Used Car Yards, Garages closed down everywhere in Adelaide

[davistev]

G'day ladies and gentlemen and Holden drivers.

I was driving down South Road in Adelaide this week and I could not help but notice the incredible amount of used empty display yards up for lease from once long standing used car dealers. It got me thinking - why?

Do we no longer buy used cars? Likewise, automotive repair garages have closed down everywhere as well. Do our cars no longer break down? Gumtree adds seem to have the same cars being advertised for high prices. Do we have too many cars that people would rather hold than sell?

It's just a pub topic of conversation but I am interested in listening to other peoples views on this. On the face of it, it seems we maybe in a Used Car Glut Bubble described as a market where nothing moves but prices are still high.

[302 XC]

The main crust is ,no one has got any money ......

Those that do ,and can afford something decent are finding it hard to pass up the deals new cars have, 0 % (tho short term)
Mate even got 2 % on a new dual cab 4x4, over 5 years,used car yards cant get near that finance deals
New mite cost more on the price but the interest deals ,meaning cheap payments are killing used sales
Would you pay 700-1000 month high interest on a used car ,or 700-1000 a month less interest on a new car

[Iggle Piggle]

Noticed the same on Main North Road - I guess some of the long-termers may have retired, but definitely far fewer used car yards. And you are right, it is not just the small or 'young' yards; many of the more established have gone including the one at Scotty's corner and even the Smiths Holden used car yard has closed and amalgamated with their yard down at the Port.

Have also noticed cars moving about between yards - would notice a car that had been sitting in one yard for a couple of months suddenly gone and think it had been sold, to then see it in another yard a couple of kms up the road.

Reckon 302 XC is on the money - very hard to go past some of the new car deals in terms of both price and finance. I would have thought the low new car sale prices would be reflected in second hand prices coming down, but they still seem to be right up there making new cars not that much more expensive.

[davistev]

I have even heard of a few dealers getting their stock of cars defected while on the display yard by SA Transport cops. Sounds like a very hard buisness now.

[pottery beige]

will get even worse with end of baby bonus.. less bogans updating the VN for VT...

[mik]

I think a good part of the population is in recession, but politicians will no longer tell you we are in recession A. Because it looks bad for them, and also it has been said its irresponsible to talk down the economy.

[V3RSAC3]

My Uncle and Cousins own car yards and the realisation is that car yards no longer need main road display.

Gone are the days where Saturdays were spent walking from one yard to the next and seeing what they all had to offer. These days it's as simple as jumping on the computer, searching for what you want and going to look at a dealer that has that particular car!

Most second hand dealers are moving off the main roads and down to side streets renting out warehouses to store their cars for half the rent.

[zilo]

www.carsales.com.au is the reason.

[wrongwaynorris]

It's a little bit of everything mentioned above . No coincidence that new car sales last year were booming on the back of low or NO interest terms . And people get bent out of shape when we value their 2 year old sub 40k car they payed $32,000.00 for at $ 15,000.00 .

[Nikked]

I think a lot of people are going private sale now, and the price of some new cars being so cheap probally allows people to by new, rather then a car from a used dealer.

[OLDFORDNUT]

its the worse time ive ever experienced for sellling anything the last 12 months here in QLD,taken a loss a few times just to move stuff on including cars bikes and boats

[vanman_75]

Cheap cars new are killing resale on everything , even Toyota values are heading down hill in a big way ..why spend 20 on a five year old Toyota when you can have a brand new great cherrykiawall ..don't need reliability with five year drive a gazillion mile warranty ....it is part of the demise of our industry just like all the other threads...people got no money ( and getting worse )

If and only if our dollar weakens and some better deals and protections in will it change ...too late when its all gone
My sister is in the lower end car game and moves 10 -15 a week low cost motoring , its the only boom in the country , she has no yard sells online and papers only , no overheads .only needs storage ..sad really

[turbodewd]

It all boils down to the GFC which was a result of insane US govt fiscal policy and criminal behaviour from Wall St.

