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Going up... or going down, Glass's Guide looks at the market
publication date: Jul 17, 2010
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author/source: Robin Roberts
Want to know what’s hot and what’s not? Expert Richard Crosthwaite, Prestige Car Editor at Glass’s, gives his opinion.
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HOT | | | A5 Sportback – [Note: One A5 derivative in ‘hot’ and one
in ‘not’] This five-door variant suffered some negative feedback in the
industry pre-launch, but is now performing well on the used market.
Volume continues to be low and demand (for now at least) is matching or
exceeding this. |  |
Jaguar XF - The XF is hanging on particularly well to the
RV crown in the large executive sector. The competition are all too
new to appear on the used radar and, although volume is up on last year
(due to the demise of X-type), a production issue has meant less volume
than Jaguar anticipated six months ago. Values will continue to be
effected gently by the summer lull, but 3.0 (petrol), 2.7d and 3.0d
continue to outperform, especially Premium Luxury models. |  |
Mini – Values continue to defy gravity, having been
sector- (and close to market-) leading for nine years. Despite hundreds
of thousands in the market, demand continues to be well balanced with
supply. All variants (yes, even diesel and Clubman) continue to
perform, with nothing (not even Audi A1 introduction) looking like
denting their universal appeal. |  | | | | | | NOT |  |
A5 Coupe - After several years of dominating the sector
and having RVs that are second to none, the strain is starting to appear
on the grille of the A5 coupe. Values are now under pressure, and
falls this month are likely to be matched in August's edition of Glass’s
Guide. It's still a cracking car, but used car buyers are left to
question whether it is £3,000 better than the equivalent BMW 3 Series
coupe. I'd say the answer is ‘no’ and values appear to be re-aligning
right now. |  | SE and lower spec models - Premiums for models with
sports styling – e.g. Sport (Mercedes-Benz), M Sport (BMW) and S line
(Audi) – are already very healthy, and the market continues to shun base
models and SEs.
Will the time come when these non-sporty offerings are
so much cheaper that they sell quickly as value-for-money buys?
Well
perhaps, but not yet, and next month’s Glass’s Guide will see the gap to
the sports variants (especially Audis and BMWs) grow further still. |  |
5 Series GT - Not received well by the market (the buzz
is: shouldn't a premium 5 Series be more attractive, not less?).
Supply, although limited, is exceeding demand, so values are under
pressure. Most trade buyers I speak to are not planning to add to their
stock, unless they have to. | | | | | | |
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