Canny dealers are buying used cars as prices fall

USED car dealers are buying stock at reduced prices in the current market anticipating that prices and demand will rise again early in 2023.

That’s the view of Shoreham Vehicle Auctions’ Managing Director Alex Wright who predicts the current trend of reduced demand and falling prices in the £10-30,000 used market will only last until the middle of Q1 2023, while the sub-£10,000 sector will remain consistently strong.

Wright believes that as soon as consumers wake up to the fact that the national newspapers have over-elaborated the depth of the recession and as soon as energy prices start falling, they will return to buying used cars again.

“In the current environment it’s the sub-£10,000 sector that is buoyant as well as the £30k plus sector. The rest of the sectors are quiet, but dealers with a strong cashflow are using this as an excuse to get stocked up before prices rise again.

“There is no doubt that consumers will return to the used market in Q1 after a quiet Christmas period. With no signs of stock levels increasing prices will rise back to where they were in the summer.

“Used prices will then remain stable throughout 2023 and beyond,” he predicts.