[302 XC]

Originally Posted by vanman_75

Cheap cars new are killing resale on everything , even Toyota values are heading down hill in a big way ..why spend 20 on a five year old Toyota when you can have a brand new great cherrykiawall ..don't need reliability with five year drive a gazillion mile warranty ....it is part of the demise of our industry just like all the other threads...people got no money ( and getting worse )

If and only if our dollar weakens and some better deals and protections in will it change ...too late when its all gone
My sister is in the lower end car game and moves 10 -15 a week low cost motoring , its the only boom in the country , she has no yard sells online and papers only , no overheads .only needs storage ..sad really

Looking at new cars, the end of year sales are cheaper than people,or yards are asking for stuff 12,24 months old, with 30,40 Ks on them .....
I looked at a new 4x4 month or so ago, that same car is now a few grand cheaper

For a throw away car ,you cant go past the kiawallcherry bombs
There cheap, they have warranties to cover mostly 3,5 years after that there still worth maybe 50 % of new , so 5,7 grand
The top end stuff commondores,falcooons, they'll loose the same % but at a bigger cost,usually tens of thousands ,so for a money miser the cheaper stuff is the winner
Online is where its at, many are flicking the bricks and mortar and purely online, saving a lot on overheads,usually a small patch of dirt,maybe the backyard shed, and making more profit
If you don't advertise on line,your in the dark ages

[wrongwaynorris]

Originally Posted by turbodewd

It all boils down to the GFC which was a result of insane US govt fiscal policy and criminal behaviour from Wall St.

Not so much U.S Govy fiscal policy as a totally unregulated financial sector .There are people who should have been shot for treason and others gaoled for life for knowingly destroying the US/ world economy with their worthless CDO's .

[buggerlugs]

Not just car yards here. Empty shops and Industrial sheds everywhere to...............

[eb2fairmont]

Originally Posted by mik

I think a good part of the population is in recession, but politicians will no longer tell you we are in recession A. Because it looks bad for them, and also it has been said its irresponsible to talk down the economy.

This is the true answer. Both SA and VIC are in the grips of a mild recession due to manufacturing having a hard time. NSW and QLD is coal keeping them level and WA well, that's Iron ore and Gold keeping it up.

The second aspect is cheap finance, cheaper to buy a dual cab ute than second hand.

[Gadgetman]

The adjustment in used car pricing has already started to filter through. Low finance deals on new cars is making hard for used cars. which will in fact devalue trade-ins even further. Not only for used car yards but for private sellers as well.

[OLD BALDY]

just bought 2 second cars in Melbourne, FG ute, FG2 G6E turbo, both from the internet, ute from a small yard, only visited to check out and pay deposit. Turbo from Ford dealers did not even go to site, car bought to me checked it out, signed paper work, sales bloke drove off in my trade-in, transferred the money over that afternoon, all done.

[janddbone]

It is all done online along with everything else. With the garages, most people do not maintain their cars, they only see a garage when something stops working...

[Itsme]

Just bad economic times.....Costs are hurting every one.

[calais]

Its the same in Sydney too.....

Then today I read an article about Detroit dying. Now thats where a once booming city is truly on the ropes. If it all goes wrong they will be biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history. Something like 80,000 abandoned buildings and only 40% of their streetlights working.... Its a dire situation.

[ebxr8240]

Originally Posted by calais

Its the same in Sydney too.....

Then today I read an article about Detroit dying. Now thats where a once booming city is truly on the ropes. If it all goes wrong they will be biggest municipal bankruptcy in US history. Something like 80,000 abandoned buildings and only 40% of their streetlights working.... Its a dire situation.

YEP seen it over there.,.. Bad news..

[blueoval]

Its not just car yards. All down main south road, goodwood road, brighton road, etc are seeing heaps of offices with 'for lease' or 'for sale' signs at nearly every 2nd or 3rd office.

