Used fuel vehicles become "wealth management products"? Some models are nearly 20,000 yuan higher than the landing price, and the "quasi-new car" is the most sought-after

Per reporter: Duan Siyao Per reporter Per reporter: Pei Jianru

"I didn't expect it to be so difficult to pick up the car now!" During the May Day period, Meng Xuan (pseudonym), who just needed to buy a car, went to the 4S stores of major car brands to turn around, asked about the time to pick up the car, and the reply was almost "wait". Just when he was at a loss, he saw some "quasi-new cars" displayed on the second-hand car e-commerce platform, planning to buy a Highlander, and found that the hand price was even higher than the official guidance price of the new car.

Taking the "Highlander 2022 Dual Engine 2.5L Four-Wheel Drive Premium Edition 7-Seater" model that Meng Xuan is preparing to buy as an example, the apparent mileage is 11,000 kilometers, and the hand price is 359,000 yuan, while the manufacturer guidance price of this car is 329,800 yuan, a difference of 29,200 yuan.

Image source: Screenshot of the official website of Guazi Used Car

This is not an isolated case. The "Daily Economic News" reporter noted that on some second-hand car e-commerce platforms, including tank 300, BMW 5 series and other models, the price of the hand is higher than the official guidance price, and some are even higher than the landing price. Have used cars also become "wealth management products"?

The price of second-hand cars is nearly 20,000 yuan higher than the landing price

Under the background that a car is difficult to find, the second-hand car has become Meng Xuan's second choice.

"If you are in the same city, you can generally complete all the formalities and pick up the car in about three days." Hearing the call from the exclusive service consultant on the other end of the phone, Meng Xuan was moved, and the reply given to him by the sales staff of the 4S store a few days ago was "Book a car now, and you can pick up the car in about three months." However, the higher price of the second-hand car than the new car made Meng Xuan hesitate.

On some used car e-commerce platforms, it is not uncommon for vehicles with used car prices higher than the official guidance price. For example, there is a "Tank 300 2021 off-road version of the 2.0T Conqueror" model, showing a mileage of 100 kilometers, the price of 251,800 yuan, the manufacturer guidance price of 213,800 yuan, the difference between the two is 38,000 yuan. Compared with the landing price of 232,100 yuan, the price of this second-hand car is also nearly 20,000 yuan higher.

According to the reporter's understanding, the price of the tank 300 used car is higher than the price of the new car, mainly because the current car lifting cycle is long, so it is more sought-after, which in turn leads to a rise in price. According to data tracked by CITIC Securities on the tank official APP, the cumulative undelivered orders for tank 300 are as high as 140,000. In addition, affected by the epidemic and other factors, the production of tank 300 was suspended for a while in mid-April, and the current terminal pick-up cycle is about half a year.

Image source: Per reporter Duan Siyao photographed (data map)

The reporter found that in addition to the "quasi-new car" like the above-mentioned tank 300, there are also long-term popular cars in the second-hand car market such as bmw 5 series and highlander, and the current price of second-hand cars is higher than the price of new cars.

For example, the "BMW 5 Series 2020 525Li M Sports Suit" model hung on a second-hand car e-commerce platform shows a mileage of 26,000 kilometers and a hand price of 450,000 yuan. The official guidance price of this car when it was launched three years ago was 426,900 yuan, a difference of 23,100 yuan between the two.

The "wool" of the "quasi-new car" is not good

It is difficult to pick up new cars, and second-hand quasi-new cars have become "fragrant food" in the eyes of second-hand car dealers, second-hand car e-commerce platforms and car buyers.

"As long as it is within 1 year and within 10,000 kilometers, like the BMW 5 Series, the Audi A6L, and some japanese hot models, we will buy back at a price higher than the new car price of about 10,000 yuan, because the market for these models is relatively scarce, and it is relatively easier to sell now." A beijing-based used car dealer bluntly said that the acquisition of second-hand quasi-new cars is relatively fierce, and such cars are not easy to collect now.

