Used car values continue to rise

May 27 2009 New figures have revealed that the average value of a used car has continued to increase over the past month, as demand shows little sign of abating.

With the recession pushing more people into purchasing used cars rather than spending more money on a brand new model, statistics from the HPI Used Car Valuations Index show used car prices have now returned to the level of September 2008.

The market suffered a considerable slump in the final months of 2008 as the global economy collapsed, but demand for used cars has grown impressively since the turn of the year and these latest figures demonstrate the industry is continuing to see plenty of demand.

"The economic downturn seems to have levelled out, or at least be bottoming out, which has led to cautious optimism amongst the traders and dealers of the used car market," said Martin Keighley, used car valuations specialist at HPI.

He continued: "Small cars with low mileage continue to make very strong money at auction, with retailers prepared to work with smaller margins."

Recent studies from Glass's and the British Car Auctions organisation have suggested the UK used car sector will continue to see good growth over the course of 2009, with average values at the end of this year expected to be higher than at the end of 2008.

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