On a normal spring day, Thorolds car-dealerships would see customers flocking to their lots, scrutinizing rust spots and taking notes of mileage.
But in Thorold, Tuesday morning was slow in the lots after months-long government restrictions for in-person sales were lifted, allowing customers in under stringent public health measures.
However, being among the first businesses to be allowed to re-open does not guarantee a quicker recovery than others, dealerships agree.
“We are in the dark. We really don’t know what is going to happen, but it will take time,” said Ed Kayed of Ed’s Auto, a local business of 26 years.
For about 2,5 months, his sales have been by-appointment only and his normal monthly sales, averaging between 10 and 15 cars, dipped to around 5 since restrictions were put in place.
“It’s pretty bad. It’s the worst time we have ever had for the business,” said Ed, welcoming customers to his Merritt St. shop as long as social distancing protocols are followed.
Down the street, Global Auto Link owner Naser Albayed was working on getting his policy active again to cover a prospective buyers test-driving a car.
“People are not going to buy anything that they have not been able to test-drive,” said Albayed.
“I have to sit next to the customer for the insurance to apply, and that hasn’t been possible until now. We will have to sanitize a lot.”
He has not sold a single car in the past month, and is now facing the same bitter prospects as the overall Canadian auto industry, that is expected to see a drop in sales of nearly 23 per cent in 2020, according to a recent report by The Canadian Press.
Estimates place sales at 1.5 million this year.
Repair shops around the province also experienced a dip in business as daily commutes were stopped by working from home orders, and canceled weekend travel plans left the cars on the driveways.
Over on Beaverdams Road, 406 Auto general manager Dan Serravalle picked up the phone after just one signal.
The store mainly deals in auto-parts, but also sell around five cars per month, a number that dropped along with the overall business.
“Sure, we took a hit. I don’t think anyone was immune to this. For sales, people just don’t have confidence in the market right now. They are not going out to buy a $60,000 car right now.”
But he predicts that the family-business could see an uptick in customers before too long.
“Once things re-open, more vehicles out on the roads will need service and that will obviously be good for business.”
