Used prices remain buoyant
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kevin.swalLowfarbi.comk THE WEB HELPED maintain the upward price trend for used vans as online buyers, undeterred by January's poor weather. sourced in numbers from the second-hand market.
British Car Auctions (BCA) recorded a £419 rise in average values to ..E4427. up 51% since January 2009. Duncan Ward, auctioneer and UK business development manager for CVs, says buyers migrated online to counter the snowy weather.
He adds: "BCA's Live Online gave more remote buyers the opportunity to log on and bid in real time against the auction hall: [they] outnumbered those in the auction hall, and they brought an ever-increasing percentage of the stock on offer," Manheim Auctions reported a 40% increase in buyers in the halls and online throughout January, compared with the previous month.
Alex Wright (pictured), Manheim's sales director CVs. is wholesale van auction stock remains in short supply, ensuring values stay strong, with demand outstripping supply.
-Van retailers are currently left with little choice other than to widen their offering and bid on any stock they identify as having profit potential," he says.
Key is the return to market of more smallto-medium-enterprises (SMEs), preferring to spend on quality used examples, rather than new Ian Griffiths, the national sales leader at Broadway Motor Company, says more SMEs are coming to Broadway with vehicles on their last legs. -They now feel confident enough to buy a much better vehicle, and see a quality used van as the best solution,he reveals.
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders show van sales have stabilised, down just 1.7% in January 2010, compared with 12 months ago.
However, if the recent slump fails to turn, the recent price increases for used vehicles, combined with supply issues could tempt manufacturers, desperate for new sales, to offer significant discounts.
George Alexander, chief CV editor at Glass's Guide, warns against this.
He says: "In one blow, this would undo all the good work done by dealers over some very testing years.
-An increase in registrations is necessary for the long-term health of the market, but if this is achieved by underselling new product, the consequences for residuals will be felt over several years.