DEPRECIATION of luxury and sports cars has hit record levels, with first-year losses of some models up by over a fifth.
HPI reports that cars such as the Bentley Continental GT are losing £500 more than they were last year – every week.
In its first year alone, a Continental GT will lose £67,000. This is 56 per cent of its original list price.
It’s also a massive increase on the first year loss of £41,000 in 2007.
‘The used car market offers a reflection of the state of the economy,’ says HPI’s Martin Keighley. ‘When the good times roll, the luxury models get snapped up. However, in lean times, prestige models flood the market and values begin to plummet.
‘Over recent years, many luxury and sports cars have been bought on the back of the flourishing economy, by those with huge city bonuses or Premiership wages. However, now we are seeing large numbers of these 1-3 year old vehicles struggling to find buyers.
‘With consumers lacking confidence, or simply unable to get the finance deals, these boom models are around in much higher numbers, thus values are taking a huge hit.’
HPI has put together a list of the biggest ‘boom to bust’ swingers:
•   Bentley Continental GT Coupe
•   Porsche Boxster, 911, Cayenne
•   Audi A4 Cabriolet, A8, TT, A6, Q7
•   Saab Convertibles
•   BMW Z4, X5, X3, M3, 5 Series, 7 Series
•   Volvo V70, XC90
•   Mercedes ML, SL, CLK, SLK
•   VW Touareg
•   Aston Martins
•   Lamborghinis
•   Ferraris
Keighley also offered advice on how the market will move ahead. ‘More affluent consumers will change they way they shop. Luxury models such as Ferrari and Porsche used to have bulletproof residuals, but with consumer confidence at an all time low, they will not seem so attractive.
‘Buyers are going to be looking at how well a vehicle holds its value before splashing out, which doesn’t bode well for high end models.’
