I don’t know if you know this, but being able to afford anything these days feels like an uphill battle. And that’s largely because it is. Gas prices have gone up, as have grocery bills, rent, mortgage, utilities, and everything else a person needs to survive. Same is the case with vehicles, as new vehicle prices – be they powersports vehicles or normal vehicles like cars – have increased. All this has happened at a time when wages have remained stagnant. And have been stable for the last two decades.
So it should come as no surprise that the new vehicle market has basically become non-existent, while the used market has grown rapidly. Yet, for some reason, Powersports Business’ The latest article marvels at how powersports Q1 sales have been driven by the used market. I think it should have been more clear (waving hands at the state of the world) how things are going right now?
Yet, here we are.
The article, titled “Pre-Owned Market Finds Its Groove in Q1” basically sounds like the discovery of some new science, stating, “If pre-owned powersports were its own OEM, it would likely be the industry’s best-selling brand. And that’s not an exaggeration.”
It explains how pre-owned sales dominated the industry’s first quarter, and how dealerships must create new used-specific avenues to meet the needs of those customers. “As the dealer market is still adjusting to the post-pandemic hangover of excess inventory, higher interest rates and changing consumer behavior,” the outlet says, “many are finding that used units have become one of the healthiest and most profitable sectors in dealerships.” Please explain why there is “excess inventory, high interest rates and changing consumer behavior”?
I would, because it’s very expensive and nobody has 20 thousand dollars to buy a new motorcycle or 45 thousand dollars to buy a new motorcycle. The prices of everything are rising due to tariffs, gas prices are where they are, and then, with Americans not seeing real wage growth since the 1990s to keep up with inflation, the average person is being pushed out of the new market.
But see, people still want these items, which then pushes them toward used offerings. It’s simple mathematics, but its mathematics points to a problem. The used market can only be as big as the new market, and if the new market shrinks, the used market also shrinks. And in the near future, with the supply side of things getting smaller, the used market will become just as expensive as the new market, and then everyone will be priced out of everything.
Obviously, this is not a dealership problem that can be solved. But if something is not done on a large scale, they will have to deal with this in the near future. Still, the used market is hot not because people don’t want powersports vehicles, but because they can’t afford new vehicles. Say it out loud already, and stop tiptoeing around it.
