NEWS

USED 4×4 prices hit record levels at BCA car auctions last month due to the extended snowfall. Demand for the vehicles saw a rise in values of 5.2 percent over December. This means values have almost doubled over the last year and a half! The January average value of an SUV was £12,918 – a [...]

USED car sale prices are beginning to go up as a result of car makers driving up new car list prices. BCA says a 3-month downward trend in used car prices was halted in December. This is because more nearly-new cars hit the market – which, thanks to price rises during 2009, have used values [...]

USED car wholesale values rose by nearly 35 percent year-on-year reports auction house Manheim. December 2008 prices were £1770 higher than 12 months ago. The huge rise came despite values actually falling slightly in December 2009, by a little over 4 percent. It means the average used car wholesale price is £6875. Manheim MD Mike [...]

USED part-exchange values are going to stabilise in 2010 as normality begins to return to the industry. That’s the prediction from auction4cars, which comes prior to a warning not to worry about January 2010 movements. Next month, auction prices are expected to rise – but auction4cars says this will NOT be the start of another [...]

USED car sales fell by nearly 5 percent in Q3 2009, with smaller cars emerging as biggest casualties. This contrasts directly with booming new car sales in these categories. It seems car buyers have switched, for now, from used cars straight into new ones. It is the scrappage scheme that has led to this, reports [...]

USED car prices have yet to settle down reveals BCA’s latest Pulse report – which shows the third month running of falls. November average used car prices were down 2 percent compared with October. Even so, values remain way ahead of last year – they’re up by over 22 percent. That equates to a yearly [...]

FALLING used car prices last month ‘completes 2009’s massive correction in prices,’ says Glass’s. It will allay car dealer concerns that prices have become unrealistically high. Prices are, says expert Richard Crosthwaite, following the same trends as 2006 and 2007 – which will lead to an uplift in values for January. At the moment, demand [...]

VALUES of used convertibles have plummeted by an average of 10 percent in the past 2 months. Autoquake.com says the usual winter decline is bigger than expected this year. The firm’s founder Fredrik Skantze is thus priming car buyers to take advantage of bargains, by promoting the value-saving idea of buying a convertible in winter. [...]

HPI Valuations is warning car dealers to buy posh SUVs now before prices used prices start to rise. The under-fire sector is finally showing signs of recovery and prices are expected to go up. It is all thanks to newer greener models such as the BMW X6 and latest versions of the Land Rover Discovery [...]

USED car prices are beginning to fall for the first time online in 2009, in what’s a significant new trend. Retailer autoquake.com says last month’s first-time price drops indicate the used car bubble has burst. Indeed, used prices are falling faster online than at car dealers: evidence over the past month has seen an increase [...]

USED car market conditions are being hampered by a lack of stock, delaying a vital kick-start, warn market experts. HPI Valuations says depreciation rates have slowed, and thus values have stabilised. However, the sheer lack of cars means the market simply cannot bounce back. And many see NO end in sight. ‘The operators who have [...]

MERCEDES Oxford is packing in the used stock, in preparation for this October’s Approved Used event. This weekend’s event is expected to generate huge local interest, given the current demand for used cars. Especially as the Mercedes retailer will be offering some incentives too: every buyer gets a two-year service plan alongside the Mercedes-Benz Approved [...]

CAR Dealer Magazine is on deadline this week, so it’s an early start for all of us. 5Live keeps us going while we crank up the internal machinery – and it was an extra-special treat this morning, when the car dealer industry was once again discussed at length. It’s all down to What Car?, releasing [...]

USED car buyers may well save cash by choosing a NEW car instead, What Car? magazine has revealed. The scrappage scheme means that many new cars are actually available for less than one year old ones. No wonder editor Steve Fowler is calling it ‘a bizarre market.’ ‘New car prices have already risen by 9.5 [...]

USED car prices are up, and down. Supply is varying, as is demand. The picture, summarises BCA, is ‘mixed’. Indeed, the situation changed week by week as September progressed. ‘Headline numbers do not tell the whole story,’ said BCA director Tony Gannon. In summary, they showed the average market value was slightly down, due to [...]

NEW car buyers are suffering big financial losses by selecting certain high-tech equipment options. Glass’s says that, on the used market, most of these gadgets are worth very little. Radar cruise control, for example, typically costs £1750 – yet, after just a year, it is worth just £250 extra. That’s an 86 percent loss! Buyers [...]

APPROVED Used Mercedes buyers will, this weekend, get a free 2-year service plan with any car buy. It’s offered on all cars bought between 10-18 October and delivered before the end of the month. For buyers, it entitles them to two years or 24,000 miles’ complementary servicing, at an official Mercedes-Benz workshop. Phil Parry, Mercedes-Benz [...]

FALLS in used car prices are on the horizon for the last quarter of 2009, warn price experts Glass’s. Right now, they’re stable, after rocketing earlier in the year – but risk dropping as winter approaches, by around 2 and 4 percent. It’s a big contrast to spring 2009, says managing editor Adrian Rushmore, where [...]

BCS boss Mark Buckland says he has ‘not known the used car market to ever be like it is right now.’ The Buckingham car dealer reveals some of the trends seen in 2009 are unprecedented. Such as? ‘I can put up a car for £3495 retail, and can struggle to sell it. ‘Yet, I can [...]

SUPERMINI car sales are dominant at the moment, says HPI – but some new car buys are smarter than others. Honda’s Jazz, says the firm, is the best of all, leading the way for retained values. ‘The new Ford Fiesta is a striking car with a seemingly endless queue of buyers,’ said HPI’s Martin Keighley, [...]