A local man is unexpectedly showing a sudden interest in the secondhand car market of Brisbane’s south eastern suburbs, curating his Facebook news feed to mostly feature posts from a company called Southeast Auto Sales. Darren Bannister’s newfound obsession with car sales has surprised many of his friends and family, who claim he’s never really been into cars that much… until recently.

However, some quick research into the online presence of Southeast Auto Sales might just explain Bannister’s sudden interest in such a niche area of Australia’s car sales industry. Back on the 5th of February, Southeast Auto Sales posted a photo on Facebook of two happy customers standing next to a statuesque staff member in a figure-hugging outfit. And the Slacks Creek car yard’s aggressive new social media strategy seemed to pay dividends, with the post (at last count) attracting over 10,000 reactions, and 29,000 comments – quite an impressive result for an otherwise run-of-the-mill Toyota Landcruiser Prado sale.

But Bannister has defended his new interest, claiming he follows Southeast Auto Sales on Facebook merely to keep abreast with the car sales market, and any suggestions of an ulterior motive are unfair. Speaking to The Watsonia Bugle about the matter, he said, “I’m just doing my research, mate. You never know when I might be ready to trade in my Camry for a Prado. And if that ever happens, I want to be well prepared. It’s a well-known fact that having a nationwide perspective on car resale values is incredibly valuable when you eventually decide to dip your toe in the water. I don’t want to get caught with my pants down.”

Advertisement