For car dealers and car buyers alike, getting the part-exchange right will be more vital this year than in recent times – given the likely dearth of retailable 3 year old examples.
With the pivotal 3 year old sector some 500,000 units down customers wishing to trade-in for a new car may be sitting behind the wheel of a far more valuable asset than they might have previously imagined.
Dealers will be under pressure to stock their forecourts with cars even if the demand for used cars is in decline, they still can’t sell empty spaces and by extending their age and mileage criteria there could well be cars for sale on forecourts which may not have come anywhere near them in recent times.
This will give potential buyers of these types of cars the opportunity to buy from main dealers who may not usually stock cars with more than 50k on the clock or which are over 3 years old.
Getting the value of these cars correct is yet another challenge. The widely used trade guides, Cap and Glasses, have rarely seemed to agree on the value of a car for some time and therefore dealers will need to perhaps apply a little more “science”.
a little historical data and a little bit of gut feeling and knowledge to arrive at a sensible value on a trade-in even if that means paying more than the guides say.
Spec is playing an ever greater role in increasing the value of cars, their ‘uniqueness’ only increases as the list of added options seems to grow on a monthly basis, and perhaps machine gun turrets will be a standard feature in years to come to go with the massaging seats which are now available.
The current situation could mean a complete change of attitude in the car business with vehicles being valued on a far more individual basis than ever before.
The likelihood that more rental companies and fleet operators will be more likely to ‘spec’ up their fleets with an even greater eye on future values and the changing buying habits and “must haves” of the consumer.
