As sales of new cars continue to decline we thought we'd take a fresh look at the transactions for used cars in the Irish market. There's no doubt that the second hand market continues to play a very important (but often overlooked) role in the Irish motor industry.
Our analysis identifies that 40,995 used cars were sold to a new owner last month of which a staggering 73% of transactions occurred in the private market and were not officially recorded as being sold by a car dealer.
Buying "Privately" has always been synonymous with bargain hunting and the latest figures show that the vast majority of buyers are more than happy to transact directly with the current owner and bypass their local dealer.
Twice as many second hand cars sold versus new ones
The first quarter of the year is important for new car sales but we can't forget the significance of the used car market for the Irish motorist. When you compare the numbers you'll see that there were twice as many used cars bought over new this year and we expect this number to grow significantly as the year progresses.
A shortage in the supply of used cars in Ireland means that the number of second hand cars being imported from the United Kingdom is expected to rise. Buyers should be mindful of the pitfalls associated with buying from the private sector and remain skeptical of any price that's just too 'good to be true'.
We continue to see a significant number of insurance write-off's entering the Irish market from the UK. These are normally sold 'as seen' to the prospective buyer which makes it almost impossible to rectify later when the hidden history is uncovered.
Here's a list of the most popular cars sold last month.