Used car sales skyrocket despite new car sales slump

Photo by Carles Rabada on Unsplash

Car auction site Pickles had a huge uptick in used car sales in March, despite new car sales declining for 24 months in a row.

March 2020 experienced a 17.9% drop in new car sales, based on the same time in 2019, and represents the 24th consecutive month of declines.

Yet car auction site Pickles has experienced a doubling in used car sales since the start of the year, and a 91.6% jump in purchases in the last two weeks of March.

In the market for a used car? The table below features car loans with some of the lowest fixed interest rates on the market for used car buyers.

A large reason for this is because of the discounts on offer, according to Pickles' general manager of motor vehicles Brendon Green.

“We’ve seen trends within the business that show significant savings for our buyers," he said.

"Currently, used cars are being sold at a discounted rate of approximately 10% to 20% across well-known brands such as Toyota, Subaru, Mazda, Nissan, Kia, and Ford.

“This is an opportune time for those who have been thinking of purchasing a used car to make the jump to secure some significant savings."

This discounted rate falls in line with what Auto Expert's John Cadogan says buyers should demand off the top of new cars when negotiating with a dealership.

Despite closing on-site inspections to the public, Pickles is still conducting virtual auctions and supplying detailed vehicle condition reports, and suggests motorists can save between 10% and 30% by buying at auction.

Editor of PerformanceDrive Brett Davis told Savings.com.au that used cars are an increasingly attractive proposition for buyers.

"While the local new car market is down by 13.1% in the first three months of this year, showing more consumers are reluctant to make a new purchase, now could be a good time to buy a used vehicle," he said.

"Used vehicles don't require such a big outlay, even in the premium and performance sectors, yet the product can be quite similar to a new product if the year model is recent 

"It's quite a nervous market as well and there will be some owners interested in a quick sale."

Davis' PerformanceDrive YouTube channel, which reviews luxury and performance cars, has more than 100,000 subscribers.

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Disclaimers

The entire market was not considered in selecting the above products. Rather, a cut-down portion of the market has been considered which includes retail products from at least the big four banks, the top 10 customer-owned institutions and Australia’s larger non-banks:

• The big four banks are: ANZ, CBA, NAB and Westpac
• The top 10 customer-owned Institutions are the ten largest mutual banks, credit unions and building societies in Australia, ranked by assets under management in November 2019. They are (in descending order): Credit Union Australia, Newcastle Permanent, Heritage Bank, Peoples’ Choice Credit Union, Teachers Mutual Bank, Greater Bank, IMB Bank, Beyond Bank, Bank Australia and P&N Bank.
• The larger non-bank lenders are those who (in 2020) has more than $9 billion in Australian funded loans and advances. These groups are: Resimac, Pepper, Liberty and Firstmac.

Some providers' products may not be available in all states.

In the interests of full disclosure, Savings.com.au, Performance Drive and Loans.com.au are part of the Firstmac Group. To read about how Savings.com.au manages potential conflicts of interest, along with how we get paid, please click through onto the web site links.

*The Comparison rate is based on a $30,000 loan over 5 years. Warning: this comparison rate is true only for this example and may not include all fees and charges. Different terms, fees or other loan amounts might result in a different comparison rate.

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