New-start self-employed fuel rise in used van prices

Demand for used vans remained high during February. Buyers were bidding on nearly every vehicle on offer.

February has delivered more of what we saw in January.

Following a long period in the doldrums, there is a lot more confidence in the used van market. The strong market has been helped by dealers. They ran down their stock last year. But are putting more vans on their forecourts in response to a spike in forecourt demand.

But there’s more to the strengthening prices than that.

There are increasing numbers of redundancies in manufacturing and engineering. Many of these will be skilled tradesmen and women who will strike out on their own. The first thing they are buying with their redundancy money is a van.

In addition, many small businesses will have ring-fenced the troubles of 2008. And are now moving on and looking to the future.

New budgets are in place, and many businesses will look to replace any long-in-the-tooth vehicles with newer, more efficient models. With the used market representing such good value for money, why would you look elsewhere?

Are these the first green shoots of recovery? After all, used commercial vehicles are hardly a glamour buy. They are a business tool and if sales are strong it suggests there are plenty of businesses out there looking to the future.

The vans in demand are quality vans in the £4000-£5000 price range. This is a notable step up from the end of 2008, when the sub-£3000 market was strong. But little else was attracting buyers.

Prices have fallen to a position where even these better condition, later-registered vans are so affordable. In fact, will they ever be cheaper?

Market round-up

Double-cab pick-up values virtually flat-lined last year. There was little or no interest at the top end of the market. And buyers expected huge reductions before they would show any interest. Values have recovered somewhat this year. But remain well behind where they were when the credit crunch began.

The car sized van market is particularly strong. There’s plenty of demand for Berlingo, Kangoo, Combo and Connect. Vans with a bit of power in good colours are much sought after. There’s also lots of interest in Fiesta and Corsavan.

The SWB panel van has remained in demand through much of the economic downturn. Simply because it is a jack-of-all-trades. Condition remains very important, although a few minor dents or dings seem more acceptable this year, providing the vehicle is otherwise in clean condition. As always, a good retail specification, including aircon and a metallic finish, will do wonders in terms of value.

The 3.5 tonne van sector is enduring a difficult time. Because there is a lot of stock about. Even late-plate, clean and reasonably valued stock is under pressure because of over-supply and awareness that there are some spectacular deals available on new vans.

If the transaction value falls in the new market, this of course affects the used market. Nearly-new vans will feel the price pressure first. But the effects will ripple through to other market areas fairly rapidly.

Tippers and dropsides have found a new level and interest has picked up as a result. However, service history and condition remain important.

There seems to be perennial interest in lutons and boxes, and minibuses have been selling strongly early in the year.