7:16 am, October 16, 2008
HPI has reported September figures that suggest the used market could be about to bottom out.
It may be down more than 25 per cent year-on-year, but some sectors are performing better than others. A few are beginning to show signs of a recovery.
There is even a sector that has fallen as far as it can. Three-year-old family cars saw values rally in September, rising 2.3 per cent for petrol and 1.9 per cent for diesel. Year-old diesel MPVs also steadied.
Demand remains buoyant for superminis and city cars; year-old city cars recovered in September, with year-on-year falls narrowing to 9 per cent. Diesels were even better, with losses reducing to 5.6 per cent.
It’s all down to, well, downsizing. Buyers are eschewing luxury, premium and 4×4 sectors as a result. The year-old luxury sector is down 20 per cent. Stretch this to three years, and it’s down 33 per cent.
The Government’s muddled vehicle excise plans mean the large disparity will remain, certainly until clarification comes once and for all next March.
That’s how year-old luxury cars can continue to fall 6.4 per cent in a single month.
However, a complete disparity is the 6.1 per cent fall for year-old Focus-sector diesels. Maybe fleets’ recent wholesale shift to diesel has finally, as many have long predicted, flooded the market?
This is certainly one to watch carefully.
Now, though, says HPI’s valuations expert, Martin Keighley, is the time to focus on the tough overall decisions that need to be made, if the early shoots of recovery are to take hold.
‘Overall, things are bleak, but as we approach Christmas, it is hoped values will level out as the rate of fall begins to slow.
‘More and more of us are making the difficult decision to cut losses. The time for sitting tight and hoping for the best has passed. Of course, it’s a bitter pill to swallow, but the alternative is even worse.’
