Is Used Cars Supply Drying Up in Berea Dealerships?

Empty lots in used car dealerships in Greenville have become a common scene recently, just after the shelter-at-home orders have started easing. People who are looking to upgrade their old cars are facing limited options. Used car dealers are having to turn their customers away because they do not have their preferred lot in the car. This has rarely been the case in the past decade as the used car market had flourished. But suddenly, the COVID-19 crisis seems to have gripped this industry as well and many Berea dealerships are running dry. What is happening?

There is no supply of used cars

Used cars for sale in Greenville generally come to dealerships from three major sources.

1.Customer trade-ins where people bring their old car to buy a new one
2.The wholesale markets
3.And the outgoing fleet of rental companies who look to make space for new cars

Owing to the economic effect of COVID-19, all three had somewhat come to a screeching halt in the past two months. People hung on to their old cars and rising unemployment destroyed buyer confidence as many customers were unwilling to invest just yet. The entire wholesale market had to close down because gathering was not allowed. Lastly, rental companies saw their sales plummeting. Without revenue, they were not purchasing new cars and so, they were not letting go of their old ones.

This built up as a vicious cycle over the past 6 months. And small used car dealerships in Greenville that depend on a regular inflow of vehicles due to their incapability of maintaining an inventory saw supply from all three sources take a nosedive. Hence, the lots became empty as sales continued throughout the pandemic but the dealers could not replenish their vehicles supply.

When will things improve?

The virus is likely to go away once the vaccine is here. And we are making good progress on that front. But the economic effect is likely to recover much later as experts are predicting a timeline of at least 5 years. Till then, small used car dealerships are likely to be on unstable grounds. You might continue to see empty Berea dealerships.

However, large businesses with a large inventory have not seen this trend take hold. One such example is Family Auto, a reputed buy here pay here in Greenville. Family Auto is spread all over upstate South Carolina with multiple dealerships having multiple inventories. It continued to see a continuous inflow of used cars despite the current economic condition. The inventory allowed the dealer to buy and hold new used cars and customers found the vehicles they wanted here without returning home empty-handed. So, if you wish to buy a used car now, visit Family Auto of Berea. Our used car lot is still up and going.