8:14 am, September 4, 2013
OLDER used cars are experiencing strong demand in the secondhand market in comparison to newer vehicles.
According to CAP, this is due to dealers hunting for vehicles that will compete against cheap new car deals, following the ’63-plate change.
CAP’s Black Book Live has identified the top cars for retail as older vehicles aged three to four years, which look best value in comparison with newer cars.
Overall trade values across the market remain stable and, in some cases, rose during the second half of August thanks to on-going solid retail demand.
Some trade prices actually increased in the third and fourth weeks of August as used car dealers worked to meet strong retail demand, says CAP.
Senior editor of Black Book Live, Derren Martin, said: ‘For the first time in recent months, we are seeing 12-month old values depreciating slightly more than their older counterparts.
‘Although this has been anticipated within the industry and is not unexpected, it was only during August that we saw real evidence of values for late plate cars being more heavily affected than the rest of the age ranges.’
Looking ahead to the coming weeks, Derren Martin describes September as a pivotal month but predicts trade values changing little in the short term.
He said: ‘With the introduction of the new ’63-plate there will be more new car registration growth and it will be interesting to see the impact on used car values.
‘Factors that come into play are the likely influx of dealer part exchanges, the attractiveness of new car offers from manufacturers, and the determination of franchised dealers to hit their new targets.’
He added: ‘The expected influx of trade-ins during the month is likely to reduce the need for franchised dealers to attend auction.
‘Furthermore, as the supply reaching the auctions builds through the month, independent dealers will have the benefit of more choice, which inevitably means more attention is paid to the better quality cars.’
