Published: Wednesday, 23rd September, 2009 5:00pm

UK car prices up: better value here

Second-hand car prices are rising in the UK due to a shortage in supply, which coupled with a less advantageous sterling exchange rate, makes buying here more attractive at the minute.

The BBC reported last week that CAP Motor Research Ltd, which provides valuation data to the car industry, said the usual depreciation of used car prices has been reversed. It identified companies delaying replacing their fleets and the government scrappage scheme as the reasons.

A look at the CAP website (cap.co.uk) reveals a 'detailed analysis of this year's used car supply picture' dated Thursday, September 3, in which its communications manager Mike Hind says that there 'is a change in the pattern of both supply and demand'.

'We are seeing robust and rising trade values co-existing with a measurable decline in used car retail sales.... In short, we have moved from a supply-led to a demand-led market,' Mr. Hind writes.

The CAP article is lengthy and detailed (read it yourself for more), and it concludes that there has been 'a change - at least for the time being - from a supply-led to a demand-led market. This rebalancing of the market shows no sign of altering in the immediate future. Car production has also been reduced, which means less physical availability of cars to turn into late used stock. This means there is no sign of the dynamic changing any time soon, unless retail demand undergoes a sudden and severe reduction.'

Cavan

So what does that mean for anyone looking for a good second-hand car here in Cavan? Probably that dealers who have been offering good value for most of this year already can compete even better than before with imports from the UK.

The prices of second-hand vehicles here appear to have reduced in the last six months, as dealers worried about cashflow lowered them till they could sell. An unscientific look at the car lots around Cavan suggests that they have cleared a great deal of stock, which might mean prices will start to go up here too.

But there's no sign of it yet, and it's unlikely they'll move a great deal between now and January, the month when most people change their cars.

So the suggestion is: if you're in the market for a car now is the time to go hunting. Contact the Cavan dealers and you'll be pleasantly surprised at the value they can offer you, perhaps now more than at any time in the last six months.

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