AN OVERWHELMING majority of independent used car retailers are low on stock and struggling to replace sold cars, according to exclusive research by CAP – the car information experts.

It means motorists with good part-exchanges to offer will get top prices from independent dealers, who are just as determined to buy retail-quality stock as they are to sell the cars already on the forecourt.

The issue is revealed by research for CAP Black Book Live, the only real-time used car price trending tool in the UK.

More than 100 independent dealers were asked to describe their current stock levels and whether they were having difficulty sourcing the right cars to satisfy demand. The results overwhelmingly demonstrated that independents have been struggling to keep up with demand for retail stock.

But the significance for motorists – who often suspect they won’t be offered the best price for their own car by dealers – is that consumers will benefit from greater demand in the trade for part-exchanges than ever before.

Of 103 dealers who were asked ‘are you experiencing any difficulty sourcing the right cars’ 71 said they were – a staggering 70%.
The problem was even more vividly highlighted in their responses when asked to describe their current levels of stock, with more than 78% reporting them as ‘too low’.

It’s a far cry from the used car market of just a few years ago, when over-supply drove part-exchange values down, leaving motorists routinely disappointed at the prices they were offered by dealers.

Nor is the problem likely to ease any time soon, with 89% of the dealers questioned anticipating no reduction in demand for used cars over the coming months.

Mike Hind, of CAP, said: “Motorists who assume they will automatically do better by selling their car privately are behind the times.

“For independent used car specialists doing their best to keep up with demand, a good part-exchange is like gold dust in today’s market.  If they know they can generate another profitable future sale from your part-exchange, you can expect to be very pleasantly surprised by how favourably a good independent used car specialist stacks the deal.”

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