7:50 pm, February 23, 2012
GLASS’s has published its views on ‘what’s hot’ and ‘what’s not so hot’ in the used car market in February.
Cabriolets, the BMW 6 series, and late-plate Bentleys are the hottest cars in the used market at the moment, while luxury cars, 4x4s, and cars fitted with an automatic gearbox are faring badly.
Glass’s prestige car editor Richard Crosthwaite said: ‘Cabriolets are on the move and selling at quite a pace. The likes of TT, Z4 and SLK roadsters are seeing moves of two per cent.
However it’s the 1 series, 3 series, A3 and A4 models that are showing the biggest leaps with sales up by an impressive four per cent.
‘Like last year, this spurt in the market may be over early by May or June, but if the sun comes out and the Olympic feel-good factor kicks in, we may return to the good old days.’
With high depreciation, a two-year old BMW 635d Sport auto ‘booking at at £28600, 46 per cent of original cost new’ is Crosthwaite’s hot bargain of the month, while values are improving on late plate Bentleys due many new cars being allocated abroad and late plate stock being thin on the ground.
However luxury saloons sales are still floundering. ‘Whether you’re looking at a 7 series and XJ, and S class or an A8, this sector continues to be one of the least loved and most pointless in the UK market. The one exception however is the Porsche Panamera, which after being on the car scene for two years can claim significantly better RVs than its competition,’ said Crosthwaite.
‘4x4s are also seeing significant erosion in values – most obviously to do with the lack of disruptive snow this year. Most are experiencing falls of between two and five per cent depending on model, and it seems the season is most definitely over.
‘Automatics have also hit the not list this month. With more automatic cars being registered than ever before, the volume is filtering on to the used car park, and whilst they continue to be a popular choice extra availability means premiums are falling back against manual counterparts.’
