Despite the market showing little sign of growth following the dip caused by the April bank holiday period, Shoreham boss Alex Wright (pictured) said vendors with a good following had continued to trade strongly as buyers sought vehicles from reliable sources. He said three to five year-old lower priced ex-utility LCVs were selling well and predicted that September would be an “historically strong” month for buyers and sellers alike.
“SMEs and the self-employed are doing all they can to avoid taking out finance so those three, four and five-year old lower priced utility vehicles that don’t require a large capital outlay are selling well,” Wright said.
He added that vehicles with a rarity value and intermittent supply were also making good money and pointed to Nissan Cabstar Tipper examples selling for up to £5000 despite having a Cap average value of £3550.
On the other hand, Wright said sales of nearly new vans in the £8000-£15,000 band were patchy with few willing to pay the prices and the sector further squeezed by the abundance of discount deals on new vans.
Shoreham has also recorded reduced conversion rates for vendors shifting blocks of similar stock as dealers, with restricted cashflow, eschew bulk buying – preferring to purchase individual models on demand.