Time of Year

After the frenzied activity of August, with around 500,000 used cars hitting the forecourts in just one month, the trade was faced with a residue of cars and a market which declined from September until Christmas.

It usually picked up in January, so the wise buys were made at the bottom of the market - at the point where retail sales had slowed down but just before the big players started buying for the new year.

But the March and September registration plate changes that started in 1999 changed everything.

The March plate change is the most important one because it involves a clear change of designator. Buyers can always be sure that an '07' is a 2007 car, so March is now the busiest month for registrations. It ensures that the market is reasonably well supplied with part-exchanges for the peak Spring selling season. But not over-supplied, so Spring remains the most expensive time of year to buy a used car.

The September plate change feeds a large number of used cars to the market at completely the wrong time of year. Unless they go in September or early October (just 6 short weeks) they can stick. Any leftovers tend to be at rock bottom by November, which is when the smart, well financed big dealers stock up for the new year. Lesser dealers see this happening and start buying too in December, so prices can rise again by Christmas.

In January we no longer see a large influx of part-exchanges, yet if the weather is okay there can be strong demand for used cars. So prices shoot up, often by 10% or more, until the market slows a bit in mid-February in anticipation of the March part-exchanges.