Overall car sales down-shifted this year by 23.5 percent in the seven-month period of January to July, as compared to the same period in 2008, according to figures just released by the national statistics bureau ESYE. The figure includes both new and used cars.

However, according to a random survey of new and used car dealers in Iraklion, that number seems a bit conservative.

"We sometimes go all day without anyone coming through the door, not even to 'shop around'," said a salesperson in a dealer on Ikarou Avenue.

On the other hand, car repair shops apparently have no problem finding new customers, a sure sign that many Cretans are planning to keep their current cars for a longer period of time.

"I have some customers that used to buy a new car every four or five years, you know, when a lot of parts start to wear out," said a mechanic in Alikarnassos. "Now they're just having them repaired."

ESYE said that a total of 185,043 cars entered into circulation for the first time in Greece in that period, against 241,853 for last year.