Used car prices still climbing

cap hpi has found that used car values are continuing their unparalleled shift upwards.

It’s daily produced Live trade values reported an overall increase of 3.7% at the three-year point during the month of August, equivalent to almost £500 per car. Whilst this rise on its own would be quite extraordinary, it comes off the back of value increases since car showrooms reopened in April.

Values have now risen by an unprecedented 20.3% in five months. Ordinarily, they would potentially have depreciated by five per cent during this period, so a valuation swing of over 25% has occurred.

Derren Martin, head of valuations at cap hpi, said: “Foreign holidays have taken a back seat to Covid-19 concerns and while many UK residents have gone on holiday, they’re taking shorter breaks and more have opted for the ‘staycation’, which may even involve accessing the internet and seeking out purchases in a way they would not normally have done while relaxing on holiday.”

Volume, commodity cars have particularly enjoyed a continued renaissance. The lower medium, or C-sector, has increased by the most in percentage terms, up by 4.6% or £525 on average at the three-year, 60k-mile point.

Martin said: “September will be challenging for the new car market. There will be fewer part-exchanges and fleet returns coming, meaning supply will stay constrained compared with previous plate-change months. I expect demand to remain at current levels, possibly even increasing, as more consumers decide to seek out a used car rather than wait for a new car that could be some months away from delivery.

“It is likely that values will continue to increase through September, although we forecast this increase won’t be as large as in some previous months. As we continue to see values increase several times throughout the month, anyone still not using Live values will ultimately be caught unaware in such a fast-moving market.”