Times are tough for nigh on everyone at the minute. Trying to encourage customers to buy your products, at times, feels like trying to get blood from a stone and all your competitors are dropping their prices like crazy. Well as the cliché goes – it’s all swings and roundabouts. There are upsides to the dark economic times, as a car buyer there’s never been a better time to pick up a new motor. Sales for the car trades have been dramatically hit which has resulted in a market flooded with new unsold cars. The recession has also lead to many companies and individuals selling off their assets due to redundancy or liquidation – this has caused the used car market to flood. The ultimate effect of this is that there is an abundance of cracking affordable cars on the market at present. Happily for the savvy WholesaleScout.co.uk member this has also had a knock-on effect to the values of ex-police vehicles. Due to the current economic woes attendances at ex-police vehicle auctions have been down and so have the prices! WholesaleScout paid a visit to (Register for details of this ex-police car auctioneer) to investigate.
It was the week before Christmas and the last ex-police vehicle auction of the year. We were informed by the organisers that although busy this year’s turn-out was considerably down on last years attendance. We took this as a good sign and were hoping to see some real bargains come through to the auction floor. If you’ve never been to a car auction before you should certainly do what you can to attend (check our wholesale directory for your local auction house register to access police auction details) as they are a great spectacle for the avid car fan. Lots of interesting metal queuing up to be sold on the day. As this was a police car auction the majority of the cars were diesel hatchbacks and estates however every car had been maintained immaculately, with enough service documentation to appease even the most discerning buyer. As the cars began to come through to the auction floor you could feel the tension build as traders and private buyers waited for their favourite to come through. As the hammer fell on each car we were amazed at the sort of value the buyers were getting; immaculate four year old Volvo T5s were being had for under £2,500!
Deals of the Day
|
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION |
AUCTION PRICE |
MARKET VALUE |
POTENTIAL |
|
Volvo V70 T5 2.3 2005 (55 Plate), White, 108k miles, 10 x main dealer service stamps & full MOT |
£2450 |
£3700 |
£1250 |
|
Ford Focus 1.6 TDCi 2005 (05 Plate – New Shape), White, 78k miles, 8 x main dealer service stamps & full MOT |
£2100 |
£3250 |
£1150 |
|
BMW 330d Estate 2004 (54 Plate), White, 124k, 12 x main dealer service stamps & full MOT |
£5250 |
£7500 |
£2250 |
|
Skoda Octavia VRS 2002 (52 Plate), Black, 101k miles, 10 x main dealer service stamps & full MOT |
£1850 |
£2750 |
£900 |
|
Mitsubishi Shogun 3.2Di 2004 (04 Plate), White, 88k miles, 9 x main dealer service stamps & full MOT |
£5100 |
£6000 |
£900 |
As you can tell from our selected Deals of the Day there were some real bargains to be had if you have the patience to stick it out through the sea of non-profitable Astras, with just any one of our deals netting the canny re-seller almost £1000 in profit! So if you’re interested in cars or you just like making a healthy profit get down to your next police auction! But please remember; you must be aware that if you plan to buy and sell cars on a regular basis you are required by law to register as a trader complete with trade insurance. Happy bidding!
If you’re interested in finding the details of the ex police auction houses featured in this case study plus a multitude of top wholesalers from every product sector please register with us at WholesaleScout.co.uk