The reporter noted that many vehicles hung on the second-hand car e-commerce platform were also marked with the labels of "quasi-new cars" and "0 transfers". "Within a year, vehicles under 20,000 kilometers are 'quasi-new cars.'" On May 6, a guazi second-hand car customer service staff told reporters.

People who just need to buy a car like Meng Xuan are also impressed by the advantages of second-hand quasi-new cars being "immediately desirable" and saving the cost of payment of purchase taxes. However, the "wool" of second-hand quasi-new cars is not good.

Taking a "Nissan Xuanyi 2022 1.6L XL CVT Enjoyment Edition" model on the Guazi used car platform as an example, the price to the hand is 121,700, which is almost the same as the manufacturer guidance price of 129,900 yuan, but the "arrival price" here is not the final price. According to the official APP of Guazi Used Car, the explanation of the cost is related, "the purchase price = the price to the hand (the price shown on the page) + the logistics fee + the delivery fee".

Even so, "sub-new cars" with a maturity of less than 3 years are still the first choice for car buyers in the current second-hand car market. Data released by the China Automobile Dealers Association on May 6 showed that in March, the proportion of models with a service life within three years in the transaction volume of used cars accounted for 31%, an increase of 2.6 percentage points from the previous month and an increase of 8.9 percentage points from the same period last year.

"The trend of the used car market depends on the supply and demand of the real market. At present, the new car pick-up cycle of some popular models is long, and the terminal discount is small, so the second-hand quasi-new car with good car condition is bound to be favored by some consumers. The above-mentioned Beijing used car dealer said.

The trading volume of the used car market is not optimistic

Although the demand for second-hand quasi-new car terminals is strong, the entire second-hand car market is still hovering in the range of continuous decline.

According to the latest data from the China Automobile Dealers Association, the transaction volume of the national used car market in March was 1.3181 million units, down 15.99% year-on-year; in the first quarter, the cumulative transaction volume of the national second-hand car market was 3.8796 million units, down 1.93% year-on-year.

"Affected by the epidemic, in March, domestic second-hand car operators have staged suspensions of business, mainly concentrated in key markets in Shanghai, Hebei, Shandong, Jilin, Jiangsu and other regions, although other regions can operate normally, but offline customers and transactions have been affected, resulting in 24 of the country's 31 provinces showing a year-on-year decline trend." Li Xin, director of the information department of the China Automobile Dealers Association, said.

In the continued downward trend of the used car market, new changes are emerging. In the first quarter, SUV models accounted for 30.6% of the second-hand new energy vehicle transaction volume, an increase of 18.01 percentage points year-on-year; B-class vehicles accounted for 7.8%, an increase of 4.1 percentage points. In addition, the trading volume of A-class vehicles, MPV models, C-class and A0-class used new energy vehicles also increased slightly compared with the same period last year.

Image source: Visual China

A car dealer who has been in the used car business for nearly 10 years said: "Popular new energy models like Tesla's Model 3 and Model Y are very fast, and the most exaggerated single is not brought back in the morning before it is time to clean up, and it is sold at noon, and the speed is similar to the 'sharp goods' in fuel vehicles." ”

According to Li Xin, "Dealers who operate new energy used cars sell a full range of models that are profitable, and the overall gross profit margin is about 5 points higher than that of ordinary traditional fuel vehicles." ”

From the current point of view, the national used car trading volume in April and May is still not optimistic. By monitoring the market trend in the first three weeks of April, the China Automobile Dealers Association found that both the market's passenger flow and trading volume have significantly adjusted compared with the same period last year, and it is expected that the overall transaction scale of used cars in April will drop by more than 15% year-on-year, and the transaction volume will be 1.26 million to 1.28 million.

For the judgment of the domestic second-hand car market in May, Li Xin said: "As far as the current situation is concerned, there is no obvious upward momentum, and further observation is needed. ”

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