The Economist reports a sharp drop in demand for luxury cars because of the global recession and details the collapse of the secondhand luxury car market with few exceptions.
The Economist visited a British car auction and noted the steep decline in the sales prices of used Rolls-Royces, Bentley Continentals, and Range Rovers as well as falling prices for models from Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz.
Citing figures from Autodata, a research firm, The Economist article about falling luxury car prices adds some numbers to the scores of stories about the hardship of commissioned salespeople in U.S luxury car showrooms. The research firm reported the sales of new luxury cars are down 39% from the November figures of a year ago. Declines in new car sales at luxury car showrooms are even steeper according to the article with Mercedes down almost 50% and Porsche down over 50%. Discounts and incentives on new cars have hurt resale values on used luxury cars.
The declines in resale values has made life hard for automakers finance departments as they seek to borrow money to finance new cars and for car leasing companies who will likely see fewer people exercising the option to their off lease vehicles.
“The falling resale value of luxury cars make membership in car sharing clubs an even more attractive option for people who might otherwise purchase a Bentley or other high end car,” said DFW Elite Car Club.com General Manager Tom Warren.
“Another compelling reason to consider membership in a car sharing club is that it affords a person a wide variety of exotic car driving experiences without ever having to swallow the costs of depreciation, repairs, or storage,” continued Mr. Warren.
The members of our Dallas exotic car club can drive a 2009 Audi R8 a Bentley GTC, a Lamborghini, a Ferrari F430 and 16 other exotic and luxury vehicles for a flat monthly membership fee,” noted Warren.
According to the article in The Economist, the cars holding their values the best in Britain are the Diesel Mini Cooper, Toyota Prius, and the Citroen C1; however, a few exotics also made the list of cars which hold their values well in the UK: the Ferrari F430, Lamborghini Murcielago, and Porsche 911 Carrera.
The experience of driving some exotic cars is so legendary that it keeps their resale values high.
