The American Repossessor

Second-hand vehicles getting cheaper while new ones get dearer
Transport Correspondent
CONSUMERS are still looking for bargains at both used-car showrooms and auction houses, taking full advantage of the declining prices.

Trevor Browse, head of finance at Imperial Bank, said yesterday the used-car market remained fairly buoyant, contrasting markedly with the depressed new car market.

Browse said Imperial Bank, which holds 25% of market share in used-car financing, had experienced stable lending for nearly 18 months.

He said even Auto Pedigree, the used-car dealer with about 65 branches nationally, which is part of the Imperial Holdings stable, had recorded strong growth in volumes.

TransUnion Auto Information Solutions said last week declining prices had helped shore up demand for used cars. “Used car sales fared better than new car sales largely because of declining prices, a result of dealers anxiety to move stock off their floors, and because consumers themselves are having to ‘buy down’,” said TransUnion Auto CEO Mike von Höne, citing the vehicle pricing index.

Von Höne said used-car prices continued to decline this year, a trend that was also prevalent last year.

Used-car inflation, he said, fell to 0,75% last year, down from 1,07% the previous year, while new car price inflation rose 7,82%, up from 3,53%. New-car price hikes made the cars look less attractive for indebted consumers, who were only now getting some relief from interest rate cuts.