Less banger for your buck

Drivers looking to save money in the used car market face are facing an increasingly tough task to find a bargain.

For new data shows that the average used car value is on the up, as the UK’s economic conditions grow evermore brighter.

A study by vehicle remarketing company British Car Auctions (BCA) shows that average used car value climbed by £174 in the second quarter of 2014, compared to the first quarter of the year.

The rise bucks the trend set in the previous two years in which Q2 values declined against the first quarter of the year.

Average values were also up by £696 year-on-year, equivalent to a 10.1% increase.

BCA’s UK operations director Simon Henstock said: “Average used car values have been rising largely as a result of an imbalance in supply and demand. As the economy improves, there is a greater demand from motorists to change their existing vehicle, yet supplies of good, retail quality cars in the wholesale sector are relatively limited – a legacy of the lower new car sales following the onset of the recession.

“This has resulted in some significant rises in average value across the used car market, which is highlighted when you look at the longer term trends. Values of dealer part-exchange cars sold by BCA are averaging 40% more in 2014 than they were in the same period in 2012, while values for fleet & lease cars are up by 21% over the same timescale. Some of this will be down to model mix, but much of it is sheer demand in a competitive marketplace.”

The average value of ‘nearly-new’ cars, meanwhile, has risen by £1,820 over the past year, the data shows.

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