It's been a hard time for car dealers of late. The economic downturn and its effect on the motor industry put many dealers out of business completely. Now, the public may not be shedding a tear for many of them, but maybe we should - for own sakes, at least. Less dealerships - no matter how dodgy some of the stereotypical wheeler dealers seem to be out there - means less competition. Less competition means higher prices for us all.

With customers finding it increasingly difficult to get credit, or indeed afraid of taking on repayments they may fail to meet, the industry has certainly struggled to find the necessary amount of customers willing to buy their cars, especially brand new ones. When the UK government offered a temporary 'scrappage allowance' scheme to entice customers to part-exchange older vehicles for shiny new ones, it seemed a great idea to kick-start the sagging industry. Yet, the dark clouds of the economic slump continue to loom over us, making customers still wary about making significant financial purchases.

The question remains how car dealers will manage to maintain their business margins whilst still being able to offer good enough deals to get customers back through the doors? Today's customers, more than at any other time, demand a very good deal - and if the deal isn't there, they will wait until it is. So will the car dealer's sales strategy be to sell a higher percentage of cheaper cars that offer smaller profits? Or will it be for the dealer to bring in less volume of stock and concentrate on selling fewer, good quality vehicles at reasonable (but not necessarily low) prices?

Only time will tell. One thing's for sure: before those dark, sombre clouds have passed by, more car dealers will get drenched and, frankly, that's bad news for everyone.