Used car sales double
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Discussion

Dr Jekyll

Original Poster:

23,820 posts

285 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58150025

According to this used car sales are up over 100% on the same quarter last year. Apparently due to a shortage of new cars.

How does that work? Generally a used car becomes available because someone further up the chain has bought a brand new one. Given that a lot o the cars being sold seem to be older, there is a suggestion that there are a lot of first time buyers reluctant to use public transport because of covid fears. But that would imply higher car ownership, hardly compatible with a shortage of new cars. Or is it possibly due to some people selling their cars, or at least their second car, due to increased WFH?

randlemarcus

13,646 posts

255 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
I offloaded two of my spares, and swapped my daily for a new-to-me 15 plate, so apologies for skewing the stats wink

valiant

13,375 posts

184 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
Stock (used) is very short at the moment leading to surging used prices - have you seen how much even humdrum stuff is going for now? It’s a bit mental.

Was looking for a Golf Gti around the 3 year old mark and the prices are only a few grand off new for a good, low mileage example.

the-sharpener

547 posts

57 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
Any comparison to two years ago?

instead of last year where we were all under house arrest

frisbee

5,486 posts

134 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
the-sharpener said:
Any comparison to two years ago?

instead of last year where we were all under house arrest
Of course not.

Related to competent journalism declining by 1318% perhaps?

JagLover

46,160 posts

259 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
anonymous said:
[redacted]
smile

Great media reporting once again.

wiggy001

7,051 posts

295 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
Dr Jekyll said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58150025

According to this used car sales are up over 100% on the same quarter last year. Apparently due to a shortage of new cars.

How does that work? Generally a used car becomes available because someone further up the chain has bought a brand new one. Given that a lot o the cars being sold seem to be older, there is a suggestion that there are a lot of first time buyers reluctant to use public transport because of covid fears. But that would imply higher car ownership, hardly compatible with a shortage of new cars. Or is it possibly due to some people selling their cars, or at least their second car, due to increased WFH?
Isn't it the fact that for a lot of people COVID has meant a surging bank balance and as we start to come out of the pandemic people are starting to spend - if you are towards the top of the chain and want a new car, but are having to wait due to lack of supply, you might by nearly new instead. That will trickle down to the cheapest cars, reducing supply?

We bought a second hand Kia Sportage in April from a main dealer for £14.5k. I kept the Autotrader alerts switched on until last week and over the past couple of months I couldn't have bought an equivalent vehicle for less that £16k, probably £16.5k.

Byker28i

84,795 posts

241 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
Nearly news works on cost anyway. I bought our Mazda 6 estate at a year old that had been traded in after 6 months and 12K miles and just sat in the Mazda pool, it was 1/3 off the price of a new one...

These days though is it all the three year old, ex lease models?

Ari

19,765 posts

239 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
Dr Jekyll said:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-58150025

According to this used car sales are up over 100% on the same quarter last year. Apparently due to a shortage of new cars.

How does that work?
No one was buying cars this time last year because we were in lockdown! smile

captain_cynic

16,334 posts

119 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
randlemarcus said:
I offloaded two of my spares, and swapped my daily for a new-to-me 15 plate, so apologies for skewing the stats wink
This.

People are offloading their spare and unused cars at the moment, probably a good time to do it.

The global chip shortage is still impacting new car production. This is having an effect on used car prices worldwide.

WindyCommon

3,702 posts

263 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
Surely anyone with even half a brain would work out immediately that this is a nonsense story?

Comparisons of almost anything with Q2 2020 are meaningless because of the truly exceptional circumstances prevailing then.

Derek Smith

48,893 posts

272 months

Tuesday 10th August 2021
quotequote all
I was looking for a car between 2 and 3 years old. I started checking prices around this time last year.

When I was on the lookout to buy, the prices were the same, if not higher, after 9 months. I found one I liked, a litte over the price I thought reasonable, and I went into discussion with the bloke who owns the showroom to knock some off. In the end I got a measly £250. When I came to pick up the car a week later, the chap, who was very pleasant, almost amused, reckoned that he could have sold the car '3 time over' for the full price. Their IT bloke had been on holiday and they'd left 'my' car up for over a week on their website. One chap was willing to buy the car for the full price, sight unseen.

The bloke reckoned that the only reason he'd given into me was that he was exhausted by my arguments. Similar cars were hard to find he said.