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USED MOTOR CARS.
"BACK-YARD" DEALERS.
Their Activities Defended.
Representatives ot that large section of
tho used motor car trade, described by
Mr. Disney, M.L.C., as "backyarders,"
protested strongly yesterday against tho
proposal to make registration compul
sory under tlie Licensed Secondhand
Dealers Act.
Such legislation would prevent the
selling of cars outside trading hours, but,
in a strong protest made by Mr. R.
Hordman, of Grey-street., St. Kilda, on
behalf of "back-yard" traders, it was
claimed that many members of the pub
lic had only the week ends in which to
select cars, and that traders in cars
should not be penalised more than per
sons who advertised houses for sale, or
than those who in the past had sold
the horses ond Jinkerx which preceded
motor cais. It wns cluimed by Mr. Hard-
man that few of the "back-vard" traders
were guilty of the practice alleged by
Mr. J. A. Linacre, in a letter in "The
Age." of changing their addresses fre
quently.
Mr. Hardman suggested that as such
traders outnumbered the used-car houses
by two to one they prevented excessive
prices being charged for secondhand
linu iiuu iiiso provided a market
at reasonable prices for older models,
which were brought into good running
order, but which otherwise would be un
salable. It had been claimed that their
premises were unsuitable, but actually
tlie cars were usually examined by pur
chasers in the open air, whore they
could be more critically inspected than
ln the dark portions of some used-car
houses.
Mr. Hardman said nearly all the big
city houses did a bit of "baclcyarding,"
ns they gave their salesmen cars to sell
at home during the week end. A major
ity of the private dealers had been at
their present addresses for years, but re
striction of their activities would not nf-
lect the week-end work of tlie big houses,
nnd would merely increase the profits of
those houses. Most of the traders were
good types of men. who had been ablc-
to provide satisfactory employment for
themselves. They bought cars which
were out of order, and, after working
on them, sold them at a small profit.
Tlie cars were sold at reasonable prices,
which wero often considerably below
those charged by used-car houses for
simitar models.
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