Buy used, Automall Network says

Published on CanadianDriver, August 17, 2005, Member of the AOL Canada Media Network

Toronto, Ontario - In spite of "employee pricing" discounts offered by GM, Ford and Chrysler, it's a great time to buy a used car, according to Automall Network.

The company, a personal shopper specializing in vehicles, has recommended buying used to its clients for the last two months. "It's simply the law of supply and demand, and the numbers show it," says Automall president Viraf Baliwalla. "We've been telling our clients that it is an okay time to buy new. However, it is a great time to buy used."

According to Automotive News, Adesa Inc., one of the largest wholesale vehicle auctions, reported flat sales of used vehicles in its second quarter. Adesa says trade-ins pouring into dealerships because of the Big Three's summer blowout sales of new vehicles have curbed dealers' need to buy used-vehicle inventory at auction. Dealers are reporting that auction prices remain quite high compared to trade-in values.

"If lots of people are buying new, then that means people are not buying as many used vehicles, further flooding the retail used car market," Baliwalla says. "It was already saturated because of the high Canadian dollar. American wholesalers who frequented our auctions and took vehicles back to the U.S. are no longer seeing the competitive advantages they used to. Now, excess trade-ins means there's even more inventory out there to move. Employee pricing is no big deal. Because of volume and relationships, we get fairly close to employee pricing at any time of the year on any make and model, even the imports. However, there are many excellent buying opportunities out there for good used vehicles."