Used import sales jump
"Some of the new utes and SUVS you can buy these days are down [at] around $35,000 compared with $45,000 not so long ago." Turners national marketing manager Sean Wiggans
Sales of imported second-hand cars have continued a rising trend in January, increasing 11 per cent on the same month a year earlier.
The sales growth was most evident in South Island centres such as Oamaru, Timaru, Christchurch and Westport, where the increase was 10 per cent.
Turners national marketing manager Sean Wiggans said there was a greater choice of cheaper new cars and this put downward pressure on used car prices.
‘‘Some of the new utes and SUVS you can buy these days are down [at] around $35,000 compared with $45,000 not so long ago,’’ he said. ‘‘For example, a new Mitsubishi Outlander starts at $32,000.’’
Automobile Association spokesman Liam Baldwin agreed that cheaper options were more plentiful, depending on choice of quality and function.
‘‘We’d always advise people to buy the safest car they can afford and do their due diligence if it seems a good deal,’’ Baldwin said.
The AA’S report on car safety shows the more expensive and newer cars have the best safety features.
The Mercedes-benz E-class comes out tops, followed by the Subaru Impreza and the Fiat 500X. A full list can be found on the New Zealand Transport Agency’s Rightcar website.
Meanwhile, Turners figures show the majority of used car sales were in the upper North Island, with the South Island accounting for a quarter of all sales.
The rate of growth of sales eased in Thames, Rotorua and Wanganui.
Overall, used car sales were up 4 per cent in January compared with the same month in 2016 to 91,296 cars.
More people traded in their cars to dealers in January this year, up 3.9 per cent on January 2016 to 11,621.
The largest market segment remains public-to-public sales with 42,151 sales in January. Wiggans said many of these sales were via Trade Me, with a significant portion being family members or friends selling to each other.
The next biggest segment was sales by dealers to the public comprising 16,127 cars sold in January.
During 2016 there were more than 1.1 million used car sales, with nearly half traded privately or on Trade Me.