Discount time
Used motor vehicles for sale displayed for potential purchasers.
IT IS the last Sunday in October and already there are advertisements on radio about Christmas sales and there has even been a New Year’s Eve ball announcement. In the business of buying and selling cars, a transaction is not as easy as walking into a clothing or jewellery store, paying the reduced price as advertised, and walking out with the item.
As most motor vehicle purchases are done through loan financing, a considerable amount of time is required to complete a transaction, what with the documents which are required and the checks which financial institutions carry out in vetting prospective purchasers. It is not surprising, then, that year-end sales on motor vehicles should start early.
And they have, but apart from the time required to change a motor vehicle’s location from showroom to driveway, another factor driving the discounts. New car dealers are selling 2016 models, as the 2017 models (some of them shape changes or minor upgrades) are coming in. And as financial institutions typically finance motor vehicles up to five years old, the used car dealers are offering lower prices on 2011 models. Also contributing to these discounts is the five-year cut-off point for importing motor cars for non-commercial use into Jamaica.
In a previous interview with Automotives, president of the new car dealers’ organisation, the Automobile Dealers Association (ADA), Kent LaCroix, said having these sales is necessary.” If one has to try Kent LaCroix, chairman of the Automobile Dealers Association.