Used values boosted
September 14th, 2010 by Richard Aucock
USED car prices are staging a modest recovery as car supply falls and dealers start to restock again.
The traditional busy autumn period will be characterised this year by a reduced supply of secondhand supplies.
It has led to a small 2 percent increase in the average used car value, reports BCA. This is up £121, to £5905.
Year on year values, however, are still down. Ironically, despite the August boost, the gap to last year’s value has actually increased. They are, however, well ahead of August 2008.
BCA’s communications director Tony Gannon said: ‘It is notable that new cars recorded their worst August monthly sales figures for 44 years over the same period and further proof that used cars remain the bedrock of profitability for retail dealers.’
It was part-exchange and fleet/lease sectors that staged an increase; nearly-new prices were down, but Gannon says this is largely due to a changing model mix.
‘The market is reverting much more to type than we have seen in the previous two years – which really were extraordinary in terms of the fall and subsequent recovery.’
And the outlook? ‘If the trends continue into September with plenty of demand and reduced supply, prices are likely to remain firm in the short term.
‘However, if this year is seeing a return to the seasonal norms, as we firmly believe, then we can expect to see values under more pressure from late September until the Christmas period.’
 |  |  |