Aston Barclay turned dealer trade-ins into cash within 48 hours customers dropping off their vehicles to collect new 16-plate models.

The auction group’s new fleet of transporters collected cars shortly after customers dashed to dealerships to take delivery of new cars in the early hours of March 1 before a rapid inspection and selling process which saw the gavel fall during sales at Chelmsford the following day.

Sale prices for these vehicles saw a 5% increase in CAP Performance figures for Aston Barclay’s Essex auction centre, compared to the same sale in 2015, thanks to strong buyer demand.

Martin Potter, Aston Barclay’s remarketing director (South) credited a combination of the business’ service and flexibility and its significant investment across the group in its auction and inspection facilities, logistics, personnel and IT infrastructure with its ability to swiftly meet customer and buyer demand.

He said: “Our ability to rapidly respond to our customer’s needs, especially during the extremely busy bi-annual registration change, was never more obvious than in the last 48 hours.

“This has allowed our customers to quickly optimise returns on trade-ins, enabling them to focus fully on selling new cars, while satisfying demand for forecourt fresh vehicles from Aston Barclay’s established and ever-growing buyer base.”