Bartons selling cars for as cheap as $50 due to COVID-19

A spare $50 could be enough to buy a car with a large dealership clearing out hundreds of stock at bargain prices.

GRAB your pocket money or collect some loose change from around the house because it could buy you a car.

A giant Brisbane car dealership has taken a desperate step to clear out stock as a result of COVID-19, with cars selling for as cheap as $50.

Bartons Car Dealership at Wynnum and Capalaba will start a two-week sale on traded cars tomorrow with more than 200 vehicles expected to sell anywhere from $50 to $20,000.

Managing director Mark Beitz said the sale was a by-product of COVID-19.

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“The cars, which are trade-ins, would usually be sold to wholesalers and auctions but with those sections of the market not operating during the coronavirus, we were thinking of other avenues to get rid of stock and bring in cash flow,” he said.

Bartons managing director Mark Beitz. Picture: Steve Pohlner

“There’s probably half a million in cashflow in those cars.”

Residents interested need to enter an expression of interest online to see the vehicle, then they can put in a tender with the dealership and the highest bidder will take home the car.

The cars up for sale range from older models including a 1987 Toyota Camry, 1993 Holden Commodore to later models such as a 2010 Mitsubishi Triton, a 2015 Fiat and a 2016 Mini Cooper.

“There are some cars which are still really good available,” Mr Beitz said.

Cars up for sale in Bartons clearance sale. Picture: Supplied

“Obviously the ones that go for a really low price will need some work but it’s still a bargain.

“One of the promotions we had during this COVID-19 was a minimum $3000 trade-in, so there’s money owed to us in these cars, but a lot of them we will get hundreds instead of thousands, which is fine because we just need to get rid of them.”

Cars up for sale in Bartons clearance sale. Picture: Supplied

While the motor industry has been hit hard by the current pandemic, Mr Beitz said Bartons have come through it in a good position.

“I think a lot of businesses would be down 60 or 70 per cent, we’re only down 40, which is a pretty good result,” he said.

Cars up for sale in Bartons clearance sale. Picture: Supplied

“We’ve still been able to sell and deliver more than 300 cars during this.

“We only had to stand down five staff involuntary and I think that had a huge impact on staff morale and resulted in good results considering how tough it is at the moment.”

Mr Beitz said business could take months or even more than a year to return to normal.

For a full list of the cars available, click here.