‘The December marketplace was strong almost until the last day, with many trade buyers out looking for bargains or anything worth the money. One auction house even had a sale on Christmas Eve to try and catch the last of the buyers,’ Hill explained.
‘January will probably start slowly, particularly if the bad weather persists, but should gradually build up as the month progresses. For the first half of the year we expect values to remain high, as stock will again be thin on the ground.
‘As such, we have made only slight adjustments to values for January. Early in the year there will be an influx of fresh stock that the trade will snap up for retail. As we edge towards the end of the first quarter we will be back to similar stock levels but still strong values, with anything a little different making all the money.
‘Small vans are good news as they are few and far between. Ford Fiesta is the most common and the trade is working out where to be with the new model. Any Fiesta Sport and Trend models will make ready to retail (RTR) values all day long.
‘Larger vans are starting to thin out with Fiat Ducato long and high making as much as the Ford Transit equivalent. That is down to supply and demand. Iveco Daily 3950wb vans are popular if you can get a tidy one with sensible miles.
‘In terms of chassis cab derivatives, anything long wheelbase has the trade fighting to buy them. A 14ft drop side will have everybody’s attention when offered for sale and the same goes for Lutons.
‘The 4×4 sector is still stable and the inclement weather should gee this market up a little. Don’t expect great increases in values though as there’s plenty of stock to please everyone,’ he concluded.