Australia’s used car market is in overdrive as dealers chase customers to buy back vehicles

theguardian.com:

Australia’s used car market is in overdrive with a shortage of vehicles leaving dealers chasing former customers to offer competitive buy-backs as they scramble to fill their lots.

Others are scouring online marketplace websites and social media sites to contact those wanting to sell used cars privately.

In an email seen by the Guardian with the subject line “We want your Mazda3!” a New South Wales car dealer emailed former customers offering to buy back the cars they sold them years ago.

“We are paying top dollar for your vehicle and even better, you will RECEIVE the money SAME DAY! How good is that?” it said.

Others who have been trying to sell privately say they have been contacted directly by dealers and car-buying services after placing ads on Facebook and GumTree.

Australia’s new and used car market is experiencing unprecedented demand, due largely to supply chain issues.

Paris Lord, 45, from Canberra said he was contacted by “a few” dealers before he sold his plug-in Mitsubishi Hybrid 2017 Outlander in March this year for $32,000.

Lord, who sold because there was no plug in the basement car park of his new residence and because he wanted to go car-free, said he didn’t mind taking a small loss on the sale.

“I was selling it privately for a reason and didn’t want their alleged service,” Lord said. “One of them took it for a test drive and still wouldn’t increase their offer. Usual palaver. ‘Aww mate, the tyres need replacing’, blah blah.

“Their offers were too low. I knew they would jack up their sticker price, because of the shortage of cars and other supply chain dramas.”

A semiconductor shortage has plagued manufacturers of electronic goods since the start of the pandemic with one analyst quoted in Wired describing