USED 4x4 VALUES 'BOUNCE BACK'

Average values for 4x4s reached record levels at British Car Auctions in January – partly as a result of the heavy snowfall and traffic problems experienced by much of the country last month.

BCA’s 4x4 auction values averaged £12,918 in January 2010, the highest average price recorded by the company and a rise of £647 (5.2 per cent) compared with December’s figures. Prices have been rising throughout the winter months, with records previously set in October (£12,186) and December (£12,271). Remarkably, BCA claims its 4x4 values have nearly doubled in the last 18 months.

BCA communications director Tony Gannon told us: ‘Nothing makes four-wheel drive more attractive than a dusting of snow around the UK, and the severe weather we have had in recent weeks will have convinced many drivers that they now need a 4x4.’

Gannon added: ‘The turnaround in the 4x4 market has been exceptional.  Of all the car sectors affected by the economic downturn, few fell harder or faster than the 4x4/Sports Utility sector and few have recovered as well in the intervening months.

‘Values reached a low point in July 2008, when several months of high fuel costs, combined with the stuttering economy and uncertainty over proposed Vehicle Excise Duty and the so-called Showroom Tax, saw values fall by over £2000 to £6723. There were even rumours that some dealers were refusing to take them in part-exchange. But as prices recovered in 2009, 4x4 values were among the first to bounce back.’