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Which car holds its price best? I would have said Mini as it has held the title for some time but a few surprises have taken over, possibly as a result of high demand for smaller cars and fewer cars available in the used car market as a result of the scrappage scheme. The best performer, according to Glass’s Guide, over 3 years has been the Peugeot 107 which has retained 60.9% of its value. This has been followed by the Toyota Aygo (60.2%) and the Suzuki Swift (59.5%). My flabber has never been so gasted! By Graham Hill

Thinking of selling your car and taking out a lease on a new car? Well, according to Manheim, the car auction house, now is a good time for you to sell you car as used car prices have been shooting up recently. An 8 month old ex rental car with less than 8,000 miles on is now fetching £2,200 more than it was a year ago. Manheim auctions increased their average sale price by 4% in July over June whilst British Car Auctions saw a 3% increase. Year on year prices are up by Read more »

One of the things that makes a car look really ‘scruffy’ is a badly scratched or scuffed alloy wheel and yet it is so easy to damage but just as easy to repair. There are a number of companies that will offer a local service. They will call round and either fix the wheel(s) at the roadside or take the car away and bring it back later with the wheel(s) looking like new. This is quite useful to know because if you return a lease car Read more »

Now here’s a strange fact! When it comes to new cars the most popular colour constantly flips between black and silver with, strangely enough, white coming up on the inside rails. Who ever thought that white would ever make a return as one of the most popular colours for new cars, what next – chocolate brown or possibly beige? Anyway, for years the most popular colour for used cars has apparently been blue, replaced in the first quarter of this year, according to Manheim auctions, by Read more »

The number of dealerships in the UK is dropping, as one would expect in a recession. The number of franchised dealerships 10 years ago stood at 6,139 but has now dropped to 5,077, a 17% loss. For those that are still trading this of course isn’t all bad news because it has meant that they have increased their average sales across all franchises from 442 in 1999 to the current level of 502. Less than 10 new cars per week per franchised dealer, that doesn’t seem a lot does it? By Graham Hill

Sorry about this but it all seems like bad news this week. Manheim DeFleet, the defleeting arm of the major auction house, has reported that average end of lease refurbishment charges have increased from £265 a year ago to £290 this year. As they explain contract hire companies see damage recovery as a mainstream activity. A few years ago they would budget to collect around 35% of all charges whereas these days they look to collect around 70%. David Mercer of Manheim DeFleet Services said Read more »

Last week I attended Motor Finance Europe 2009, one of the most important events of the year with regard to identifying how the European motor industry and the finance sector in particular is coping with the downturn. So I packed a couple of bottles of Paracetamol in the briefcase along with a couple of razor blades as I was totally convinced that by lunchtime I would be feeling more than a little suicidal and Read more »

Cloning is still on the increase but what do you do if you suspect that your car may have had it’s number plate cloned or you are in fact suspicious about any part of the car you are about to buy, is the registration document correct (V5C) or is the MOT certificate genuine? There is a new organisation that has been set up to combat vehicle fraud called the Vehicle Safe Trading Advisory Group. You can get lots of information and help by visiting their website www.vstag.co.uk By Graham Hill

More and more people that either bought or leased cars over the last two years are either holding onto their cars or extending their leases. Leasing companies have been encouraging extensions putting back the need to sell the end of lease car till as late as possible in the belief that used car prices will recover. But as I reported recently this drop in demand for new cars hasn’t led to a mass of unsold cars finding their way Read more »

Whilst used car prices are having a negative effect on lease rates as they counter the bonuses given away by manufacturers there has been a mild glimmer of hope during January. British Car Auctions have reported on average a 6% increase in used car prices following several months of continued falls. At the same time they reported that the average price was £1,000 less this January than it was last January so the Read more »