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Used cars up 56pc in value since start of the pandemic

Your car is worth 56pc more than it was at the start of the pandemic, according to a new study of extraordinary price trends.
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Your car is worth 56pc more than it was at the start of the pandemic, according to a new study of extraordinary price trends.
Used car prices have jumped 7.7pc since October alone.
The pandemic, an acute shortage of semiconductors for new cars and Brexit-induced shock to the market has had “a staggering effect” on prices here, a special Done-Deal report has found.
Such is the phenomenal level of demand that the report cites the bizarre instance of a fresh second-hand model being listed with a higher price than its brand-new equivalent.
It is all unprecedented, and there is no sign of a let up, the report’s author, Dr Tom Gillespie, environmental economist at NUIG, said.
His analysis gives the example of a 2009 Volkswagen Polo supermini. It should be worth €1,676 under normal market conditions, but would now command a value of €3,980 – an 80pc increase in car price inflation.
It is all happening against the backdrop of several factors.
The persistent under-supply of semiconductors, a crucial component in a vehicle, meant new-car supplies were hit hard.
Car manufacturers were forced to cut production despite soaring consumer demand sparked by pandemic savings.
That led to increased waiting lists and more people looking for newer used cars.

Then there was the fall in new-car sales.

New-car registrations were 125,671 and 117,109 in 2018 and 2019 respectively, but in 2020 and 2021 there was a dramatic 20pc fall-off (to 88,325 and 104,932 respectively), despite the increase in demand.
Dr Gillespie said longer waiting times for new cars “incentivised consumers to turn to the used car market”.
However, the supply of used cars was also under pressure due to the onset of Brexit restrictions, which disrupted the usual flow of second-hand UK imports.
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In 2019, before the onset of the pandemic and Brexit, Ireland imported 108,000 cars from the UK.
That fell to 74,900 in 2020, the report says, while last year the total number of UK imports was 47,034 – down 56pc from 2019 levels.
Based on those numbers, the deficit of used cars is estimated to be around 125,000 compared with normal times.
The marked decrease in UK used cars has led to a doubling of the number of imported used models from Japan (from 3,243 in 2019 to 9,805 last year).
In previous years, the supply of used vehicles was aided by the glut of Celtic Tiger era cars. However, these vehicles are rapidly becoming obsolete.
That is hitting the lower end of the market hardest, with an 83pc increase in car-price inflation for those valued below €3,000.
This contrasts with a 30pc rate of inflation in the upper end of the market (cars worth €13,000 or more).
Right now, the factors contributing to the massive increases in values are showing few signs of easing in the short term.
The report says: “The price gap between new and used cars is tightening, and in some cases a second-hand version of the same model is being listed for more than its new counterpart – an unprecedented situation.”
That spells good news for those looking to trade in their old cars as they are in a stronger bargaining position if buying new.
However, they are unlikely to benefit much from buying newer, rather than new, because their intended purchase will have gone up in value as well, so the cost to change may even be higher.
Elsewhere, the report says 40pc of people surveyed intend to buy a car this year.
Of those, 60pc plan to trade against a purchase from a dealership and 23pc intend selling privately, with 19pc not having a trade-in.
 
Had a nice young lady deliver one of these here earlier
New 2022 BMW M8 Competition makes its debut | Auto Express

They start at 135k apparently 😮









She had the wrong address, it was for a near neighbour :D
 
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