New or nearly new? Thoughts after a turbulent week

Posted on November 9th, 2008 by In51der in Blog, Car Dealers, Consumer, Manufacturers


Well it’s been a rollercoaster ride this week, with many motor dealers, including some old established names going belly-up. More personnel are being made redundant and factories are dramatically cutting back on production. But perhaps most shocking of all! was the news that General Motors is to ask the US government for help after reporting a multibillion dollar loss and admitting they will only be able to pay their bills until June of next year without assistance.
It will be interesting to see if any help is forthcoming< as the consequences of the collapse of arguably the world’s biggest car builder would be catastrophic, not only to jobs across the world but also the very core of the global automotive industry. However if the UK government is anything to go by the silence will be deafening.
On a more positive note interest rates are at an historic low and even though the banks have had to be cajoled, threatened and dragged kicking and screaming to pass these cuts on to millions of their customers, it is nevertheless a positive move and should at least help a lot of people with their loans and mortgages. In terms of the effect on buying cars, if customers feel more confident and can really start to see some more positive signs of recovery (whatever that turns out to be) then they should start to take advantage of not only the much cheaper used cars but also some massively subsidised deals on brand new cars as well.

When you visit a car dealer and you are open minded about a new or used car purchase take note of this; although on the face of it the savings you could make by buying a nearly new used car will be unbelievable, if you are intending to consider a monthly payment then to a certain extent the price of the car becomes a little irrelevant.
For example with most manufactures just playing a damage limitation game and annual forecasts unlikely to be met, they will be forced to heavily subsidise their finance packages. In a lot of cases they will offer deals with small or no deposits and with 0% finance over longer periods in order to attempt to unload new stock which presumably by now will be gathering in fields around Europe.

The comparison then becomes worth considering as obviously manufacturers will only generally back up new car finance offers meaning used car deals have to stand against usual financial rates. So to sum up, even if a nearly new used car is thousands cheaper on the sticker price, it’s not necessarily cheaper monthly or in the long run! The ironic thing about the trade now is that we are advising people not about potential rip-offs or dodgy deals but weighing up all the great deals that are out there to be had.

Believe it or not compared to only 1 year ago there is no poor deal. Have fun!

Get a CAP Used Car Valuation for just £3.50 - What The Professionals Use

The Motor Trade Insider Guide To Buying New Cars

  • Car dealer finance still being overlooked
    In conversation with a long established car dealer recently, he passed on to me his exasperation with the fact that [...]...
  • Keep an eye out for car manufacturer “pack deals”
    At certain times of the year, especially when things go a bit quiet, franchised car dealers and their manufacturer masters [...]...
  • Please do not ask for credit as refusal often offends
    The shortage of consumer finance available to potential customers is really starting to hurt car dealers. The perceived success of [...]...
  • Don’t be seduced by the monthly payment
    With car dealers striving to establish and maintain profit centres, car finance is the latest buzz phrase in the business. [...]...
  • Forget high street lenders, check out dealer finance first
    I was asked recently to assist a family member in the purchase of their next car and going with my [...]...
  • A small glimmer of good news this week
    I have discovered a way to keep customers happy and dealers selling cars. Make them cheaper! It sounds very simple [...]...
  • One Comment on “New or nearly new? Thoughts after a turbulent week”

    1. Stickers Honda

      Hehe, doubt it though! Think you are right

    Automotive Industry News

    About MTI

    Motor Trade Insider
    Our aims:
    Build a bridge between consumers and the trade.

    Create Interesting and informative content.

    Break down barriers and create better understanding.

    Expose bad practices and rip-offs.

    Promote outstanding products and services.

    Motor Trade Insider is written by people working actively in the motor trade for people on the inside and people on the outside.

    Motor Trade Insider New Car Buying, Used Car Buying, Used Car Prices, Used Car Values UK. Car buying guide. Whether you’re buying a new car or interested in used cars or car valuation or just general information and advice on the motor trade and UK Automotive Industry.

    Valid CSS!

    Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional

    [Valid RSS]

    Bargain of the Week

    Bargain of the Week – Land Rover Discovery

    Bargain of the Week – Land Rover Discovery

    With all the boxes ticked it does make you wonder how the British government think they can keep raising the cost of car ownership to ...

    Bargain of the Week – Ferrari 355

    Its V8 engine became the first road-going Ferrari to have bypass valves built into the exhaust system letting pretty much all of its thunder explode ...

    Bargain of the Week – 2003 Range Rover 3.0 Td6 HSE

    With the recent facelifted Range Rover and Sport doing wonders for sales, forking out for a 10-plate can set you back over 50 big ones ...

    Scrappage

    Order takers stand aside – it’s time to get back to selling cars

    Order takers stand aside – it’s time to get back to selling cars

    A sales manager we spoke to who represents a franchise for a German manufacturer said that normally in the build up to a plate change ...

    Car Makers Premier League – July 2010

    with the headline figure for the month being a 13.2% decrease to 136,446 units. In July 2009 the market had showed its first increase for ...

    The scrappage scheme has ended, get over it

    The continuous changes which the car trade is undergoing means that until staff get the message that customers demand (and deserve) great service and will ...