Used car values fall nearly 2% in May

The pace of decline in used values is accelerating, according to Cap HPI, as prices slid 1.9% in May.

Black Book Live reported an average downward movement of 1.9% at 3-years, 60,000 miles in May, with values overall having dropped by 5% since the start of the year.

Derren Martin, international senior car editor at Cap HPI, said: “It is notable that values have dropped ahead of the market on some volume models, particularly those under one-year old, as pressure built from new car price offers and pre-registration activity. Later-plated examples of some mainstream vehicles dropped by between £500 and £600.”

The company says older, lower value cars have also struggled, due to low demand. As a result, values dropped by almost 3% on average for these cars.

Martin said: “The 2015 Consumer Rights Bill has not helped, with customers able to return vehicles within 30 days or after one failed repair attempt. Many dealers feel older, higher mileage cars are simply not worth the risk.”

As the weather improved convertibles bucked the trend of all other volume sectors.  On average convertibles increased slightly, with petrol Audi A5 Cabriolet and the Volkswagen Golf Cabriolet (petrol and diesel variants) performing well. Some Mini Convertibles also increased in price.

Pressure on price is expected to continue as volumes in the used car marketplace are likely to remain high, due to daily rental registrations, pre-registration activity and overall high new car registrations over the past four-years.

Martin continued: “With volumes remaining high for some time yet, it is likely that prices will continue to ease down during June, particularly as demand is unlikely to increase. Last year, black book live values moved down by 1.4% on average and it is probable that this year will see at least the same.”