Customer satisfaction

Naylor said “Customer satisfaction levels with their used cars this year are among the highest recorded by the BCA Used Car Market Report.

“Dealers have been working hard to improve the perception of the used car sector and the product itself is of a much higher standard than even a decade ago.”

“However, the effect of prolonged lower new car sales continues to affect the used car market. The average age of cars on the country's roads had fallen to 6.69 years in 2004 but since then it has steadily risen, reaching a 30-year high in 2012. In fact the car parc will continue to age as the record high new car volumes of the early 2000s wash through.

“It is testimony to the build quality over the last decade that three-quarters (76.3%) of cars now make their twelfth birthday and more than half (51.6%) are reaching the 14 year mark. In fact, these vehicles provide on-going income opportunities for the retail motor sector.”

Overall our Used Car Market Report for 2013 suggests that the UK may be turning a corner in consumer confidence as lower inflation, a slowdown in fuel price rises, improving employment prospects and a more stable economy seem to be helping to restore car buyers' confidence.

In particular, low and 0% interest offers could be creating fresh demand for new cars, with 40% of motorists who responded BCA’s research saying that they were considering buying new rather than used for their next car. BCA believes this is good news for the market as a whole as new cars create used car stock in future.