Auction house reports continued high used van values

The lack of good second hand stock is driving up prices

MORE good news on the used van values front this month, as auction house BCA announces November’s average value was one of the highest since it began reporting in 2005.

This was in spite of a small dip in overall average values – due to the high number of old, high mileage part-exchange vans entering the market in the wake of booming new van sales.

Record values were achieved in the fleet & lease sector – up a third in a year – and values remain at near record levels for dealer part-exchange vans.

Nearly-new values fell back for the second consecutive month, again as a result of model mix in a small volume sector.

Reflecting that the percentage of older dealer part-exchange vans rose during the month, both the average age and mileage for vans sold rose.

Year-on-year values remain well ahead, up by £859 and equivalent to a 20.2% uplift over the 12-month period – one of the highest on record. Average CAP performance fell back by half a point to 103.4% compared with October but was up by 3.5 points compared to a year ago.

Duncan Ward BCA’s general manager – commercial vehicles, commented: “While there was a small dip in the headline value in November, this was as a result of a subtle change in model mix rather than any fall in demand.

“With fleet/lease LCVs in such short supply, relatively greater numbers of dealer part-exchange vehicles were sold and these are typically older, higher mileage and a lower average value.

“Professional buyers who typically bid on corporate vans at auction are finding it harder to source these vehicles and have to pay more to secure the best retail-ready examples.

“November saw corporate stock rise significantly and we expect that to be maintained in December as the shorter trading month means there are fewer opportunities to buy.  Looking at the year-on-year price differential, corporate van values are a third higher in 2013 compared to last year.”