Used car sales continue to decline in the Mid West and WA, some car dealers say they aren't feeling the pinch

Second-hand car sales continue to decline in the Mid West and across the State, according to data from the Department of Transport, but not all Geraldton car dealers have said they are noticing the slow down. According to the department, 2316 private to private car sales were made in the Mid West between July and December 2022, meaning that come the end of the financial year the region is set to reach figures slightly lower than 2021-22’s figure of 5923. Across WA, 101,905 used cars have been sold in this period, also on track to finish lower than last financial year. These results come after a larger decrease following 2020-21 when sales peaked at 6329 in the Mid West. For the State, sales fell from 282,737 to 265,936 between 2020-21 and 2021-22. Highway Auto Barn owner Brendan Bilbe said he had been noticing a continuous decline since the height of the pandemic, which he believes may continue into the future. “There was a lot of money around during COVID, people were drawing money (from) super and that money cycled around for a while,” he said. “I think it might toughen up a bit, interests rates are rising.” Not all car dealers said they were noticing the same patterns in recent months however. Geraldton Auto Wholesalers’ Jussi Vaalsta said his business wasn’t noticing a decline in sales, in fact the opposite had happened. “We had one of our best months in January, so there you go,” he said. “There’s no doubt that used car sales have cooled off, Statewide or nationally, but small towns like Geraldton don’t always follow the national trends.” Mr Vaalsta said the success of other local sectors was benefiting Geraldton Auto Wholesalers. “Geraldton’s got varying industries, we’ve had a good farming season, mining is still going, we’re a bit more insulated than other parts of the Australian economy,” he said. A spokesperson for Drennan O’Malley Motors also said the business hadn’t noticed a decline. “Sales are still going reasonably for us,” they said.