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'Marginal' rise in used car prices

17 March 2010

There has only been a small rise in the cost of used cars so far this year, according to auctioneers.

An increase of just under half of 1% was recorded in February compared with January, making the average value £5,959.

There has been a decline in year-on-year increases, the British Car Auctions figures suggest.

The 0.3 per cent, or £20, increase in average costs means they remain 6.9% or £388, ahead year-on-year, although this gap is in steady decline as values began to recover in early 2009.

Average values rose in two of the three main product sectors: fleet and lease values rose by £105 (1.4%) to £7,364 and nearly-new values improved by £1,085 to £18,922 - a 6.0% rise.

"Supply and demand remains well balanced in the used market, and February has been a much more typical month following the weather-affected start to the year," said BCA Communications Director Tony Gannon.

"Fleets are the winners this month as values continue to show consistent growth, thanks to limited supplies and strong demand. It was a little surprising to see budget values stutter, but with supplies increasing substantially for the second month running, demand did well to keep up."

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