Average selling price of de-fleeted cars softens, reports Manheim

Manheim’s latest Market Analysis highlights that the average selling price of ex-fleet vehicles adjusted slightly from the record high achieved in October, with values falling by £131 during November.

However, at £7,593, the average year-on-year increase in price was 18.4%.

As predicted last month, the latest figures from Manheim’s monthly report show that as we approach 2014, the market has seen a slight price adjustment across the de-fleet sector.

Despite average age falling to 46 months (from 49 months) and average mileage reaching a yearly low of 54,946 during November, monthly values fell by 1.7%.

However, when looking at the year-on-year values, Manheim’s barometer of activity shows that the average selling price was £1,180 higher in November 2013 than November 2012, confirming that prices of de-fleeted cars at auction remain strong.

Looking at the figures in more detail, the average selling price increased for seven of the 10 vehicle segments during November and was most noticeable with Mini MPV models, which rose by £1,220.

This is reflective of a decrease in average age of 11 months, to 51 months, along with a considerable drop in the average mileage of 7,153, to 46,996.
However, values fell for three of the 10 vehicle sectors, most notably for 4x4 models, which saw values decrease by £1,164.

This reflects an increase in the average age of seven months and an increase in average mileage of 3,928, to 52 months and 56,289 miles respectively.

Daren Wiseman, valuation services manager at Manheim, said: “We would typically expect values to fall at this time of year, so this slight drop during November is no surprise. In fact, last month, I predicted that the market would stabilise as we head towards 2014 and this is what we have seen.

“However, demand remains high with buyers stockpiling vehicles in the run-up to Christmas, with many believing that cars are currently better value to buy from wholesale sources and are waiting for better prices in the New Year.

“However, as a word of caution, it is important to note that our latest data shows that the opposite situation has more recently been the case and with vehicle values realigning as we head into 2014, waiting for values to bounce back during January could be a risky strategy.”