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Weather & Used Car Prices - 12/06/2012

Weather & Used Car Prices

It isn’t just convertibles that shine when the sun comes out – the rest of the market does too, which could be good news if you are thinking of part-exchanging your car for a new one.

Chris Crow, the chief editor of CAP, an industry price guide publisher, has analysed used car values for two years in which the economic circumstances were similar but the total hours of sunshine was very different.

“I picked 2002 and 2006 because of the similarities in the economic climate, with GDP growth running strongly for the UK at 2.6%, inflation below 3% and new car registrations north of 2.3 million units,” he said. “But the used car market was stronger in one of those years – and our analysis suggests it was down to the weather.

“Both 2002 and 2006 began with similar hours of sunshine all the way through to May. However, in June 2006 there were an additional 60 hours of sunshine and it proved to be the hottest July since 1976 – enjoying a staggering 115 additional hours of sunshine over the same period in 2002. By September, the sunshine hours fell into line with 2002 but it was still the hottest September on record. So by all accounts, 2006 was a cracking year for British weather.

“It was a cracking year for used car values as well, which supports what dealers often tell us – that the better the weather, the stronger the demand for used cars.”