[War_Wagon]

Cars that are one or two years old are in a weird position to sell. Coming up with $30k out of your pocket to buy a used car is a lot harder for most people that coming up with $40k for a new one, as with the new one they will qualify for better financing options, as well as any manufacturer offered incentives, and in some states/provinces gov't incentives to buy hybrid vehicles.

For example, a new Volt here has an MSRP of $41900. Take away a $2000 manufacturer cash back incentive, plus in BC I will receive $5000 from the govt for buying a new low emission vehicle, and being a new car I can take advantage of any GM financing or leasing offers at the time. So that puts me at $35100, plus I get a lot more options for how to pay for it. That same car, 1 year old with 25000KMs might be $30000 on someone's lot, but comes with no govt grant, no manufacturer incentives, and fewer options for financing/leasing it. So while it's $12000 less to start, it's going to be a lot less attractive for most people to buy, unless they have $30,000 in the bank and can write a cheque for it.

And yes those cars are going to be fleet units for the most part, and given the time of year I would bet they are ex-rentals. Car rental season dies at the start of September, so the rental companies turn in their fleets, and this is the time of year where you will start seeing your local dealership lots fill up with 6 month to 1 year old cars that all have around the same mileage on them.