Used Car Values Continue To Fall

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Thu, 16 Oct 2008

Used car values have continued to decline in the UK, with average valuations of three-year-old vehicles down by more than 25 per cent year-on-year, new data has revealed.

According to the HPI Used Car Valuations Index, values in all sectors for three-year-old petrol cars fell 27 per cent and 23.6 per cent for all-sector diesel vehicles from values for the same period in 2007.

Valuation figures for September fell by an average of 3 per cent on August figures for all year-old vehicles and 2.4 per cent for all three-year-old vehicles .

The motor industry information specialist said that dealerships could be more at risk of going under with the added burdens of lower demand, high stocking costs and dwindling profit margins.

But while luxury, premium and 4x4 sales have been hit by motorists continuing to downsize, city cars and superminis are in high demand, giving hope for a recovery. Additionally, sales of family cars rose by 2 per cent in September.

Overall valuation figures from HPI showed that a 12-month old city car dropped 9 per cent year-on-year and just 5.6 per cent for diesels, while superminis dropped 15 and 14 per cent respectively.

In comparison, 4x4s, executives and luxury models all registered drops of 20 per cent or more.