin feel tighter and more solid.

2. Enhances the performance of stock and aftermarket audio

Buyers who love music immediately notice the cleaner bass and reduced resonance. A system that performs better without needing expensive equipment is a selling advantage.

3. Makes test drives more comfortable

Quieter cabins feel smoother, especially at highway speeds. The difference can sway a buyer with several options in front of them.

4. Positions your car as “premium maintained”

Soundproofing is perceived as a quality-focused upgrade, not a cosmetic quick fix. It signals long-term care.

What Type of Soundproofing Adds the Most Value?

While any acoustic improvement is beneficial, some upgrades make a bigger impression on potential buyers:

  • Door sound deadening: Makes doors close with a solid, luxury-like “thud.”

  • Floor and trunk insulation: Cuts road and tire noise dramatically.

  • Roof soundproofing: Reduces rain impact noise, which buyers notice immediately.

  • Dedicated SoundSkins panels and vehicle-specific kits: Look cleaner and more professional than generic materials.

The combination of density, adhesive strength, and triple-layer construction gives SoundSkins products a noticeable improvement over thin or cheap materials.

Is Soundproofing a Good Investment Before Selling Your Car?

Is Soundproofing a Good Investment Before Selling Your Car?

If your goal is to make your vehicle feel newer, more refined, and more comfortable during test drives, then yes — proper sound deadening offers one of the highest value-to-cost returns among automotive upgrades. It doesn’t alter aesthetics, doesn’t require modifications, and lasts for years.

For mid-range cars, it helps differentiate your listing.
For older vehicles, it reduces the obvious auditory signs of age.
For modified audio systems, it elevates sound quality instantly.

A quiet cabin isn’t just a comfort upgrade — it’s a selling point buyers are willing to pay for.

Step 1

To install the material you need be working on the metal surface of the car, remove upholstery. If you have never done this, we suggest searching it up on YouTube. Once the upholstery is removed, make sure there is no debris, waxy oils or rust by cleaning the surface with denatured alcohol.

Step 2

Once surface is clean and ready to go, cut the sound deadening material to the right size so it fits desired area. For small surfaces, we recommend that you measure the dimensions and then cut to fit.

Step 3

With the surface area clean and pieces cut to desired dimensions, peel off the paper and apply material to surface area starting from the top to bottom using the car door holes to help with alignment. We recommend using a hand roller to ensure that there are no air pockets and ensure the adhesiveness.

Sound Deadener Install On Jeep

SOUNDSKINS GLOBAL

Sound Deadener Install FAQ: Tips & Tricks

What tools will I need to for a sound deadening project?  
  • Rag & Denatured Alcohol: Apply the alcohol to the rag and use to clean the metal surface areas you will be applying the material to.
  • Gloves: Our product is pretty safe to install without gloves but if you have never installed a sound deadener mat, we recommend using gloves.
  • Hand roller: We highly recommend using a small roller to reach the tighter surface areas of your vehicle. You can find these on Amazon or most online retail shops. There are wooden, rubber and metal rollers, we recommend wooden or rubber, try and stay away from metal as they can tear the material.
  • Utility Knife: The utility blade is to cut the material. Make sure to cut the material on top of a pice of cardboard so that your blade stays sharper longer, if it's a big job, have some extra blades around.
How do you apply sound deadener material? 

We sell our roll on sound deadener product in 2 different formats: custom cut to fit pro kits and an easy to work with rolled up large sheet. If you can measure, cut, peel and stick you can install sound deadener! You can use your hand to apply pressure when positioning the material and then use a roller to make sure it sticks down to metal surface.

After you cut the material and are ready to stick it on, some customers find it easier to peel off a small portion of the release liner and then apply it to metal surface, and then work their way across the sheet, peeling off a small section at a time.

Make sure to always remove the air bubbles with the roller. The second most important thing when it comes to quality of sound deadener is the quality of adhesion to the surface area. You want the material to be stuck down properly to ensure it stays in place.

Where do you apply the sound deadening material?  

The great thing about our sound deadening material is that it can be applied to all types of metal surfaces. All SoundSkins sheets use extremely strong adhesive and they can even be mounted on fiberglass, plastic and even wooden surfaces, but it's not very common to apply to these surfaces since they don't vibrate as much. By covering all metal surfaces such as your doors, roof, trunk and floor you can make a significant difference to unwanted road noise.

Your top priority when applying a car sound deadener is to cover the doors, floor and trunk. If you have extra material then proceed to other metal surfaces you wish to cover for extra sound insulation.

How much surface area should I cover?  

To properly deaden the metal surfaces, we recommend to at least do 25% coverage with our SoundSkins material, this will make a difference in unwanted road noise, but to have a huge impact we recommend covering up 60% of metal surfaces. If you want to get the most used from your sheet, one effective strategy is the CHECKER BOARD APPROACH, using this technique you cut the SoundSkins sheet into small pieces and apply them to the metal surface in a checkered pattern.

It is very common for our customers to do close to 100& coverage to any metal surface because not only are they looking to reduce road noise, they also want to insulate their car from heat or they like the way the material looks on the car's bare metal surface.

How do I make sure the sound deadener sticks well?

SoundSkins products are made with a very strong adhesive and create a extremely strong bond with the metal, it's really hard to NOT make it stick. To ensure the best possible bond, we highly recommend cleaning the metal surface before applying our material and then using a hand roller to firmly attach the SoundSkins deadening mats.

Great adhesion with no air bubbles is the absolute key if you want to get the best performance. Remember that any air pocket with poor adhesion means you will not get the full benefit of the deadener.

How to install car sound deadener: Recap
  1. Remove upholstery and carpet from your vehicle. Proceed to vacuum to get rid of debris and dirt. Clean all greasy spots with denatured alcohol, other solvents or degreasers will leave behind a film that prevents a solid contact surface. Allow metal surface to try.
  2. Cut the SoundSkins sheet to desired size and cut using a sharp utility knife. Use gloves to avoid any cuts.
  3. Peel off the wax paper from the back of material and apply to surface, this can be done by small sections at a time. Use roller to create a strong bond between material and metal surface and to get rid of any air bubbles.

If you have any questions, make to reach out to use and we'll be happy to help.

SOUNDSKINS GLOBAL