VAUXHALL Astra residual values are again on the slide amid concern about oversupply in the nearly-new marketplace. Glass's Guide this month marked the 1.4LS down by £375, spelling further pain for the major daily rental companies which buy them in their thousands.

With the Astra accounting for 25% of the major companies' daily rental car parc, the devaluation means a multi-million pound hit on resale revenues. The development follows an even more dramatic drop in values last September, when CAP Black Book slashed £650 off the value of nine-month-old Astras. At the time the two guides were at odds over the Astra's market value, with a £1,000 difference between the book prices, but are in closer accord over the current value. In the May edition of Glass's, the trade price of a 13,000-mile 1996 'P' Astra 1.4LS five-door is quoted at £7,850 - down from £8,225. CAP is more pessimistic at £7,675.

Glass's said: 'Demand is still weak for the ex-daily rental lower medium sector cars which, with mileages of around 13,000, are no longer seen as a viable alternative to a new car.'