Year-end promotion: Prospective buyers visiting a used car dealership in Petaling Jaya. — IZZRAFIQ ALIAS/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: With car prices expected to increase next year, used car dealers here are trying to cash in by offering knock-down prices for vehicles before they close the books for the year.
Penang and Province Wellesley Used Cars Autocycles Dealers and Motor Financiers Association vice-president Ooi Eng Chye said the prices of used cars would be knocked down by 10% to 15% during this period.
He said likewise, those who sell their cars now would incur losses by a similar percentage.
“It works both ways. Some sell their cars as they want to buy new ones. New cars tend to get cheaper at the end of the year as they want to clear their old stock,” he said.
Ooi, who has been in the business for 35 years, said Perodua was a popular choice in the used-car trade as it depreciated at less than 10%.
“We call them hot cars as they have more value and demand. The most popular one is Perodua Myvi.
“There is a market for Perodua cars, more than Proton vehicles,” he said when met at his second-hand car shop in Batu Lanchang.
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Ooi said the market was still recovering from the pandemic.
“We used to sell 100 cars a month. But now, selling 15 cars a month is considered good.
“Sometimes we even sell it at a loss just to let it go. The reason is that the longer we keep it, the longer our money is tied up, plus the depreciation rate.
“Before this, we would never lose money on a car. What people do not realise is that we check and fix it before selling it. That cost us a lot of money,” he said.
Meanwhile, a car dealer said there were year-end promotions and large discounts to clear their stock made in 2023.
“The car is considered a year old in two months even though it was made in the last quarter of this year.
“This is why there are plenty of promotions everywhere, as the moment it is made in 2023, it does not count as a new car in 2024.
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“Customers can get a good deal and a brand new car in the process,” he said.
In KUALA LUMPUR, a Subang car dealer said new cars were being offered massive discounts as part of the year-end promotions.
However, he said used cars would not get much discounts due to the fact they were already sold at a depreciated price.
“Some new cars are getting discounts of up to 10% as we and many others look to clear stock before the start of next year.
“Used cars won’t be having much, if any, discounts, as they are already being sold at lower prices due to the fact they have been already used before,” he said.
He added that due to the high price point of new cars, even after getting a discount and old car prices barely changing, eager car owners should only consider getting a new one if needed.
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A used car dealer operating near Batu Caves said that while other dealers were selling their cars at lower prices to clear stock, he remained adamant about not following the trend.
“Many dealers and traders are selling at discounted prices of up to 10%, but we don’t see the need to reduce prices this year as our sales are barely affected anyway.
“Despite our offers previously, we still sold only around 10 cars between October and December over the last few years,” he said.
He said that this year, they would sell their used cars at the same slightly discounted prices as they had done earlier this year.
These discounts would range anywhere from as little as below RM1,000 to RM4,000 depending on the car model and other factors.
