BCA believes, on the evidence of the latest sales at Belle Vue, Manchester, Nottingham and Blackbushe, that some buoyancy is returning to the used car market, in particular the prestige and executive sectors.

A total of 231 buyers registered for the special Bank of Scotland sale at Belle Vue, which featured prestige cars, a special section of motorbikes and fleet and finance cars. In total, Belle Vue sold 431 vehicles on the day, the best single sale figure recorded for nearly five years at the auction centre.

Of this figure, over 100 prestige and executive cars were sold. Examples of price achieved:

99V Subaru Impreza T2 4WD 4dr 22,000miles £13,300 (103.9% Cap Clean)
99V BMW 323i Coupe 83,000miles £16,000 (109.5%)
98S Audi A4 2.5 TDi AvantGarde Est. 78,000miles £11,200 (116.9%)
99T Mercedes C220 Diesel Classic Est. 45,000miles £15,300 (131.3%)
97R Jaguar XJ6 3.2 Sport 4dr 73,000miles £10,000 (130.3%)
99V Volvo S80 2.9 SE 4dr 33,000miles £13,200 (113.3%) 98S BMW 520i SE 4dr auto 40,000miles £12,500 (120.2%)
99T Mercedes C250 TD Sport 4dr 111,000miles £10,300 (104.8%)
98S BMW 318i S 4dr 45,000miles £11,000 (130.9%)

At the BCA Blackbushe Top Car around 150 cars were offered. Strong sellers included:

98S BMW 523I 2.5 SE 4dr Auto 35,960miles £15,550 (126.4%)
98S Jaguar XJ8 3.2 4dr Auto 52,000miles £14,600 (111.9%)
98S Mercedes C200 2.0 ESPRIT 4dr 49,189miles £9,800 (119.1%)
99T BMW 735I 3.5 4dr 42,316miles £20,750 (121.0%)
98R BMW 318I 1.9 S COUPE 2DR 48,551miles £9,400 (108.3%)
98R Mercedes SL320 3.2 2dr Auto 65,200miles £27,750 (117.3%)
98S Land Rover Range Rover 4.6 5dr 22,942miles £24,250 (110.7%)

A special Alphabet/BMW Financial Services invitation sale attracted a crowd of 213 buyers to BCA Nottingham. Over 300 vehicles were sold for a turnover exceeding £2.75m. Prices achieved included:

98R BMW 323I 2.5 SE NEW 4dr Auto 39,855miles £11,000 (116.1%)
99T BMW 523I 2.5 SE 4dr Auto 28,195miles £17,700 (128.2%)
00X BMW 523I 2.5 SE TG 5dr Auto 14,504miles £22,000 (117.0%)
98S BMW 318I 1.9 I S 4dr 54,588miles £9,200 (115.3%)
97R BMW 318I 1.9 S COUPE 2dr 71,031miles £8,900 (118.6%)
99T Land Rover Freelander 1.8 I HB 3dr 15,041miles £12,200 (117.3%)
99T BMW 728I 2.8 4dr Auto 38,916miles £16,800 (107.3%)
98S Land Rover Discovery 2.5 TD5 GS 5dr 36,568miles £15,200 (110.9%)
99V BMW 523I 2.5 TOUR 5dr 44,166miles £14,500 (110.7%)
01Y BMW 530I 3.0 SPORT 2K 4dr 10,940miles £30,250 (121.0%).