Proton has entered the infamous game of pre-registered car sales which is the best way to add a hefty discount on a new car without alarming the competition and starting a price war. Started some years ago by BMW and then followed by other premium car brands like Mercedes-Benz to get more metal on the road, the pre-reg business has been the ‘whispered’ sales pitch of many car sales people at the premium car showroom to move ‘metal’ and get their numbers up against the segment rivals. It is good news for Malaysian car buyers as car prices move downwards without government intervention which means Malaysians can buy a car with creative financing documents that allow up to 100-110 per cent loan, so, no downpayment and maybe even no instalment payments for the first month or so.
Let us explain.
Proton is now offering a RM4,800 discount on a Persona and let’s not forget the RM700.00 current sales Tax Holiday discount. This means you get a total RM5,500 discount on a lightly used Proton sedan. So, the final selling price is just RM45,756.71 and this is hard to ignore if you are on a tight budget or looking for a ride haling machine to earn some money.
A pre-registered car is a car that has never been owned or driven by anyone, but has been registered by the motor vehicle distributor and comes with a number plate. From the time of registration, these cars are considered “pre-registered” or “pre-regs”, even though they may not have even moved from the point of distribution. Some may even be on the factory premises at PDI centres.
WHY ARE THERE PRE-REGISTERED CARS?
Well, car companies and dealers have sales incentives to hit figures, or they may want to hit a significant figure, say the 100,000 unit mark. In these cases it would not really matter if a certain small percentage of sales, say 300 units out of 100,000 are pre-registered but not sold to an end user. As long as it is registered with JPJ it is considered sold, the distribution arm or dealer has to pay for it and it is no longer considered factory stock.
ARE PRE-REG CARS GOOD?
Dealers cannot sell pre-registered cars as “new”. This means customers can get good deals on as-good-as-new cars. Obviously you’ll be the second owner on the registration card, not the first. You need to be aware that SOME brands have higher financing for pre-reg cars compared to unregistered cars. However, if the pre-reg car is less than a year old, most banks will give you a loan interest rate equivalent to a new car.
What You Still Get:
- NEW CAR INTEREST RATE (~3% VS. 4%+ FOR USED CARS)
- 5 YEARS WARRANTY
- 3X FREE SERVICE LABOUR
Colours available for the Proton Persona at press time is, Armour Silver, Jet Grey, Rosewood Maroon and Snow White. Only 5 units left. First come, first served.
