THE MOTOR TRADE

Evening Star, Issue 23146, 21 December 1938, Page 7

THE MOTOR TRADE

GOOD BUSINESS REPORTED MANY NEW CARS ON THE ROADS Judging from the remarks of a number of motor car agents -who were seen this morning, there will be quite a number of new vehicles on the road during the holidays, while second-hand cars have also been in good demand. The various repair shops have also been busy on overhaul jobs in preparation for the holiday season, the manager of one garage saying that his firm had been turning business away on account of its inability to cope with all the work that -was offering. “ I expected this month to bo poor, but it lias been quite as good as last month,” was the opinion expressed by the manager of one agency. He added

that normally the December period was not quite so good as the proceeding month, as most people who purchased a new car for the summer wished to have it run in by the time the holidays commenced, and they, therefore, made their purchases a month or two earlier. There had been a better demand than formerly for the “ baby ” type of car, while business was also good in used cars. “ We have done fairly well, but the position is not as good as it was last year,” was the remark of another agent. It was pointed out by a third man that the total number of registrations supplied by the Post Office showed that the number of vehicles registered was lower than it was last year. He said that business was quite good, however. There had been a big demand for cars priced about the £IOO mark, and also for the cheaper used cars at about £25 or £3O. This was attributable to the higher wages being received. “ There are many wage-earners today,” said the speaker, “ who have cars, but who some time ago were unable to afford one.”

“ There is one point on which most motorists are not familiar,” said the manager of a large garage. “ Trailers and caravans must have a warrant of fitness, and, although it is not compulsory to have them insured, they must have a third party cover. It was pointed out that there could easily be an accident caused by the swinging of the trailer, in which case there would be no claim. There was also the possibility of someone being knocked over by the trailer while it was being backed or turned. “In any case those motorists who are using a trailer should advise their insurance company which will be able to give them full information,” said the speaker.