My Car Check’s valuation experts reveal significant trends in the UK used vehicle market and choose a car and bike of the month.
Head of Valuation Services at My Car Check, Gavin Amos, said: “Initially badged as a Citroën, and now under the DS brand, the DS3 has a premium feel and is widely considered a fun alternative to the Mini. There’s an array of engines, including sporty options, and when you add in the strong build quality and running costs, a used example starts to make real sense. If you stick to popular colour combinations you won’t go far wrong come resale time, or you could target the weirder combinations and push for a price reduction. There’s plenty of choice in the used market, and of all the DS3s we checked in 2016, 22% had been previously written-off and 20% were still on finance.”
As to market trends, Amos said: “Activity has picked up following the lull over the festive season, but typically used car sales slow again in February as dealers focus on the new plate coming in March. This, though, will generate a fresh influx of part-exchanges to boost the used market throughout spring and into summer.”
On the motorbike, scooter and moped sector, My Car Check’s Rob Hobson said: “The Honda VFR800F is a fantastic do it all motorcycle. You can load it up to hilt and set off on holiday, go for a blast and open up that sublime V4 engine, or use it for the daily commute. Better still, perhaps due to its looks, which some consider slightly bland, decent used examples can be bought for not a lot of money in today’s marketplace. As always, check before you buy because 12% all VFR800F models we checked last year had been previously written-off.
As to market trends, Hobson said: “The dust still needs to settle before we can properly assess the consequences of the new Euro4 regulations. Traders and consumers alike have been trying to get their heads around which bikes are and aren’t compliant. The new market finished on a high, partly due no doubt to a rush of pre-registrations on non-compliant models. Several contacts in the trade have reported struggling to buy used stock over the last few weeks, traditionally a period when they would have bought heavily. As a result, clean, low mileage stock remains very much in demand.”
With information from the police, DVLA, insurers and finance houses, My Car Check holds comprehensive data on every vehicle on UK roads – things that buyers should be aware of before making an offer.
CDL Vehicle Information Services, which owns My Car Check, performs over a million look-ups a day for companies including AutoExpress, CompareTheMarket, Go-Compare, Moneysupermarket, Swiftcover and Tesco.
