Make, model or year, it doesn鈥檛 matter; buying a vehicle in the Shuswap is not easy these days.
Like many other industries, car dealerships are having to contend with supply chain issues resulting from COVID as well as the Canadian dollar against the American.
鈥淲e finally have two new vehicles in stock that are unsold, probably the most we鈥檝e had all year,鈥 says Hilltop Toyota dealer Blair Reynaud. 鈥淢ore than 50 people have ordered, paid a deposit and and are waiting for their vehicles.鈥
Reynaud says hybrids are very much in demand, with the wait for them being anywhere from eight months to two years, depending on the model.
Like most other dealerships, he is concentrating on pre-owned inventory, the cost of which has never been higher.
鈥淲e are pretty much paying for used cars what we would have sold them for two years ago,鈥 he says. 鈥淎nd all used SUVs and higher-end trucks are being bought up by dealers in the U.S.鈥
Reynaud says domestic dealers all have contacts with their American counterparts and get more for selling them Stateside because of the exchange rate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a tough go for all the car dealers,鈥 he says. 鈥淭he less inventory, the higher the prices, just like refrigerators or anything else.鈥
Braby Motors co-owner Chris Davis says the dealership has been lucky with inventory as manufacturers have continued to produce.
鈥淎re we getting everything we want? No, but we鈥檙e getting a good selection of vehicles,鈥 he says. 鈥淪ome of them might not have all the options, but there鈥檚 still quite good a lot of them at the high end.鈥
Davis says there may be plants in Canada and Mexico but basically all cars are shipped out of the U.S.
鈥淰ehicles coming across to Canada cost manufacturers more because of the dollar, so if they can sell them in the U.S., that鈥檚 what they prefer,鈥 he says.
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Davis believes the supply chains will be 鈥渃ramped for a while yet.鈥
He says the dealership is acquiring as many used cars as possible and customers inquire about them every day.
鈥淭here has been a price adjustment in the used cars, prices have come down,鈥 he says. 鈥淲hat happens with that will depend on new vehicle availability over the next few months.鈥
Salmon Arm GM owner Ian Gray has been in the industry for 33 years and says his is definitely more of a pre-owned car dealership than previously, and that there鈥檚 another aspect to the shortage.
鈥淕M is dealing with a shortage of rail cars, which has to do with the people they do business with for loading and unloading,鈥 he says, noting he is pleased to be hiring just as many people, if not more, than before, including skilled technicians. 鈥淚 do know there鈥檚 some major challenges in the world and the biggest shortage is people.鈥
As with most vehicle manufacturers, Gray says 95 per cent of customers order their vehicles and wait up to 16 months for their arrival because of the freight issues.
鈥淟argely our problem now is 95 per cent of people used to find what they wanted on our lot, and now it鈥檚 the other way around,鈥 he says, noting that by ordering and waiting, customers get what they want without compromise.
Gray began focusing on pre-owned inventory 20 months ago and says because he鈥檚 part of a dealer group, he has about 400 vehicles available.
鈥淚 feel good that we can supply customers with quality pre-owned vehicles and pass savings onto them,鈥 he says. 鈥淲e try to live by that.鈥
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