Well the mince pies are gone, the champagne bottles are empty, the gym membership has been renewed and the resolutions are already being broken. It’s well and truly back to the grindstone for car dealers and like many high street retailers there are some encouraging early reports of brisk business.
It usually takes until perhaps the middle of January for the true picture to emerge but it looks like those New Year sale bargains are certainly appealing to some buyers with money in their pockets, or at least room for a flexible monthly payment.
The first quarter of any year is widely accepted to be when most buyers are in the market for a car change and with the exception of September January and March are usually where some dealers can put out some big numbers.
As we have acknowledged with the new car market having declined in the last few years and unlikely to recover to the 2 million mark in the foreseeable future, finding the ‘right’ kind of stock already appears to be a problem.
Some auction goers we talked to have said that although there is some stock at the early sales the choice is limited and boring and it is hoped that as dealers get their December and January part-exchanges to the sales the month will pick up and provide a wider mix of cars to recycle into the retail market.
Unsurprisingly with the almost spring like weather we have been experiencing 4wd vehicles have not had the lift off of previous years.
With that in mind buyers thinking about this kind of car would do well to consider making a buying decision now because we can be sure that the bad weather will eventually arrive. So when the salt and grit runs out (again) leaving the country unable to cope the smug 4wd owners will be glad they bought when they did!
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