2020 has heralded a motoring renaissance in Australia. With public transport during a pandemic seeming a dicey option, and not much else to spend your money on other than a 'statecation' or having a 'flutter' on the stock market, many Aussies have instead chosen to sink their hard-earned coin into picking up another set of wheels – largely on the second-hand market as opposed to in car dealerships.
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While the most popular new car models also tend to be the most popular on the used car market – think Ford Rangers and Toyota Corollas – there's also been a lot of interest in used European cars, as Carsales shared exclusively with DMARGE.
Their data reveals that interest in performance-oriented German luxury cars (in particular Mercedes-Benzes, Porsches and BMWs) has been incredibly high in Q3 2020. For example, the BMW 318i has seen an over 1200% growth in search traffic compared to Q3 2019.
The most popular European used car? That'd be the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG S, which saw over 642,000 searces in Q3 2020 alone. Other desirable models include the Porsche 911 and Mercedes-Benz A45 AMG – indeed, four of the top ten most searched for European used cars were AMG models.
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Moreover, two entries in the top ten were simply 'hotter' versions of other cars on the list: the Porsche 911 Carrera and Carrera S, plus the Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG and C63 AMG S. Mercedes was the clear winner when it comes to popularity, however, with six of the top ten most searched models from the Stuttgart brand.
The data also shows a clear preference for performance models – with that AMG badge a consistently coveted item. That's no big surprise, Mike Sinclair, Editor-in-Chief of Carsales told DMARGE.
"Australia is one of the biggest markets for AMG, BMW M, etcetera. It's not a surprise that there's demand on the used market."
He also points out that BMW, Porsche and Mercedes dominating the top ten has a lot to do with their reliability. Late-model cars from other European marques such as Audi, Maserati or Jaguar aren't as safe of a bet (that said, you probably shouldn't be buying a luxury or performance car if reliability is your chief concern).
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Sinclair also suggests that Mercedes' popularity also stems from how easy it is to find good deals on late-model Mercs. So we pressed him on that: what would be his recommendations for anyone looking for some Mercedes second-hand goodness?
"You can pick up a good W211 E-Class convertible for around $30,000. If you've got $60,000? Why not a CL500."
Thinking of buying a used European car, or just picked one up? Check out our list of Australia's best driving roads for some inspiration.
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The post ‘Pandemic Proof’ European Second Hand Cars Australians Can’t Get Enough Of appeared first on DMARGE.
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