Amid Coronavirus, Some Cooped-Up New Yorkers Buy a First Car
Liang Zhao considers herself a “die-hard subway rider.” The Prospect Heights, Brooklyn, marketing-consultancy owner loves the people watching and camaraderie. She hasn’t owned a car since 2011, when she lived in New Orleans. But just before Memorial Day, she and her husband crossed the great divide and signed a lease on a black 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan SUV.
“We were living in a 600-square-foot apartment in Brooklyn, and we were just cooped up,” she says of her lockdown experience. “To get the car was amazing—to have the mobility to go beyond where our feet and bikes can carry us.”
According to a survey of car shoppers nationwide conducted this spring by automotive shopping site CarGurus.com, 20% of those planning to buy a car in 2020 hadn’t planned to do so before the coronavirus pandemic. Meanwhile, 44% of those who had been using public transportation planned to decrease their use or stop entirely.
This is no big deal in most parts of the country. Only 8.5% of U.S. households are car-free, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. But in New York City, the majority of households—55%—own no car. If even a small percentage buy a vehicle, that is a lot more wheels on the streets, given the city’s population.
And that is just what seems to be happening. Online vehicle marketplace Cars.com Inc. reports that in late June, walk-in leads to New York City- area dealerships were up 38% year-over-year, compared with 6% nationwide.
“People view their cars as a safe haven or an extension of their home,” says Cars.com President and CEO Alex Vetter. “Consumers don’t want to get back on mass transit, planes, trains or buses. They don’t feel safe getting into an Uber or a Lyft. ”
And what are these folks seeking? Cheap rides. The average Cars.com price point for search in the NYC area dropped from $30,000 to $23,000 between late March and late June.
In Woodside, Queens, the Paragon Acura and Paragon Honda dealerships stretch along several blocks of Northern Boulevard. It is a big operation. Last year, it sold 13,704 new and used cars, says general manager Brian Benstock. The showroom was buzzing again last week as a dozen mask-clad sales representatives chatted with shoppers through new plexiglass dividers.
Business plummeted at the end of March, says Mr. Benstock. In April, the dealership sold 342 cars, all online. Sales jumped to 724 in May, when the dealership opened by appointment. And in June, it sold 1,130 cars.
Some buyers were essential workers who didn’t feel safe taking public transportation or using ride-share, says Mr. Benstock. Others wanted a car for trips. “Many people, after a short period of time, had cabin fever,” he says. “People who had a 600-foot apartment.”
He estimates 20% of recent buyers didn’t already own a car. And many were seeking very basic transportation. Demand for subcompact sedans, for example, came roaring back.
“It’s interesting to see customers with Park Avenue addresses buying a Honda Civic or a Honda Fit, our entry-level car,” he says.
Rudy “El Patronn” Treminio, the managing partner of Sunrise Chevrolet in Queens’ Forest Hills, just enjoyed a record month, selling 50 new cars and more than 100 preowned vehicles.
“My used cars have gone through the roof with the Covid,” he says. “I’ve sold more than I had in stock.”
Current manufacturer incentives—in some cases no money down, 0% interest for 84 months—mean a buyer’s market for a new vehicle. But with increased demand for cheap wheels, some say it is harder to find a deal on a used car.
“It’s a rough market out there!” says Sherman Fabes. Last week, he and his wife, Naomi Fabes, bought a $14,300 2017 Hyundai so she could commute from their apartment on Manhattan’s Upper East Side to her new education job at a Westchester synagogue.
They visited five used-car dealers in the area. Prices were high, and normally jammed lots half-empty. They finally found a good value in Elizabeth, N.J. “We jumped on it,” says Mr. Fabes.
They are thrilled to have their own wheels. “I’m from Texas and I haven’t driven a car in 10 years,” says Mrs. Fabes, who is immunocompromised and can no longer take public transportation.
An additional upside for these unpracticed drivers: quiet streets.
Seth Nadler, who grew up in New York City, got his driver’s license as a teen but never owned a car. “I only drove six times in my whole life,” says the 31-year-old lawyer, who lives in Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn. “I work in Manhattan and commute and it was like, ‘What’s the point?’”
But at the end of March, he bought a $5,000 2014 Honda Accord so he could take his father back and forth to New Jersey.
The pandemic provided a perfect opportunity to build his driving skills. According to Waze, New York City traffic was down 80% at the time Mr. Nadler bought his car, and is still well below pre-pandemic levels.
“When I have to go somewhere, the roads are really empty,” says Mr. Nadler. “I do not fear for my life.”
