Used car prices - now is the time to buy second hand

18/06/08

The cost of buying second-hand drops - and the choice is endlessFuel prices are rocketing, and your groceries cost more now than they did last week. But if you’re shopping for a used car, we’ve better news. Used car prices are falling, by as much as 3% in just a month. That makes a real difference – saving you close to £200 on a £6000 second-hand hatchback.

And the choice is broad. Nearly-new mainstream Fords, Vauxhalls and Volkswagens are in good supply and keenly priced just now, although diesel-engined models can be a thousand pounds dearer than similar petrol cars.

What’s more, lower car prices means dealers are being forced to be even choosier than usual about whatever they sell. None of them wants to handle cars that need money spending to reach showroom standard, so they check what they buy with extra care. That helps you, because most year-old vehicles offered by main dealers now promise to be next-best to a new car.

Predictably, second hand diesel superminis such as the Vauxhall Corsa 1.3 CDTi, which promises 60+ miles per gallon, sell fast at stiff prices. A Corsa with a 1.2 petrol engine is still economical at up to 48mpg, but will be far cheaper. Unless you pack in plenty of long trips, could work out cheaper overall. Remember that diesel is now much dearer, so an engine needs to be very economical before the savings begin. Do the sums, then buy.

And, at the other extreme, car prices of cars with big, thirsty engines and high CO2 ratings are now very cheap. But if you drive only a couple of hundred miles per month, the bill involved in running a big car needn’t be scary if it’s cheap enough to buy. So if you’ve always fancied a big Mercedes, Jaguar or BMW, this might be the time to treat yourself.

This is never more true than if you’ve £3000 or less to spend. There’s a fantastic choice of impressive high-image machinery around. That much will get you a R-reg, 100,000-mile BMW 523i SE auto, which when new rated as one of the best cars you could own, regardless of price. And cars like this registered before March 2001 pre-date the CO2 emissions-based road tax charging system. For this reason, an older car may cost only half as much to tax as a newer one.

Whatever you buy, the speed at which used car prices change makes it as important as ever to compare prices locally before committing to buy. Try big dealers, small dealers, car supermarkets and even private sellers, weighing the different levels of after sales back-up each offers and then decide which you feel most comfortable with.