BUYERS RETURN TO SHOWROOMS…

…but dealers maintain that online sales of classics remain strong

More people are visiting showrooms to buy historic vehicles, but dealers are reporting that large numbers of cars are still being sold online.

All the specialists that CCW spoke to on 21 April, just after retail restrictions lifted, reported an increase in showroom foot traffic in the following weeks.

Classic and Sportscar Centre CEO, James Szkiler, said that 50 per cent of sales were to online and telephone customers even before COVID: ‘ We’ve sold 240 cars in the past year despite our showroom having been closed for seven months.

‘ We’ve had an increase in customers coming through the door and people making appointments to view cars since the ease in lockdown restrictions in April but many customers are happy to buy online.’

Peterborough Classic Cars founder, Brian Harris, said: ‘Footfall has picked up over the past few weeks but there hasn’t been a massive surge – many sales are still carried out online.’

Classic Chrome in Mortlake, London, has also been enjoying an increase in enquiries from visitors calling in the showroom though staff suspect that this is as much down to its location as much as the easing of restrictions.

Director, Keith Grimshaw, said: ‘ We are just near the station, so we’ve even had people saying that they are stuck in traffic and have seen a car in our showroom that they’re interested in. Despite this, online sales are holding up well.’

Bob Adams, of West Midlandsbased Bob’s Affordable Classics, said: ‘ Visitor numbers are definitely up. There are people who want to see a car in the metal before buying and I think people want to get out and about and see a few cars for sale before making a decision. Others are happy to buy online, though.’