In the past, the used car market in the United States was similar to the used car market in China today. Today, the used car market in the United States has become quite mature and has formed a set of effective market rules, ranging from price, quality and Services and other key areas of automobile consumption provide consumers with assurance and confidence. So, what are the places worth learning?

In fact, used cars were not popular in the United States at the beginning. In the 1960s, the used car market in the United States was similar to the used car market in China today. Speculative second-hand car dealers often sought more profits by covering up vehicle accident histories and resetting odometers, leading to market chaos and consumer confidence. insufficient. With the increase in car ownership and the continuous competition in the new car market, the growth of new car sales has slowed down and profits have been continuously compressed. The government and car dealers have begun to pay attention to the development of the second-hand car market and have established a set of rules and regulations through the formulation of various regulations. A relatively complete system for second-hand car evaluation, certification, replacement, auction, acquisition and sales.

At present, the U.S. used car market has formed a pattern dominated by car dealers and supplemented by used car chain stores. Almost all car dealers provide both new car and used car business. From the perspective of market share, the automobile Dealers and used car chain stores accounted for 60 and 25 respectively, and the remaining 15 came from private transaction channels.

The hot sales of second-hand cars are not only closely related to the unusual enthusiasm of the American public for second-hand cars. Another main reason is that the American second-hand car market has become quite mature after decades of development and has formed a A set of effective market rules provides consumers with assurance and confidence in multiple key areas of automobile consumption, including price, quality and service.

How does the US used car market develop? What can we learn from China’s second-hand car market, which is similar to that of the United States in the 1960s?

(1) U.S. second-hand car market regulations

The U.S. second-hand car market is generally a subject with strong self-regulatory capabilities. The government regulates market operations, vehicle circulation and other aspects. Participation and intervention were very limited. At the policy level, the "Used Car Rule" implemented by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission is the most important regulation for domestic used car circulation management. Its main contents include the following two aspects:

1. License Application

The "Used Car Regulations" stipulate that dealers who sell more than 5 used cars within a year (12 months) must apply for a used car sales license. The license is issued by each state. manage.

2. "Car Buying Guide"

The "Used Car Regulations" provide a unified format of the "Car Buying Guide", which stipulates that used car dealers must sell used cars while selling them. Complete the "Car Buying Guide" and post it in a conspicuous place in the car for the buyer's reference. The main content of the "Car Buying Guide" includes important information such as the vehicle's basic information, quality status, maintenance history, manufacturer's or dealer's warranty commitments, etc., and has become an important part of the car purchase contract, thereby legally ensuring that the dealer provides The accuracy of used car information and the contractualization of warranty commitments that consumers care about ensure the rights and interests of consumers.

(2) The circulation of second-hand cars in the United States mainly has the following channels:

1 Car dealers

In the United States, almost all car dealers Operating new and second-hand car business, the models of second-hand cars are not restricted by the dealer's exclusive models. From 1994 to 2005, car dealers sold an average of 20 million second-hand cars every year, accounting for about 50% of the total second-hand car sales, of which 60% were retail and 40% were wholesale. Second-hand car profits accounted for nearly 30.55% of their total profits. The car comes from consumer replacement business, and the other 45 comes from other channels such as auctions and private acquisitions.

2 Second-hand car chain stores

Larger second-hand car chain stores are also an important way to sell second-hand cars. Such chain stores usually do some external renovations on the used cars they sell, and do some external renovations on some of them. Used cars come with a warranty for a certain period of time and are sold at slightly lower prices than car dealers.

In addition, there are also some very small second-hand car sales outlets, usually with only 20-30 cars, which usually do not provide any warranty services, and their consumer targets are mostly low-income groups nearby.

3 Private sale

Private second-hand cars are mostly advertised in newspapers. However, due to the uneven quality of goods and the lack of guarantee of response, the circulation volume of private second-hand cars is relatively small. Relatively small.

4 Auction Mode

Most of the second-hand cars auctioned are old cars that are relatively old and in relatively poor condition, and there are even vehicles that are close to being scrapped, although generally they do not provide any Guaranteed, but the price is very low, mainly targeting low-income groups in society.

