Supercar sales pre-covid vs today

[Saweep]

Another anecdotal local update.

Local Lambo dealer has essentially run out of used cars.

As I reported last week they ran out of Bentleys, for all intents and purposes, then too.


Wonder what they'll do now given they are only offering low P/X prices?

[Juno]

z4RRSchris said:

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201...

This is a £600k Mclaren Senna, new was £750k plus options?

And it’s been there for best part of a year

[PompeyReece]

Juno said:

And it’s been there for best part of a year

...at that price? I can't recall seeing it for sale for a year at £600k?

[carash]

very interesting, i have the same observation in the US. I have been following supercars across the board during the pandemic, I think there were deals to be had when we were 1 month into the shutdown....people didnt know what's going to happen, there's nowhere to trade cars in as dealers didnt want inventory and 3rd party dealers were closed, the fear of rental companies bankrupting and flooding the market with used cars and desperate owners with high payments and little equity in their cars looking to get out of the loans when their income got affected....I did see some killer deals that sat about 2 weeks or so. I myself got a deal on a 911 as a daily during that time and there were no competition at all. And then when people started getting free government money, getting used to working at home, bored to death at home just checking out cars, these deals were all gone and now post shutdown, it appears the inventory is much lower than before as we march into the summer and there's even an inflation of prices....the econ was badly affected across all sectors though, I think it's only a matter of time before unemployment, housing crisis, consumer confidence etc. catch up with the market in the next 6-12 months. I would say right now it's an extremely bad time to buy cars due to the low inventory, inflated prices and the potential huge discount coming in the future

[GT4RS]

PompeyReece said:

Mmmm, I wonder:

No one selling because they think the bottom has fallen out of the car market

+

People buying because they have spare cash from not going on holidays etc.

=

Tom Hartley (and others) says that he’s never found it harder to buy cars?

Or it’s due to the kick in ball bids dealers are making, this means people aren’t selling and dealers can’t get used stock.

[bennno]

I was advised that post lockdown a few prices got adjusted and cars sold very quickly.

I bought a McLaren and 4 others at the dealer got sold same day.

A lady who I know works at a local Lambo garage and they sold 12 cars in the first week after lockdown - best week ever.

I'd been prudently saving for retirement, figured I'd enjoy a bit of it now as nobody knows what future holds.

[GT4RS]

PompeyReece said:

Juno said:

And it’s been there for best part of a year

...at that price? I can't recall seeing it for sale for a year at £600k?

It’s been coming down in price for over a year, big 150k drop In that time and that’s before the dealer takes their margin which won’t be the normal SOR £5k!

[Cheib]

What's funny is that two months ago everyone was saying the new stuff is for sale because they've made too many etc and older cars are much better priced after having come off over the last couple of years. Clearly everyone including me got that wrong! I do think a big part of it is what are practically zero interest rates....people parking it in an asset they can enjoy rather than getting zero return on it.

[Saweep]

Cheib said:

What's funny is that two months ago everyone was saying the new stuff is for sale because they've made too many etc and older cars are much better priced after having come off over the last couple of years. Clearly everyone including me got that wrong! I do think a big part of it is what are practically zero interest rates....people parking it in an asset they can enjoy rather than getting zero return on it.

I think there are multiple elements including that. BBLs, people seeing loopy levels of inflation coming over the hill and piling into assets again perhaps.

It does seem weird though.

[garystoybox]

Saweep said:

Cheib said:

What's funny is that two months ago everyone was saying the new stuff is for sale because they've made too many etc and older cars are much better priced after having come off over the last couple of years. Clearly everyone including me got that wrong! I do think a big part of it is what are practically zero interest rates....people parking it in an asset they can enjoy rather than getting zero return on it.

I think there are multiple elements including that. BBLs, people seeing loopy levels of inflation coming over the hill and piling into assets again perhaps.

It does seem weird though.

I think it’s simply a case of the modern debt laden consumer having gone stir crazy at the inability to spend for a few weeks. People need the latest toy to bring what think is happiness into their life, regardless (or more likely obliviously unaware) of the economic abyss facing them in a couple of months.
Or it could be what Cheib and Saweep said.....

[PompeyReece]

GT4RS said:

Or it’s due to the kick in ball bids dealers are making, this means people aren’t selling and dealers can’t get used stock.

Yeah, I thought that - then in mid June, I checked how many new R8 ads had appeared and counted around 20 yet the number available had dropped.

So it seems to me they are selling....

[RogGT-R]

On the business side I am sure there are some creative ways to do it (I have three businesses I could have borrowed against but I haven’t on any for the record) but I am struggling to see how you could do it without being dodgy. It also boils my piss for the record.

My query is how you manage to avoid paying back something - either you take a Directors Loan - anything above £10K is considered earnings in that tax year so tax is payable against the money or you have to pay it back. $50K is into 32.5% divi tax and that assume you have no other taxable earnings which one would think is unusual.

Alternatively you buy the car through the company in which case massive BIK and, if you wind up company to avoid paying back the loan, you also forfeit the car.

I assume I am missing something obvious in a grey area.