"Who would believe that the market going into the first week of September would be as strong as it is? We probably all expected a surge in the new car market following the new style registration plates, but the used market has really taken off with good quality, low mileage, nice colour, high spec cars maintaining high residuals and in many cases, an increase in price.

The car supermarket buyers are out in force and appear to be 'in the bidding' for anything from 10,000 to 80,000 miles that appears good value for money. It is also interesting to see that only a few days after the new registration plates hit the road, main franchise dealers are in the auction halls buying nearly new stock for retail. This would indicate that very few part exchanges have been taken in against new deals or that the actual part exchanges have not met the criteria to be retailed.

Indications are that, at present, the demand for vehicles in the auction halls is exceeding supply. This is probably the main reason that the residuals of many vehicles are remaining high. I suspect that over the next 3 to 4 weeks many of the fleet/lease/contract hire and dealer option returns will come into the market place and we may see a slight reversal where supply will exceed demand. Even if this does become the case I feel that the quality cars will still remain a popular commodity and only very high mileage, untidy condition and poor colours will really take a knock in price."