THE used car market reacted to the typical seasonal pressures as values fell in the post-Easter period, says BCA.
The auction firm’s latest Pulse Report shows that average monthly used car values fell by £375 (6.2 per cent) in April compared to March.
Month-on-month values fell in all three main market-sectors, although fleet/lease values experienced the least pressure with a fall of 1.9 per cent.
This was compared to a 3.1 per cent reverse in part-exchange values and a 5.2 per cent fall in the nearly-new sector – a decline resulting from changing model-mix in a low volume sector.
Across the board, values fell from £5,974 to £5,599, which is in line with the pattern seen in March and April last year.
Used cars averaged 94.6 per cent of CAP Clean in April, compared to just over 97 per cent in March, while age rose to nearly 64 months and mileage climbed above 60,000.
Year-on-year, April 2012 is behind 2011 by only £27 (just under half of one per cent), while average age and mileage have climbed by 2.1 per cent and 1.5 per cent respectively in the same period.
BCA’s communications director, Tony Gannon, said: ‘There were signs in March that values would be coming under pressure, with the short-term seasonal uplift in de-fleets and part-exchange cars increasing supply and with wholesale demand reducing as dealers balanced their stock.
‘It was notable that demand held up best in the fleet/lease sector, where buyers continue to focus on quality and value, and competition for the best examples is intense. In the context of the wider market, good quality fleet vehicles remain in short supply and values are relatively strong.
‘We are now in that period of the year when demand can be a little more fragile as families budget for the looming summer holidays. And there are a lot of distractions ahead – the Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympics, even the European Football Championships – to divert attention away from the business of buying and selling cars.’