(3) Quality control of second-hand cars in the United States

Quality and quality play a vital role in the field of automobile consumption, not only for new cars, but also for second-hand cars. importance. In the actual circulation process, the American second-hand car market has also formed the following two very effective practices, which play a very important role in ensuring the quality of second-hand cars.

1 Promote the certification system

Since the 1980s, "certified" second-hand cars began to appear in the United States, initially sold by some larger dealers to themselves Second-hand cars are certified, and this system has now been extended to almost all brands of automobile manufacturers.

The so-called second-hand car quality certification system is for automobile manufacturers or large dealers to conduct comprehensive quality inspections on second-hand cars to ensure that the quality of the cars meets certain sales standards. At the same time, certified Second-hand cars can also enjoy the same after-sales protection as new cars within a certain period of time. Although the average selling price of certified used cars is 1,000 to 1,500 US dollars higher than that of non-certified used cars, because the quality of certified used cars is guaranteed and warranty services are available, consumers' concerns about the quality of used cars are eliminated. The solution has greatly stimulated consumers' enthusiasm for buying certified used cars. China's second-hand car market has begun to pay attention to this.

2 Establish a historical file

The United States has a professional and independent car appraisal company that uses the uniqueness of the vehicle identification number (VIN) to create a file for each vehicle and write a "vehicle history" Report". The content of the report includes: ownership and changes, mileage, exhaust emission inspection results, use, maintenance, mortgage, accidents and many other important information. This information comes from multiple sources such as manufacturers, vehicle users, management inspection departments, fire and police departments, and rental auction companies. On the one hand, it ensures the comprehensiveness of the vehicle history report, and on the other hand, it ensures the accuracy and accuracy of the information. impartiality.

When consumers purchase a second-hand car, they can pay a small fee to obtain such a report, so that they can know the usage history and quality of the second-hand car, and avoid car purchases caused by incomplete information. blindness.

(4) How the price of second-hand cars in the United States is determined

In addition to quality, price is another important factor that consumers are most concerned about. The price of second-hand cars is directly related to the vital interests of consumers. At the same time, the inability to obtain an objective and fair valuation of second-hand cars has become a roadblock for consumers to stop in front of the second-hand car door.

In the United States, the price of a second-hand car is not determined by the original car price through depreciation, but by the market residual value of the second-hand car, that is, how much the car can still sell for on the market. There are no specialized second-hand car appraisers in the United States. Consumers usually refer to second-hand car price reference books issued by car dealers and used car chain stores. Among them, the "Used Car Price Guide" issued by the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) since 1933 is a more authoritative one. The guide divides the United States into nine regions according to southeast, northwest and northwest. There are different versions for each region and one is released every month. The prices in the guide are divided into two categories: replacement price (trade-in) and retail price (retail price).

The replacement price is the discounted price of a second-hand car when consumers trade it in for a new one at a car dealership. It is usually the wholesale price at which dealers recycle used cars, which is relatively low. The retail price is the price of second-hand cars sold separately by car dealers, which is generally 20% higher than the replacement price. about.

(5) Several major characteristics of the U.S. second-hand car market

1. The U.S. second-hand car market is dominated by dealers, supplemented by second-hand car chain stores: the main second-hand car sales in the United States are It consists of dealers, used car chain stores and private trading channels. The sales proportions of each channel are 60, 25 and 15 respectively. Dealers account for the largest share of the used car market. The profit margin of second-hand cars is higher than that of new cars and is relatively stable, and is less affected by economic fluctuations.

2. The profit margin of the second-hand car business of American car dealers is higher than that of new cars: In the dealer business, new car sales account for the largest amount of sales. However, as the profits of new car sales are declining year by year, dealers are gradually Put the business focus on used car sales and parts and service businesses. The gross profit margin on new car sales is about 4.5, and the gross profit margin on used car sales is 9.6. The profits of the parts and service business can reach more than 45%, accounting for the smallest proportion of sales but the highest profit contribution rate.

3. The U.S. used car chain industry has produced large enterprises like Carmax: Carmax is the largest used car chain store in the United States, with 103 stores in the United States and annual sales of about 400,000 used cars. In areas where it has already opened stores, Carmax's used car market share can usually reach a level close to 10.