In a time of widespread scarcity of new cars, used cars are worth more. In a way, the artifice of devaluation is slowing down and what used to have less value now has more. Inevitable consequence of a diminished supply.
If we remember the best years of the Spanish market, more than a million passenger cars were sold each year. In practically any dealer there was stock, not of any possible combination, but of the most common ones. There were offers, there was competition, there was a climate of more or less healthy trade war.
Currently that does not happen. Factories are languishing for lack of components and production is limited. The most expensive and most profitable cars are prioritized, and the most popular models with the lowest margins are in last place. This puts pressure on the second-hand market, and the expansive wave ends up reaching the most used.
Buying a new car is very expensive, it involves waiting, and we may not find anything that suits our tastes
When more 15-year-old cars are sold than brand new ones, it is the sign that something is happening. We are used to the mantra that a car with years and kilometers will end up being a pile of junk. If you are not careful, it is clear that this will happen. If it is maintained, it can last as long as you want. Some can beat the prices they had new, if they are even minimally special.
There are real bargains that are not affected by the general rise in prices, if our tastes go a bit against the tide, like certain sedans
But what happens when used cars are also not available in sufficient numbers because fewer new cars are registered? The park regenerates less, so older and inflated models can be an option for both the seller and the buyer. If they’re okay, of course.
The traditional business of independent buying and selling is becoming more attractive to official dealer networks and their second-hand subsidiaries
The crux of the matter is in the condition. Let us think, for example, of a 2006 car, already a danger for the DGT, but its bodywork and paint is in good condition, it has a demonstrable maintenance history, it passes the ITV every year without defects and even inside it shows signs of good repair. lifetime. Why not take it into account?
Some manufacturers have taken note of this and are considering the remanufacturing, which is to leave used cars as neat as possible to sell them again. It’s the same thing independent dealers have been doing who buy cars in decent shape, spruce them up a bit, and resell them with better appeal.
Even if they do not have the latest engines, cars 10-15 years old can have very good safety if they have their maintenance up to date, and as of 2006 they all have environmental labels
The official networks of dealers receive a flow of vehicles that are delivered in exchange for a new or used one, these vehicles are being more appreciated as salable objects. Moreover, the more pressing the scarcity, more interested in raising the bar in terms of acceptable mileage and acceptable years before selling to other professionals or scrapping them.
Good maintenance ensures that the original emission and safety characteristics last longer, although they are still not completely new cars, they can be maintained almost as if they were.
For example, in the United States they are already doing that. Before the limit of what was acceptable was 100,000 miles (more than 160,000 km), now it is beginning to be at 200,000 miles. Even high mileage cars sell faster than normal, especially if they have a maintenance history, are in good shape, and have received a thorough mechanical overhaul.
After all, it is still a business, used cars go up in price due to scarcity, so it is more worth investing money to make them look good and presentable. On the other hand, if the depreciation is higher, they begin to enter the “purgatory” phase, prices fall and they begin to disappear from the streets and accumulate in scrap yards. Then they go back up in price when enthusiasts demand them.
If we are one of those who do not need a huge tablet on the dashboard and we like to fiddle with buttons and good finishes, we are in luck if we know how to search and we do not have many travel needs
The depreciation It is made up of different variables, but one of them is the availability of new cars. For little difference in price, a new car is of interest over a used one (because of the illusion of using it for the first time, although the logistics guys did that before), but if the difference is greater, or the delivery times are long, then what is at hand is immediately available.
The waters will end up calming down, the pace of production will recover, but manufacturers have already entered into a dynamic of manufacturing less and earning more. This allows us to predict that used car values are going to slow down, and that well-maintained cars have more potential for good resale than before. Filling out the stamp booklet is more valuable than ever.
There are still barriers that limit all this, such as venal values, which all this affects little
A car that is cared for lasts longer, regardless of its reliability, preventive maintenance is always good. Maybe right now you don’t think about selling your car, but if you think it can happen in a few years, accept a friend’s advice: give him a good deal, maintain it when it’s due, and build up a demonstrable maintenance history. One day that will be a reward, and while you enjoy a car in better condition.