Luxury cars still in demand

DEMAND remains strong for upper executive, sports and luxury cars says British Car Auctions (BCA), as buyers continue to support the company’s programme of Top Car and Executive sales. In the first half of the year, BCA sold 8,356 cars valued in excess of £20,000, worth a combined £231.4 million.

Across the board BCA has averaged 102.57% of CAP Clean for cars sold for £20,000 or more in 2012. The highest value vehicle sold this year to date – aBentley Continental GTC W12 Supersports that realised £129,500 - achieved over 103.5% of CAP Clean.

Top Car sales are staged regularly at BCA Blackbushe and Nottingham, with executive car sales taking place throughout the BCA network and 91% of cars valued £20,000 and over sell the first time they are offered.

BCA’s Communications Director Tony Gannon commented: “Successfully remarketing luxury prestige and sports cars calls for a different approach than when dealing with ‘bread and butter’ fleet cars. Because of the additional activity required, it is worth consigning cars for sale early to give your remarketing partner time to get the message across to the buyers.”

To help maintain luxury car sales BCA has been targeting "small business owners or self-employed professional people, who want their own prestige ‘company car’ and can benefit from buying in an offset tax position.”

Gannon continued: “It is a peculiarity of the economic downturn that demand for high value cars has remained on a high over the past two years. Despite the difficult economic conditions, the market for high value prestige vehicles is exceptionally buoyant, with buyers prepared to invest six-figure sums for the right vehicle. It could be that some well-heeled buyers are simply deciding that their money might as well be put to good use on a prestige car rather than languishing in a savings account that is paying very little interest.”

By Press Association reporters