The rollercoaster ride that used van values have suffered over the past six months appears to be over, with experts seeing rising prices for the past three months.

When the credit crunch hit Britain last autumn, used values went into freefall, with some LCVs losing as much as half their value from the peak in January 2008.

But so far this year, both BCA and Manheim Auctions have seen three months of rising prices.

According to latest figures from BCA, average values climbed in March by 13.6% to £3,544, a rise of £427 against February.

Values are now £772 ahead of December’s low point, but remain £177 behind year-on-year.

“Following a long period in the doldrums, there is a lot more confidence in the used LCV market in 2009 and that is reflected in stronger bidding, higher conversions and improving prices,” said Duncan Ward, BCA's UK business development manager – commercial vehicles.

“This mini-boom in LCV sales is likely to be a side–effect of the tough economic climate. With increasing numbers of redundancies in manufacturing and engineering, many of these skilled trades people will strike out on their own and the first thing they will buy with their redundancy money is a van.”

Manheim saw average values rise by 3.6% or £99 in March, following rises of 1.8% in February and 5.5% in January.

Alex Wright, Manheim’s commercial vehicle sales director, said: “While the van market has not experienced the level of uplift seen in the wholesale used car market during the first three months of 2009, overall values are now comparable with those recorded during the third quarter of 2008.

"But it is still true that the unevenness of price movement between different segments in the van market illustrates the greater complexity of the influencing factors.”

However, one expert is warning that the boom in van sales could end as quickly as it started.

George Alexander, editor of Glass’s Guide to Commercial Vehicle Values, said: “It seems unsustainable for used van sales to defy gravity and continue making strong headway as the recession bites ever deeper and the weakness of sterling will inevitably lead to manufacturers raising list prices.

“Customers currently demand – and receive – huge discounts on new vans. This could soon lead to a sizable gap developing between the list price and what a late-year example is actually worth.”