After taking a look at which vans scooped the best in class on Saturday in VW T5 Best Used Van 2011 according to CAP, Manheim have recently issued their used van figures for last month. Considering the expected rush to go LEZ friendly and used van sales to perhaps take the hit, the constraints on company cashflow and finances in general has pushed sales up slightly on December, by 1.1%.
This is understandable if organisations are still feeling the pinch and have one eye on their bottom lines. As well as the initial outlay for second-hand vans being considerably less than for new vans, you are more likely to find a cheap van insurance quote for a commercial vehicle that’s had it’s value depreciated somewhat over a newer model.
Details in the recent report suggest that van owners are holding onto their transport for a little longer, as the average age of model coming up for resale increased by an average two months, at five years and one month old. However, signs that drivers and tradesmen have been more careful with their fuel consumption over the last year, with mileage dropping by an average 567 per van, were prevalent in the report.
When you look at the picture year-on-year, however, that really does show how frugal fleet departments are having to be to fit in with overall company budgets and how many organisations chose to forego new vans last year when we were all (even more) uncertain of the global economy.
The average age of used vans coming on to the market is eleven months older and, as you would expect, the average mileage has risen accordingly, up 8,249 miles per van. All this is good news for young drivers searching for cheap van insurance, with an influx of models to choose from to help them reduce cover.
Manheim reported that, following the release of the figures, they are the biggest shift in the market they’ve witnessed over the seven years they’ve been issuing their analysis for benchmarking across the sector. Despite the average age and mileage moving up considerably, the actual retail price fell only an average of £79.
This proves that there is an exceptionally strong market for used commercial vehicles and Manheim are seeing, also for the first time, evidence of a three-tier market. There are the 5-year old plus models, which make up the bulk of the stocks, models less than 3 years old, usually from the fleet and courier sector and a significant demand for models in between those two dividers. The competition at auction for all sectors has helped more or less uphold the resale value, despite the disparate age and mileage syndrome the market has seen.
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