THE increasing trend to extend the leasing contracts of cars is diluting the importance of the March and September months in the remarketing industry, it has been claimed.

March and September have become the key disposal months for cars since the change to a two-plate-a-year system. With extended contracts, cars are not turning up when expected, Andrew Shepherd, senior group auctioneer at Manheim Auctions said, leading to a more even spread across the year on the auction floor.

Shepherd added that with more cars subject to waiting times before delivery, the importance of March and September was lessening and cars were being put on the road in other months. They then come back for disposal away from the peak times.

As a result, Shepherd reckoned there was not a big volume of cars currently coming through the marketplace and good quality cars were ‘few and far between’. However, auctions were seeing lots of part exchanges, from six months to 10 years old, suggesting dealers are starting to shift cars again after a slump at the start of the year.

  • BCA is claiming a record UK auction value for a current production model, after it sold a Rolls-Royce Phantom in BCA Nottingham’s Top Car Sale for £189,000. The Phantom set a record for the highest sold price for a modern car ever achieved by BCA. The figure has only been beaten in the classic car market – BCA recorded £200,000 for a Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer in 1990.