Da Nang roadways turn showrooms for desperate car sellers

A car on sale for VND385 million (US$18,200) is seen on Nguyen Huu Tho Street in Da Nang. ( Tuoi Tre )

But the cars – or their owners to be exact – are in fact waiting for potential buyers and hoping to transfer their vehicles even at much cheaper prices than what they originally paid.

“For sale, please contact…,” the banners on the windshields read, ending with the phone numbers of the sellers.

Nearly ten such sedans have occupied a stretch of 30m along Nguyen Huu Tho Street on a daily basis over the last few weeks, but buyers can hardly be spotted.

A similar sight can be seen on many other streets across the central hub, with car owners now preferring transactions to be made right on the street rather than in showrooms or via used car dealerships.

Most of the cars on sale at this bizarre market wear Da Nang license plates but there are also trucks from neighboring provinces like Thua Thien-Hue and Quang Nam.

On Ngo Quyen Street, for instance, nearly 20 trucks line up behind for-sale signs along the sidewalk. However, only a handful of people occasionally drop by and leave soon thereafter, without making a single transaction.

Similarly, dozens of trucks are put up for sale along the sidewalk of Le Dai Hanh Street, while customers too are nowhere to be seen.

The cars are available at a wide range of prices, from VND255 million (US$12,000) for a Kia Morning to VND350 million for a Toyota Innova.

Some old models manufactured in as early as 1996 are offered at only VND55 million ($2,600) each.

Selling cars to pay debts

Hung, who runs a transport company on Ngo Quyen Street, attributed the phenomenon to the current economic slowdown and rising fuel costs.

“Small business owners like me cannot bear the hardship any longer,” said Hung, who bought a one-ton truck for VND270 million a few years ago but the vehicle began making losses last year.

“I’m selling it for only VND80 million but no one seems interested,” he lamented.

For sedan sellers, the reason is simply because they are no longer able to afford the monthly costs to own a car, which cover fuel and registration fees.

They said these costs are on a dramatic increase.

Nguyen Van Nam, who is seeking buyers for the Toyota car he bought in 2012, told news website VietnamNet that the expenses have amounted to tens of millions of dong a month while his income has been on a steady decline.

His car is currently available at VND500 million, already a loss, Nam said. “But it is still better than leaving the car untouched at home,” he explained.

The newswire also reported that some of the sellers are company owners who bought cars to serve their business, with the help of bank loans in some cases.

Given the financial crisis now, selling the vehicles seems to be a good way to help these businesspeople who need to settle loans and pay their company debts.