When I mentioned to some friends that I really believe that government-imposed age restrictions on cars are not necessary in Jamaica, they thought I had finally gone mad.

“You want the whole place flood with old cars, where we going find place to dump them” were the typical knee jerk responses.

Unfortunately, as a people we mostly have a culture built around restrictions, we live on a small island, we grow up in houses with grills and large fences, and we have grown accustomed to the idea that government must restrict our choice of cars. Somehow we think these restrictions protect us. It’s time we break free of this element of mental slavery.

As far as I know there are no age restrictions on the importation of any non-perishable products except vehicles, you can import a 50-year-old gun or a 35 year-old computer.

What so special about cars? And just who is the government really protecting, certainly not consumers. The best way to protect consumers is to give them wide choice and information, they will choose what is in their best interest. This is the foundation of the free market system. Age restrictions are really protecting car dealers and the government’s excessively high tax on cars. After all, the newer the car, the higher the cost and logically the higher the oppressive import taxes.

Back in the early 90s when foreign exchange controls were removed, there were predictions of gloom and doom. Peoples’ thinking was that all the foreign exchange in the country would flee; the opposite happened, money started to return to Jamaica, and people with foreign exchange started making rational choices. The same psychology will happen with an unrestricted car trade.

Jamaicans are sophisticated car buyers, contrary to popular belief; Jamaicans do not just buy cars because they are cheap. A number of car dealers who saw an opportunity to import new cars from China at very attractive prices soon learnt an important marketing lesson about the Jamaican car market. Jamaicans are very quality-conscious they do their research and they choose wisely. The hype about Chinese cars is all but over for now and a few dealers have been left with a huge bank debt.

The same applies to age, given the choice of any age car Jamaicans will wisely choose the youngest one that in which they see the most value, not the cheapest.

There are a number of natural market forces, which will keep the vast majority of imported used cars under six years old. Some of these are 1) the high shipping and importation costs, which are age-independent. 2) Higher maintenance cost of older cars, 3) lower resale value of older cars, 4) unavailability of financing, and 5) unavailability of insurance. These will be balanced against the higher prices for newer cars and the lower cost of domestic used cars.

Age five to six is about where it all comes together for optimum value.

So why not restrict it to age six?

Governments must stop making these kinds of decisions for people, restrictions of this nature only serve to protect commercial interests in the car trade, not the consumer. More restrictions equal less competition, more restrictions mean less creativity. Furthermore, with these unnatural restrictions come exceptions.

Import duties are oppressive so you make some exceptions, called Duty waivers for some chosen few; you have age restrictions so you make exceptions for another chosen few. Then you set up a massive bureaucracy to manage these exception processes to ensure that only the chosen few benefit from these exceptions. Then corruption creeps in to beat the system, then you beef up the system and it goes on and on.

Benefits of an unrestricted market,

People will choose what is in their best interest

Will be great for sports car, exotic car and classic cars

Easy access for returning residents

Will be a boom for the motor racing industry, which has great potential as a part of the tourism product

Less beaurucracy and red tape

Less corruption

It’s important in moving to this radical position of unrestricted thinking that cars are no longer just tools of transportation, cars represent status, power, self-image, a car is an important part of any man’s persona, and a car is man’s best loved product.

The only reason people are attracted to older cars is because the market is so badly distorted by government involvement with excessively high import duty rates. Duties on cars need to be around 15 per cent; once these rates are normalised the market will act in a normal ways and go for mostly newer imported vehicles. But the option to buy your favourite 1975 Ford Escort GT will be great for freedom of choice and could stimulate a whole new industry, including the export of restored exotic and sports cars.

Costs are at the lowest at around five to seven years, beyond seven years costs starts going up and value comes down. It makes no commercial sense for traders to import cars at this age except for special vehicles such as sports cars. Trucks and commercial vehicles tend to have a longer useful life to traders.

The Government is now the biggest player in the motor vehicle trade earning up to 180 per cent on every car sold in Jamaica they are the largest beneficiary of restrictions. They need to get out of the business by normalising import taxes and removing age related restrictions on imported motor vehicles. Jamaicans will benefit in many ways.

Andrew Jackson Is CEO of Jetcon Corporation and past president of the Jamaica Used Car Dealers Association. The views expressed do not reflect those of the JUCDA. Visit our facebook page www.facebook.com/jetconcars