Consumers could pay less for foreign-used vehicles before mid-year if all goes right with the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s investigation into the mechanical viability of six-year-old foreign used vehicles.
That’s the word from Stephen Cadiz, the Minister of Trade and Industry. In a telephone interview, Cadiz said, following Tuesday’s consultation with used car dealers, he was briefed that a six-year-old vehicle from Asian markets was in similar mechanical condition as a four-year-old vehicle.
The six-year-old vehicle could be sold to consumers at a reduced cost. Cadiz said the ministry’s investigation should be completed in two weeks. Dennis Ramdhan, the owner of D and D Auto World Limited of St Mary’s Village Carapichima, Central’s largest used car dealer, said prices should drop by 30–40 per cent. Ramdhan said this means that a foreign-used car may sell for as little as $60,000.
Citing an example, he said, a Nissan Wingroad presently costs consumers around $110,000 but could go down to about $80,000. Ramdhan said dealers with existing stocks would have to bite the bullet and sell cars cheaper since a larger turnaround is anticipated should car prices drop. He believes that banks should not have an problems to financing cars since they had done it in the past when the age of the vehicles were allowed. Ramdhan said throwing out the quota system was a plus since it would allow for more competition and lower prices on the market.
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