Kwame is a young pharmacist. He is cool and very optimistic and he has just bought his first car on Tonaton.com.

He cannot afford a new Sedan yet he is not interested in the hatchback that he can afford.

He therefore opts for the next best option – buying a used car and a model of his choice.

The market for new cars in Ghana has slackened as a result of the current economic downturn. However, the circa 20,000 used car market online is clocking top-gear growth.

In the first half of this year alone, sales of used cars online grew by 15 percent compared to the same period last year. Furthermore, the used car market now attracts a younger customer base, as first time car buyers now move to online market places like Tonaton.com in search of better bargains.

“The average age of the used car buyer is now pretty low with people as young as 25 to 29 years opting for used cars in cities like Accra, Tema, Kumasi and Takoradi,” said Kwabena Opoku-Boakye, Marketing Manager of Tonaton.com.

He explained: “The younger generation tends to spend more time online and the emergence of credible online trading platforms like Tonaton.com has eased the pressure on people, who previously had to rely on family and friends or drive long distances looking for their first car to buy. People have also found an easier way of trading off their old cars in order to buy new ones”.

George Dwomoh, the Managing Director of De-Georgia Motors at Tesano in Accra, remarked that “Around 60 percent of the customers, who visit my garage to buy cars, now come through Tonaton.com. And the majority of these people are youngsters who are looking forward to owning their first car.”

The Managing Director of K&K Motors, Michael Toku, has a wide range of new cars in addition to used cars in his garage.

“We have witnessed about 10 percent decline in the sale of new cars but the used car business has been phenomenal this year. K&K Motors has sold a whopping 80 used vehicles in the first half of 2014 alone.

“Typically, the trend is that used car brands like Toyota and Nissan from the US and Korean cars like Kia and Hyundai are the most patronized by first-time car buyers who are mostly young corporate executives.