By Richard Crosthwaite, prestige car editor, Glass’s
HOT
WE’VE gone from a layer of snow to spring-like conditions in as many weeks. So it’s no surprise that…
Cabriolets are on the move…big time! Even the likes of the Audi TT, BMW Z4 and Mercedes SLK roadsters see moves up of an average 2% in their ‘booked’ value. However it’s the BMW 1 series, 3 series, Audi A3 and A4 models that are showing the biggest gains with an average movement up of 4%. Like last year the market may be over early (May/June) but if the sun comes out and the Olympic feel-good factor kicks in, we may see a return to the good old days…
BMW’s 6 series a perennial underperformer when it comes to RVs has never been closer to ‘book’ than of late. Another month where only small adjustments are needed and it’s not hard to see why: this grand tourer looks unbelievable value for money especially with the new model on the market! My money would be on a two-year-old 635d Sport auto (10/10 March 2012 guide) booking at £28,600 – that’s 46% of original cost new; savage depreciation on one hand, but used car bargain on the other!
Late plate Bentleys are seeing some strength after a period of heavy depreciation several years ago. With many new cars being allocated abroad and with late plate stock thin on the ground, values are improving, particularly for the GT coupe and Flying Spur.
NOT
Luxury saloons continue to find the going tough. And it doesn’t matter which car maker, either – 7 series, XJ, S-class or A8 – this sector remains one of the least loved and most pointless in the UK market. Customers continue to seek out the sector below (which grows in stature with every new range update) and prestige SUVs as alternatives. The one exception is Porsche’s cavernous Panamera which, two years after introduction, can claim significantly better residual values than its competition.
SUVs continue to see significant erosion in used car values. The snow arrived, but frankly it was insignificant in terms of disruption compared to the previous two years. Most (but not all) see falls of between 2 and 5% depending on model. The season for 4x4s is most definitely over.
Automatics…with more and more automatic cars being registered than before, this volume filters on to the used ‘car parc’ and while they continue to be a popular choice, the extra availability has seen premiums fall back over their manual counterparts. This trend seems set to continue (albeit more gently than the last 24 months) across most sectors. If the overall residual value percentage is your main concern, the manual variant is no longer the wrong choice.
Richard Crosthwaite is prestige car editor at Glass’s Guide.
