RECORDS were smashed during a sale at BCA Belle Vue in Manchester as it achieved new highs for volume and turnover.

The site sold 623 cars – equivalent to a 77% conversion rate – and achieved a £5 million plus turnover. Both volume and turnover figures were the highest recorded in the 14 years since Belle Vue opened.

The sale featured a range of prestige, sporting and executive cars, alongside fleet vehicles, a distributor section and a general sale.

Among the prestige cars on sale that helped draw the record crowd was a 2003-registered Porsche 911 Carrera Targa , which sold for £60,000, equivalent to 97.5% of current list price and 105% of CAP clean.

A 2001 BMW M3 Coupe realised £35,000, or 116% of CAP clean. No fewer than three Aston Martins were sold, with a 2001-registered DB7 Vantage achieving the top price of the day, selling for £66,500.

Paul Martin, manager at BCA Belle Vue, said: 'This was an exceptional sale which underlines the demand from BCA's buyer base for these high value vehicles.'

Last week, Fleet NewsNet reported that prestige brands were dominating the charts of vehicles with the highest residual values at Lex Vehicle Leasing. Its survey revealed that over three years/60,000 miles, the Porsche Boxster kept most of its value, with others in the top 10 including the Mercedes-Benz CLK and SLK, Volvo XC90 and Lexus SC430.