Dealers are increasingly ignoring poor condition vans at auction requiring a lot of remedial work before going on sale.
That’s the view of the Vehicle Remarketing Association (VRA) and its meeting of 2024.
Julian Pullen, senior editor, commercial vehicles and motorcycles, cap hpi, said: “It used to be said that if a van needed £1,000 of work, it sold for £1,500 less. Now that latter figure is more like £2,000 to £3,000. People just don’t want scruffy stock.”
Stuart Peak, national LCV manager, Manheim, said: “Dealers know that if they buy a vehicle that needs work, it could take between 6-12 weeks to get it done at the moment plus, given the present market, it’s value might fall £500-600 in the meantime.”
It was easy to understand the logic of dealers, added Graham Howes, head of digital sales, Motor Auction Group: “They don’t want to tie their money up for that kind of period. There’s a lot of untidy large vans around and, in the time it takes to get them up to standard, they could turn around two or three vehicles in better condition.”
Louis Maxwell, senior insight manager, Auto Trader, added: “We’re seeing interest from buyers concentrated in newer vans and the oldest stock. It’s the middle group – anywhere from 2-5 years – especially where condition is poor that is under the most pressure.”