Used prices follow trend
July 16th, 2010 by Richard Aucock
USED car prices will follow their usual patterns over the second half of 2010 despite the risks of falling demand.
Glass’s says the trend that’s been set in the first half of 2010 will continue, even though the economic outlook is on the bleak side – and despite steeper-than-average falls in May and June.
Thus, monthly changes will only be marginally worse than they have been for the past 5 years.
‘Lacklustre consumer demand for used cars would be expected to impact on prices up to the end of 2010, said Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at Glass’s.
‘But ongoing low levels of new-car registrations are generating reduced volumes of part-exchange vehicles, leading to a shortage of used cars.
‘Even though the supply of used cars is likely to be lifted by the normal influx that accompanies the new September plate, the consequential fall in prices should be little different to what was experienced in the years prior to 2008.’
Glass’s offers an example of this:
If the second-half adjustments in prices witnessed over the past five years were repeated in 2010, a three-year-old car with a current trade price of £10,000 would be worth £9100 by the end of the year, having covered another 6000 miles.
However, Glass’s is now forecasting that this figure will instead be around £8750.