Used-car dealers are also feeling the chill of fewer sales. (source: TASR)
Slovaks are buying more expensive cars. The average price of used vehicles has increased by more than two-thirds in the past decade.
While they paid €6,800 per vehicle in 2009, last year it was €11,400. The average age of a purchased vehicle has not changed, and is slightly higher than six years.
What is interesting is that Slovaks pay about €900 more for a used car than Czechs, according to a poll carried out by the Home Credit company.
Differences with the Czech Republic
Growing salaries and a dropping unemployment rate have had an impact on the decisions of Slovaks when it comes to purchasing a used car. They often take a loan, which represented nearly 80 percent of the purchasing price last year. A Slovak taking a loan had 36 years and one month of duration on average.
“When compared with the Czech Republic, Slovaks who purchase a car are younger than Czechs,” said Jaroslav Ondrušek, analyst with Home Credit, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The average age of Czechs is 39 years and nine months of age.
There is also a difference in how much the two nations are willing to invest in a car.
“People in Slovakia buy more expensive cars than Czechs,” Ondrušek said, as quoted by TASR.
