By NATARIO McKENZIE
Tribune Business Reporter
nmckenzie@tribunemedia.met
A leading auto dealer said that he had seen a “big boom” in high-end vehicle purchases coming off last month’s BMDA car show, telling Tribune Business, “I can’t keep them in stock”.
Ben Albury, general manager at Bahamas Bus & Truck said that he had seen great demand for high-end vehicles ranging from $50,000-$80,000. “We were very pleased with the outcome of the car show. We have seen very good results mostly in the very high end. I can’t keep them in stock. It seems to me that the high ticket items are moving very quickly whereas the more middle range items are moving rather slowly,” said Mr Albury.
He added: “I think that is a reflection of where we are in the economy. The people who have money are able to spend it and more of the lower middle class are having more difficulty with the financing. The banks offered some excellent promotions. There were some very attractive interest rates and so therefore we have seen a big boom in the very high-end vehicles and normally what we would have considered our bread and butter items are moving slowly.
“I’m completely out of my higher end vehicles and we have seen very little movement on the lower end.”
Among the high end vehicles selling quickly, Mr Albury said, were the Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, the Dodge Ram and the Jeep Wrangler.
“Those are moving well,” he said.
“We have the Mitsubishi Lancer and Outlander selling but at a slower rate than the more exclusive vehicles,” Mr Albury added.
Rick Lowe, director/operations manager at Nassau Motor Company, the Honda and Chevrolet auto dealer, said that the company was also seeing positive results from the car show although he had no confirmed number as yet.
“It has been a little bit better than previous car shows but I don’t have numbers yet. Sales are up a bit for the month. For us, however, we won’t really know until the end of the month,” said Mr Lowe.
Comments
TheMadHatter 10 years ago
That's Bahamians (in general) for ya.
Get dey hands on one couple dollars and dey jus gats to have wunna dem Cadillac Escalade.
TheMadHatter
sheeprunner12 10 years ago
Nope, thats the UR2.0 $15 million trickle down effect on the "boys in the hood" OR the dealers on the rebound from upsurge in dope sales up north OR gambling cartels fleecing the ghetto OR lots of fraud in the government system
Definitely not as a result of Bahamar!!!!!!!!!
B_I_D___ 10 years ago
Actually...more like the people who have some funds see the writing on the wall with VAT and the impact it will have on vehicle prices...if the bank is offering a great rate, and you can afford the payments, NOW is the time to lock in the deal and buy that car...a few months down the road, the bank deal may not be there and the cost of the car will have shot up and may be out of reach. Don't exactly need to replace one of my vehicles at the moment, but seriously considering it all things factored in...keep my current car another year or two an I'll likely be cussing and grumbling because I'll be struggling with higher prices and maybe higher interest rates from the bank.
proudloudandfnm 9 years, 12 months ago
Jeeps and Rams are not high end vehicles. Not even close. Expensive because of our duty, but not high end.
Article should read. People getting screwed on low end brand names like Jeep and Dodge...
karina 7 years, 9 months ago
It is an indicator of the fact that the auto industry is going through a great phase right now. Now most car dealers prefer to buy the cars online which is much more convenient option. Not just cars one can also find parts like http://www.aj-elec.com/Shipping-Info....">alternator starter rebuilders online now.
isabella 7 years, 5 months ago
Usually car shows offer a good platform for promoting cars. However, for most people purchasing expensive cars is not possible, so they can take out a loan. The manufacturers should also think about making the cars more affordable. No matter what kind of car you own, for repairing you should always take it to a reputed place like Gava's Auto Body Shop which is the top http://www.gavasautobody.com/auto-bod...">auto body shop san mateo area.
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