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Why now could be the right time to buy a brand-new car
BACK in April 2019, we bought precisely 161,064 new cars in the UK. Fast-forward to the same month this year, and that number had shrunk to trace levels, with just 4,321 new cars finding homes – and only 871 of those purchases were made by private buyers.
This evaporation of sales was the result of dealers being forced to close during lockdown, but things are starting to look up. In June, with English dealers reopening at the start of the month, the UK market was down by a little over a third, reflecting the fact that Scottish and Welsh franchises weren’t allowed to start trading until later in June. Now dealers across the UK are back in business, and are welcoming customers with open – if socially distanced – arms.
We marked the moment English dealers began trading again in Issue 1,630, and found that showrooms are taking every possible measure to ensure staff and customers are safe in dealerships. Hand sanitising stations have proliferated, while one-way systems are in place across showroom floors and perspex screens have been installed at service, reception and sales desks to keep you safe when new-car shopping. Also, cars are being carefully disinfected between viewings and test drives. That might make the showroom experience sound a little alien, but the truth is that airy, spacious dealerships are good places to maintain a safe, careful approach to retail.
What’s more, as we reported in Issue 1,635, if you’re still (understandably) twitchy about venturing out to a dealership, manufacturers and franchises are taking bold, innovative steps as they seek to cater for the new methods of shopping being clamoured for by consumers. Just as your supermarket shop is as likely to be brought to your house by a delivery person in a van as it is to be collected by you in-store, it’s now possible to have a brand-new car dropped off at your home – contact free – for a test drive, while
more dealers are allowing you to complete the purchase process entirely online, too.
Given the circumstances we find ourselves in as a nation, there are some fantastic deals to be done, with sales executives keen to put you in the right car, at the right price. And now that the backlog of deliveries that built up during lockdown has cleared, waiting times should be back to normal, and the purchasing and delivery process should be as efficient as ever, if not more so.
If you’re thinking about changing your car, bear in mind that it’s quite possible you will get a better deal now than you might at any other point in recent memory. So log on or head down to your nearest dealer, armed with the knowledge contained in this guide, and enjoy the savings on offer, as well as your new set of wheels.
“It’s quite possible you will get a better deal now than you might at any other point in recent memory”