FLEETS' residual value bonanza during the first half of 1996 has dried up as trade buyers boycott sales. Fleet News' auction expert Peter Lorimer said money which was buying 80,000 mile models in June was now buying the same car with 50,000 miles.

Arnie Fenn, editor in chief of Glass's Guide, said many dealers had actually stopped buying for stock, and were now waiting for January when the used car market traditionally picks up again. Andrew Wilkinson, operations director at CAP, said there was a danger fleets would over-value their cars in the hope of achieving early summer prices, and consequently clog up the system with vehicles stuck with unrealistically high residual values. It appears that the traditional last quarter slow down has occurred earlier this year, leaving fleets in a difficult predicament.