Used car market enjoys high popularity

Not everyone has enough money to purchase a brand new car. Some consumers also want a used car to practice driving before they buy a new one. All this explains why the used car market has developed so strongly.

There are many ways to purchase used cars, like reading newspaper ads or auto forums, purchasing cars from acquaintances, buying cars through brokers, auto salons, or used car centres at Toyota Vietnam or Ford Vietnam. There are no official statistics on the used car market, but it is clear that daily transactions are taking place.

Used cars sell well

Japanese cars priced from 300-600 million dong are best sellers among new cars, with many models on offer. South Korean cars have been imported to Vietnam over the last two or three years as well, so there are not many used cars for sale.

It always takes time and effort to purchase a car that fits a consumer’s pocketbook and has a good reputation and design. The best solution is to buy cars from acquaintances, because then consumers know the cars well. However, in many cases, it is impossible to find friends with cars for sale.

It is also difficult to purchase cars through advertisements, because car brokers, or co xe (storks) are swifter than buyers and they purchase the cars before buyers contact sellers. Storks purchase cars to resell for profit. Most people who want to buy used cars come to auto salons or used car trading centres.

Cong Thanh and his son hunted for half a month on the Internet and in newspapers to find a hatchback Daewoo Gentra SX, which they bought for 385 million dong. The car’s owner sold it to pay bank debts.

Many young people look for used cars on auto forums and used car websites. Thinh, who lives in HCM City, found an ad on an auto forum about the sale of a seven-seat New Carens which had the low mileage of 9000 kilometres. The car was offered at 495 million dong, lower by 110 million dong a brand new one. Thinh showed the car to a relative, but could not purchase it because a stork moved more swiftly and scooped up the car.

According to storks, they generally keep used cars for three weeks before reselling them. They purchase used cars, upgrade them, and then sell them at higher prices. In some cases, storks keep the cars for several years before finding new owners. Tuan, a stork, bought a Ford Escape XLT 2.3L with 50,000 kilometres and then resold the car at 530 million dong after only two days.

Used car market is huge

According to storks, the used car market is very big, and it expands greatly at year’s end. Truong Huy Phuoc, Director of the Ford used car trading centre, noted that, in 2009, the centre sold 250 used cars, while the waiting list of clients was still long.

Toyota Dong Saigon Centre has operated for just one month, but its director, Nguyen Khoa, reported that the centre lacks enough cars. He added that most clients order cars priced at less than 500 million dong. Every day, the centre receives 15-20 visitors

Ford and Toyota’s used car trading centres also admitted that they do not have enough cars to satisfy demand. Meanwhile, car dealers are considering expanding the used car business because demand has risen very high.