Will Coronavirus hit used car prices?

[Vroomer]

When I started this thread back in March, I didn't dream it would still be running more than nine months and 500 pages later!

(There was one early poster who dismissed Covid-19 as a fuss about nothing that would be forgotten in a few weeks!)

[RUSTILLDOWN]

johnnyBv8 said:

To move away from WBAC discussion...it’ll be really interesting to see what happens in the used car market in 2021. At the start of this thread I, like the majority, were expecting prices to fall. I sold one of my higher value cars - I thought prices were falling but I reckon it’s still worth the same now approx 9 months later.

I’ve been keeping an eye on a few cars - sub 3 year old hot hatches (I’ve been looking at Golf R and GTI) seem to be going through BCA at well over CAP whilst more mundane stuff struggles, larger engined ‘enthusiast’ cars such as early 997s have gone up around 20%, and modern classics are selling quickly for strong prices.

Not sure what’s driving the market to date - whether QE is having any effect, or whether it’s more skewed by the covid grants and loans. In 2021 the economic reality will really hit home - many employees are still on furlough, and there isn’t a sense that there are many “distress sales” yet. Logically this should bring prices down, but if QE/desire for assets is playing a part then prices may not fall as much. My guess is that the heat will go out of the market, but there won’t be a crash in prices. Larger engined V8s etc may go back to suffering from wider pressures that they were facing pre-covid (taxation, EVs etc).

Edited by johnnyBv8 on Monday 21st December 09:07

I certainly didn’t expect prices to rise but given I rarely use the car now I said early on that I’d prefer to pay off the mortgage and wait until next year.

For the last 6 months I’ve overpaid more per month than normal mortgage payments! It’s amazing to see the overall balance changing so quickly and ... I can’t be the only one!

10million furloughed for several months, bored at home, no longer commuting so some will go and get that car they’ve always wanted and nothing will change whilst there’s still a furlough scheme.

There’s lots of paperweights sat on driveways so prices will definitely fall at some point.

[Deep Thought]

Vroomer said:

The Z4C has long been tipped as an appreciating classic, and that seems to be coming true.

Asking prices for the best are now £14-15k, decent ones are £9-10k and anything cheaper is likely to be mega miles or suspect in some way.

That seems a fair summary. I gave £7350 for my Si Sport in May with 69k miles and a file full of history. I think I'd need +£2,000 more now to buy a car to the same standard.

[Big Al.]

Continued over here:-

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...