Used cars lose popularity
Published On 26 July 2007
People are opting for new cars when they come to purchase a vehicle with a car finance loan, new research suggests.Data gathered by Experian shows that sales of used cars fell by 2.9 per cent in the first three months of 2007.
In particular, consumers were unwilling to use a car finance loan to buy a one- to three-year-old vehicle - sales of these motors dropped by 10.9 per cent in January, February and March.
In contrast, cars less than a year old experienced the smallest drop in sales, falling just 0.5 per cent in the period.
"The market share in terms of sales volume is still held by the lower medium segment, but the gap between this segment and super minis is closing fast," explained Kirk Fletcher, managing director of Experian's automotive division.
"Over the last decade the market has shifted towards smaller cars and we are seeing these sales begin to give the lower medium segment a run for its money.
"With these bigger engine cars losing their value more rapidly than smaller cars, it will be interesting to see how soon this smaller segment overtakes sales of lower medium cars."
Earlier this month, Tesco Personal Finance launched a new service which allows customers to check to see if a used car they are about to buy has outstanding finance on it.
