It comes as no surprise that cars worst affected during this slump in trading are big 4×4’s due, in the main, to the fact that they were overvalued for quite some time. Inevitably for theses cars the only way is down.
Secondly bigger engined petrol cars, especially saloons with low spec are also seeing their values plummet at present. However for the bargain hunter these types of car represent great value for money if they can fit in with a lifestyle that means low usage and therefore low maintenance costs.
For example a Passat or Vectra or even a Mondeo with a 1.8 or 2.0 engine is likely to be potentially thousands of pounds less than its diesel equivalent but if a driver is only likely to do low mileage it negates the reason to buy a diesel car and there will be no long term saving on the superior fuel economy.
Even convertibles, which usually start to increase in both value and demand at this time of year, are only fetching top money for top spec so again if leather and nav are not essential items for certain buyers they will find a significant saving in a more basic cab and they all look the same with the hood down don’t they?!
With the spate of bank holidays and mini breaks now behind us there is a feeling in the trade that customers will be out in greater numbers again and dealers can concentrate on making the most of May to make up for a disappointing April.
It is ironic that at the turn of last year the weather was so bad that January just didn’t happen and with the fantastic weather in April and the aforementioned never-ending holidays it seems that the good weather has had the same effect.
Let’s hope the bouncebackability factor will be the same now as it was back then.
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