Demand shifting to second-hand cars
ISTANBUL - Demirören News Agency
Potential buyers are increasingly turning to second-hand cars since there is shortage of new vehicles in the market due to the global shortage of semiconductors.
But in the face of the strong demand, the prices of those vehicles are rising fast.
And this is creating a rather awkward situation in the second-hand vehicle market. Some dealers say their sales are in fact declining because they cannot find cars to replace the ones they sold.
“I just had an expert examine one of my cars on the market and the expert said that it’s price tag could be 180,000 Turkish Liras [$13,000]. But I immediately a had second thought. I am now wondering if I could buy a similar car at this price two or three days from today,” said Zeydin Melekoğlu, a dealer trading second-hand vehicles at the Erbaş Rami Car Market in Istanbul.
He claimed that car prices rise almost on a weekly basis. “A car that I sold for 160,000 liras 40 days ago is now put up for sale for 240,000 liras. I am a businessman, but I am afraid to sell cars I have because I am hesitating. I may have to pay 20,000 liras to 30,000 liras more later to buy the car similar to what I am selling today. I have been in this business for 12 years and I have not seen anything like this before.”
The situation is not good for the time being, it is not easy to predict what happens next, complained Taştan Işık, another dealer.
“New vehicles are not coming in. Some people are hoarding vehicles, it is a black market out there now,” he said. “People’s purchasing power has eroded. They used to buy three cars for 200,000 liras and today they can buy two.”
Meanwhile, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan may take an initiative to rule for a smaller increase in motor vehicle tax next year.
The MVT should be hiked by 36.2 percent at the start of next year, however, officials from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) noted that Erdoğan has the authority to impose a lower tax rate and the hike could be 21 percent in line with the inflation rate.
