CONFUSION is reigning on forecourts as used car buyers struggle to understand the increasingly complex variety of cars for sale and values are suffering as a result.

With new niche vehicles being invented and launched every year there is limited demand for them on the crowded used market.

Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at EurotaxGlass’s, said: ‘The key question is whether this bewildering array of used cars will be able to establish a presence and a following on the used car market.

‘A number of factors hold the key to success, but with niche products particularly it is the vehicle’s ability to provide a unique selling proposition that remains crucial.

‘It is in this respect that some models have been found wanting and used values have suffered.’ Examples of cars failing to set the secondhand market on fire include the Vauxhall Signum, Ford Fusion and the Volkswagen Golf Plus. The latter is worth less than a standard Golf on a used car forecourt despite costing £600 more when new.

EurotaxGlass’s believes that key selling features used to sell a new car are not always communicated as effectively when selling secondhand, a mistake which negatively affects residual values.