Glass's BusinessCar Used Car Spotlight - October 2016

Date: 04 October 2016

Used car market

Whether you voted in or out of the EU, most of us were left not really knowing what the future would be if we were to leave - especially what it would mean for the UK Car Market.

The first signs are now starting to appear. New car sales are believed to have started faltering after the first few months of this year demonstrated growth although registration figures show a continued uplift. Industry experts and manufacturers alike had at the outset of this year predicted a continuation of increased registrations for 2016 and beyond. However, a realignment is possible and we could finish this year slightly ahead of the number of registrations achieved in 2015.

However, we have also observed that used vehicle sales and trade demand is increasing, just as the new market starts to decline. The likely reason is that, in the run-up to Brexit, there was a slowing in this sector and prices were under pressure. Now the referendum is behind us, the release of pent-up demand has caused an upsurge.

Logically, it might follow that moving into the fourth quarter of this year, used demand will level out and new car sales could rally a little.

Jonathan Brown, Car Editor, Glass's

First Impressions count

First impressions count for a lot. This is no different when buying and selling cars, where it manifests itself in the visible condition of a vehicle of the kind that goes through auction halls every day.

This is becoming even more apparent in the used car market now that the supply of used stock is increasing, as ever higher new registrations in previous years filter though to the wholesale market.

This means buyers are starting to be more discerning over what they choose to purchase and how much they are prepared to pay, leading to values being very strong for high-grade condition cars, where little time and money will need to be sunk into the preparation process before stock is ready for the forecourt.

Conversely, a lower grade, poorly turned-out car at auction can fetch a disproportionately lower bid, if any at all. This is especially pertinent to prestige and more exotic models where prices achieved can differ by thousands of pounds.

Therefore, it can certainly pay dividends to get those smart repairs done to alloys, bumpers and body scratches done in time for the auction, as well as making sure the clean and polish detailing is done to a good standard in order to maximise returns.

Rob Donaldson, Car Editor, Glass's

Do your homework

Buying a car is quite an outlay to most, so it is best to do your homework on the car as much as possible before you hand over your hard earned cash.

Does the car come with a service history? If it doesn't, then why not? Even if it does have a good service history, it is still worth a good look through the details that you have, in order to see if there has been anything particular mentioned in the report or done during routine servicing that may suggest a potential problem in the future?

Look at the documentation - check that you have all the correct paperwork with the vehicle and that the details on the V5 match those on the car. There are a growing number of cloned vehicles and this can be a particular problem.

If the mileage on the vehicle is unusually low, you need to assess whether the condition of the car matches what you would expect? For example, is the driver's seat worn excessively or is the steering wheel shiny from lots of use? Again, just be careful and keep an eye open for tell-tale signs that may lead you to think that something doesn't add up.

And finally, if the deal looks absolutely too good to be true then it usually is.

You can never be 100% certain about a car, especially when buying older vehicles.  However, it is important that you do your best to find out exactly what you are sinking your money into. That way you will hopefully avoid nasty surprises in the future.

Andy Cutler, Forecast Values Editor, Glass's

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