Kingscliff-based car broker Peter Gee, of Motor Scout, reveals the price increases hitting industry during COVID19

Car dealers are able to “name their price” for in-demand models as a stock shortage hits the industry during COVID-19. READ THE LIST OF MODELS HERE

CAR dealers are able to “name their price” for in-demand models as a stock shortage hits the industry during COVID-19.

Peter Gee, who runs Kingscliff-based car broking business Motor Scout, said before coronavirus dealers would offer discounts for models in stock but charge more for factory orders.

Not now.

That arrangement had been inverted during COVID-19 due to a stock shortage.

Buyers are likely to get a better deal if they are prepared to wait for their model to arrive.

“One dealer had three tiers of pricing for a client,” Mr Gee said.

The price of the Toyota RAV4 Cruiser has jumped 4 per cent between May and August.

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“The highest price was for cars in stock. A small discount applied to get it in two months and a larger one to get the car before the end of the year.”

Mr Gee said between May and August the average price for the Toyota HiLux SR had increased by $6800 or 13 per cent, although that was partly due to a new model being released.

The price for the Mazda CX-5 Akera Turbo increased by 5.3 per cent or $2700 during the same period with no new model being released.

Mr Gee said the supply problem began in March when car dealers were hit by COVID and didn’t order in stock for the traditional end-of-financial-year sales.

The price of the Mazda CX-5 Akera has gone up by 5.3 per cent.

“People came in looking for cars but they had already sold out by May.”

Sales were hit hard but JobKeeper changed that straight away with a surge in business from April, he said.

“We stood our staff down in March but started to take staff back at the end of April.

“As soon as JobKeeper kicked in it went gangbusters. May was our best month.”

Mr Gee said he did not see the shortage having a lasting effect on the market.

“It’s a blip, something that comes from supply and demand. There is huge demand for new cars but there is no stock there.

Peter Gee is the founder of Motor Scout, an online car broking business. Mr Gee launched Motor Scout from his Kingscliff home in 2018 and claims to have saved hundreds of clients a total of $2.5 million. Motor Scout customers pay nothing to use the service, while the winning dealer pays a small fee to secure the transaction. Picture Glenn Hampson

“We are expecting from this month things will get back to normal.”

TOP 5 PRICE INCREASES:

Toyota HiLux SR

Increase of $6800 (13%) from May to August.

Mazda CX-5 Akera Turbo

Increase of $2700 (5.3%) from May to August.

Mazda3 G20 Evolve with Vision

Increase of $1433 (4.5%) from May to August.

Toyota RAV4 Cruiser Hybrid

Increase of $1600 (4%) from May to August.

Hyundai Venue Elite

Increase of $252 (1%) from May to August.