Calm before the storm as buyers gear up for 152-reg

IT has all gone a little quiet this past week or two as the countdown to 152 picks up pace.

There is still a decent level of footfall and a good level of enquiries at dealerships.

But July isn’t like January where most cars are pre-ordered.

Sources tell me they are expecting a much more active type of July where people come in to buy in the course of the first few weeks in particular.

Everyone is expecting this year’s second registration period to outstrip last year’s – which took people by surprise.

Indeed, the first few days back then were, in the words of one sales person, ‘ breathless’ as dealers could barely keep up with orders coming in.

Those I’ve been speaking with say it could be even more of a roller-coaster ride this year as many potential buyers seem to be waiting a bit longer before committing to a new purchase.

One of the possible downsides of that is dealers not having the colour, spec, general mix of models that people might want.

They can’t just press a button and come up with exactly what you want so there is a slight risk of having to wait a while for your 152-reg.

Most people, though, are prepared to take broad trim levels and not want variations.

And with the advent of more ‘packs’ of equipment, dealers are better placed to cope with additional requirements.

Pattern

This is the third mid-summer registration period and those within the industry are generally agreed there is something of a pattern developing.

It has shrunk the opening part of the year, consigned June especially to the doldrums and left August onwards extremely quiet too.

This year it is even more noticeable how so many marques have scheduled new and revised cars specially for July.

That’s good news for consumers.

It’s fair to say there is extraordinary choice out there at the moment – not to mention a massive number of offers to entice buyers.

And while it is a frayed cliché at this stage it nevertheless remains as relevant as ever: buyers should shop around because they can save a lot of money in doing so.