CAP has reported greater stability in the used car market in June with little change in trade values. The June edition of Black Book, which is the benchmark guide to used car trade values, has revealed a similar picture to May. Interestingly larger vehicles have performed more strongly than the smallest cars.

Comparing today’s used car market with seasonal “norms” from previous years, the picture is even brighter. This is usually a time of year that sees weakening trade values but that usual trend is being overcome by several factors.

Firstly there is still some correction of last year’s unprecedented downturn taking place when large 4×4′s and large executive models saw up to 50% wiped off their value last year. This is now being corrected with values enjoying a renewed and sustained demand. The other factor is stock shortage, as a direct result of the drop in car production and registrations over the last year.

Black Book has also found some evidence that the scrappage scheme is also diverting customers away from buying smaller late plate cars, some of which are now not performing as well as last year.  Black Book’s Mark Bulmer said : “On average, used car values are generally stable at the moment. Looking ahead to the coming weeks and months there are no signs of significant volume returning anytime soon.”

Falling values in used car or van values is one of the risks of ownership. With business contract hire or personal contract hire you can lease a vehicle with the confidence that when the contract comes up for renewal, the problem (and potential loss on the re-sale value) of disposing of the vehicle is not yours and is the responsibility of the contract hire leasing Company. 

CAP Black Book has reported some stability returning to the used car market after two months of record prices being achieved at auction. CAP produces Black Book as the benchmark trade guide for used car pricing. This marks the end of a year when prices have been extremely volatile beginning after Easter 2008 with the largest downturn in memory and switching to an unprecedented upturn this calendar year.

One of the main reasons for the increase in prices has been a shortage of used car stock as consumers have delayed renewing their vehicles and many Companies have extended their life cycles of vehicles. Many dealerships were reporting used car stock at 30-50% lower than they would have liked in April.

If you are thinking of changing your car then now might be a better time to get it valued.

COMPARECONTRACTHIRE.COM has chosen CAP data to power its innovative web-based fleet car and van quotation system.

CAP, which was established in 1979, is the premier provider of used and future residual values data, technical information and asset management support systems and is the benchmark chosen in the fleet industry.

The accuracy and flexibility of CAP New Vehicle Data enables Comparecontracthire.com to offers an efficient way for small, medium sized businesses and consumers to source cars and vans specifically. Any make or model can be quoted with the 12 funding partners feeding contract hire rates into the site on a wide variety of parameters.

CAP data has unlocked Comparecontracthire.com’s ability to provide an ideal car and van quotation solution for businesses looking to source vehicles at highly competitive rates on a smaller scale than large fleets. At the heart of the Comparecontracthire.com website is a live quote engine powered by CAP’s technical and pricing data, seamlessly integrated via the industry standard CAP Code.

The site software automatically checks each price provided by funders and also instantly populates the system with all technical and identification details ranging from engine size to trim levels and optional equipment and even images of over 5000 new vehicles.

Discontinued models are automatically filtered out, thanks to CAP new vehicle data’s continual updates, whilst new models are added on a weekly basis.

With more and more car and van models being offered, with ever more complex trim levels and options by manufacturers, CAP’s unique CAP code ensures the information we share with the outside world is extremely accurate. This is vital for the funders who feed in their rates to our site and to SMEs and consumers who use our quote engines.

Quotes can be obtained on the following criteria @ www.comparecontracthire.com ;

-  The exact made and model of your choice

-  By choosing a £ budget per month and selecting the range of manufacturers 

-  By selecting the CO2 g/km output you wish to achieve from your next car or van.

-  Or by choosing your next car or van by combined MPG to find fuel efficient vehicles

Variations on contract hire quotes can be found as follows

-          Business or Personal contract hire

-          Maintained or non maintained contracts

-          24, 36 or 48 month contract hire durations

-          Annual mileages of 10,000 or 20,000 miles per annum.

Comparecontracthire.com is the UK’s first contract hire price comparison site and aims to make life easier for small businesses and consumers. The useful information section on the site covers most things a small business or a consumer would want to know about contract hire or other motoring related matters.