If you’re planning to buy a car in the near future then you might want to hold on to that thought and read what experts are saying regarding this matter.
Recently, an economist, Barjoyai Bardai, from University Tun Abdul Razak (UTAR) had urged all Malaysians to ‘wait and see’ before purchasing a car because there might be a high chance of a recession this year (2018), reported FMT.
Barjoyai warned the people following a report in NST whereby the Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) forecasted that car sales would improve from last year (2017). Prior to that, Malaysia was one of the three countries in Southeast Asia that experienced a significant drop in total industry volume (TIV) sales in 2017 compared to 2016. The other two countries were Brunei and Vietnam.
Thus, MAA president Aishah Ahmad said they hoped that the TIV will slightly increase in 2018.
“Hopefully it will recover due to the good economic growth and the introduction of new models,” she said.
However, Barjoyai still insisted that Malaysians should play smart and wait before they plan to buy.
Patience is virtue!
“The economy right now is very uncertain. Some economists believe that we are headed for a recession while market economists think that we are going to do better in 2018 because of the market trend. Personally, I disagree with the market economist,” he explained.
He also advised Malaysians to be wise with their spendings and to only save money in safe investments like trust funds.
“Keep your money safe so that when the real opportunity comes, you can invest.”
“When recession comes, you may even have the opportunity to get a house at a more reasonable price. This should be the thought process,” explained Barjoyai.
Not a bad idea at all!
On top of that, he added that recessions will happen globally every 10 years or so, since 1780. For instance, according to him, our last recession was in 2008. Thus, this year will mark the 2008 recession’s 10th anniversary and because of that, he said that we’re going to have a recession, no matter the size of it.
Also, he said that the duration of the recession depends on many things, including luck.
“If we have good luck then the recession will be very brief but the minimum period for a recession is always six months,” he said.
So, if you’re not too financially stable, you may want to listen to Barjoyai and ‘wait and see’ before purchasing a car. Well, unless you currently have the means to do so, then by all means!
Also read: Mechanics Around the Klang Valley Are Selling Fake Engine Oil That Can Damage Cars