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With December traditionally the weakest month for new and used car sales the UK’s biggest auction houses have disagreed over trends during the month.
BCA’s monthly Pulse Report showed average used car values improved for the second month in a row in December, although they remained significantly down year-on-year. The average used value in December was £4,836, just £13 ahead of November but £935 below the values achieved in December 2007.
The highest average values achieved this year were £5,880 in January
Performance against Cap values in December improved by nearly one percentage point to 90.46 per cent.
The picture was different at Manheim where average sale prices fell 3.1 per cent from November to £5,720. This marked a £1,515 fall from the peak average prices achieved by Manheim in February.
Manheim also noted a significant fall in the retained value of cars, based on their prices when new, over the course of the year. In January cars averaging 37 months/44,400 miles were retaining 41 per cent of their values, while in December it had fallen to 33 per cent for vehicles averaging 39 months and 42,100 miles.
Despite these falling values Manheim reported volumes going through its auction halls during the month were up 16 per cent year-on-year.
Mike Pilkington, Manheim’s managing director said: “We all know how tough 2008 has been, particularly in the second half, but we continue to sell cars in a market where there is still reasonable demand. Dealers clearly recognise how important income from used car retailing is to the overall welfare of their businesses and many are actually stepping up used car activity, rather than cutting back.”