Commercial Rent is going up, less reason to go into a shop/office with email and internet readily available, as well as online shopping to your door.

All retail sectors as well as the small office businesses are suffering just as much too.

Times have changed and not for the better.

[BENT_8]

Its the same out north, probably worse infact.
Heaps of commercial properties vacant, Car yards closing down and the ones not closing are just clinging on.
Its been slowly gaining momentum for the last 12 months, I first noticed the coffee shops and other non essential retailers closing down, fact is people aren't spending unless it is necessary.
Its not just retail either, in my street of 60 houses, all near new, every week another rental empties, another sale sign goes up, but no one is filling the voids.
There are 3 sale signs and 4 empty rentals with 100m of my front door, another removalist truck arrived yesterday.
The place across the road was vacant for 3 months between tenants last time, then a couple rented it for 12 months and it has now been empty for another 2 months since they left.
Rents have dropped by $20pw in my area too.
I wouldn't want to be a landlord in the next 2 years, be it commercial or residential.

[duaned]

I think overall there will only be 2 certainties with work opportunites as the years go by.
They are Transport and Aged Care. As said above, Retail is suffering pain.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by duaned

I think overall there will only be 2 certainties with work opportunites as the years go by.
They are Transport and Aged Care. As said above, Retail is suffering pain.

Somewhat agreed, when my wife first explored working in aged care I told her she would have a job for life as we have an ageing population which needs supporting.
6 years later and all is good.

Transport, im assuming your talking freight, is dead in the water, our largest trucking mob, Scotts, laid off a heap of drivers and admin in the last few weeks.
Many other companies have already gone bust.

The only transport work still busy is courier work, fed by the online market.

[nstg8a]

Same here in Brisbane too, I work in a smallish logistics company and the site that we are based in basically a big rectangular yard, with four big sheds down each side, we rent the first three on one side, a small logistics company rents the fourth, on the other side three are empty, and another small logistics company rents the last one. Half of these sheds are less than a year old, and sitting empty.
Landlord went and pulled the 'for lease' signs down the other day because there's been no interest other than real estate agents trying to get them on their books.
$6000 per week per shed means massive throughput is required just to cover rent,let alone all the other costs, and that's still not making a profit.
There's for lease signs all over the area and to make it worse its also an area that was decimated in the 2011 floods, even our yard which was supposed to be flood proofed, had 1.5 metres of water in it.
High rents+stagnant economy+flood scares = one quiet area...

[nstg8a]

Transport, im assuming your talking freight, is dead in the water, our largest trucking mob, Scotts, laid off a heap of drivers and admin in the last few weeks.
Many other companies have already gone bust.

The only transport work still busy is courier work, fed by the online market.

I don't agree there, interstate transport is still busy, and always will be.
All the tough times are doing is getting rid of the under funded or poorly run operators.
Competition is fierce for the good contracts, and some will go to the wall, but there's still plenty to go round.

[BENT_8]

Originally Posted by nstg8a

I don't agree there, interstate transport is still busy, and always will be.
All the tough times are doing is getting rid of the under funded or poorly run operators.
Competition is fierce for the good contracts, and some will go to the wall, but there's still plenty to go round.

Until just before Christmas I was driving for a company which does subby work for Scott's out of their Cavan yard.
Myself and 2 others were laid off as the work just died in the **** (last on, first off scenario).
They didn't lose any contracts, they just got less and less freight coming through as the days went bye.
12 months earlier 6 of us were moving 60 pallets of freight each a day on 10-12 pallet rigids stacked 2 high covering an area from Noarlunga to Gawler, when I was laid off we were down to 20 per day and finishing at 12pm.
Now, this freight was for the largest retailers in SA, Big W, Target, Office Works, Dan Murphy's, Coles, Woolies etc. etc.
These weren't lost contracts, the work was still there, but the volume had dropped to unforseen levels.
I canvassed every depot I knew of, many I had daily contact with and none of them had any work and were laying off their current drivers.