7:23 am, September 9, 2008
BCA reports that average used car values fell 3.7 per cent in August alone.
That represents an average loss of £200.
It is also means the average value is now well below the £5000 benchmark: it currently standards at just £4765. July saw values just dip below the threshold, and August has reinforced that fall.
Performance against CAP clean is now stuck at around 90 per cent of CAP Clean. However, BCA’s monthly ‘Pulse’ update reports it’s not all bad news.
Simon Henstock, BCA’s UK network operations director, said: ‘August is traditionally one of the slower months for used car trading, and this, combined with the current economic conditions, meant we were unlikely to see overall values rising.’
‘However, it is notable that fleet & lease values fell slower in August than they have since the spring months, and there is increased interest in budget cars, where values stabilised and even began to climb during the summer. Values in this sector have remained comparatively strong, providing further impetus to the notion that motorists are seeking to downsize as economic conditions tighten.’
‘Fleet-sourced budget cars have also seen CAP performance rise for two consecutive months, the only part of the fleet & lease sector to do so.’
Budget part-exchanges also jumped in August, by a significant 8.6 per cent. OK, this is only £74, indicating the average value of these cars. But even so, it’s still the third consecutive month of growth for the sector, with performance against CAP also jumping by 4.3 per cent.
Low-priced cars, it seems, are the place to be at the moment – a fact that is entirely concurrent with the economic mood of the country…
