Used car values have continued their “unparalleled” shift upwards.
cap hpi’s daily produced Live trade values reported an overall increase of 3.7% at the three-year point during the month of August, equivalent to almost £500 per car.
This also comes off the back of value increases since car showrooms reopened in April.
Values have now risen by 20.3% in five months, and there has been six continual monthly increases.
Vehicle prices have increased, on average, by more than one-fifth of their value in less than six months. Ordinarily, said cap hpi, vehicles would potentially have depreciated by 5% during this period, so a valuation swing of over 25% has occurred.
Derren Martin, head of valuations at cap hpi, said, “Foreign holidays have taken a back seat to COVID concerns and whilst many UK residents have gone on holiday, they’re taking shorter breaks and more have opted for the ‘staycation’, which may even involve accessing the internet and seeking out purchases in a way they would not normally have done while relaxing on holiday.”
“September will be challenging for the new car market. There will be fewer part-exchanges and fleet returns coming, meaning supply will stay constrained compared with previous plate-change months,” Martin said. “I expect demand to remain at current levels, possibly even increasing, as more consumers decide to seek out a used car rather than wait for a new car that could be some months away from delivery.
“It is likely that values will continue to increase through September, although we forecast this increase won’t be as large as in some previous months. As we continue to see values increase several times throughout the month, anyone still not using Live values will ultimately be caught unaware in such a fast-moving market.”