BRITAIN'S two leading used car price guides have warned against the continuation of current 'bullish' used car prices as thousands of ex-fleet cars reach the secondhand market. CAP Black Book said it remained to be seen whether the present values would last, and Glass's Guide said it expected September to be the last month where values remained fairly buoyant along with strong retail demand.

P-plate 1996 models have virtually disappeared from used car forecourts and have been replaced with 1997 examples, but, says CAP, with new R-plate cars now on the road P-plate cars no longer have the same appeal. CAP also says values of three to four-year-old cars have eased across the board, even though finding good examples is difficult.

That view is reflected by Glass's which says: 'The main weakness in values concerns the latest bread and butter models, particularly if they are available in large numbers with above average mileages. The main strength in values is where niche models are hard to find, particularly those cars from the traditional European specialist manufacturers.'