Time to buy a luxury car?

The credit crunch has done no favours for anyone and the automotive sector has suffered more so than any other industry. High value goods are the last thing on any person or businesses list. However, the surge in used car purchases coupled with reductions in late plate cars has seen the used car valuation crash of the end of 2008 has been replaced with rising used car values as we see a growing drought of second hand cars.

However, this has still not been felt at the prestige and luxury ends of the market. People still find it difficult to spend £60000 plus on a specialist car given the current climate and as such there is a growing number of used prestige luxury cars in the market as people try to liquidate the assets.

Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, Bentley, Maserati and Ferrari have seen a growing used market and consumers can grab a bargain. This is the best time to buy a car like this, they’re cheaper than ever for example a £75000 Bentley can now be bought for £10000 less! A stunning saving.

And it won’t be long before prices return again. As new sales continue to reduce and used sales grow and the recession subsides people will want their luxury prestige sports cars. We predict it’s only 6 to 9 months away!!

Filed under: General Buyers Advice, Motoring Issues

Jaguar Land Rover calls for Government Help

Jaguar Land Rover wants to tap the UK government’s £2.3 billion funding package for vehicle manufacturers to the tune of £781 million to prevent ‘devastating’ damage to the company.

A few days ago the company said it had already applied to the European Investment Bank for £281m in loans – the cash is part of the overall package arrangement.
India’s Tata Group, which owns JLR, has now warned the government that it needs another £500m or further job cuts are inevitable.
Tata Group boss Ratan Tata is reported to have said: “If funds are not available, a company will not be able to run. So lay-offs will take place, redundancies will take place or in some cases, as has already happened in the UK, not with us, plants have been closed.”

In criticising the government for failing to provide cash help when first requested weeks ago, he added: “If the attitude is to see who blinks first, then the damage is going to be quite devastating. We are not coming for a bailout.”
The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform responded by saying that the ‘primary responsibility’ for funding JLR rested with Tata.

A spokesman added: “The Government continues to have discussions with JLR over its long-term business plans.” (The Times/Daily Mail)

Filed under: Jaguar, Land Rover, Motoring Issues

Pay-as-you-go Driving- Government in Talks

At a time when fuel prices are on every one minds as well as the cost of road tax and all the other inflationary price rises, talk of pay as you go road usage has been met with guarded opinion.

The Government has reopened discussions on this subject with the view trialling black box technology in 100 vehicles in Leeds, Milton Keynes, Essex and South West London.

In principle, this would mean that drivers would pay on a weekly or monthly basis dependent on their movements which would be tracked by satellite. This concept alone has also been cause for concern.

Filed under: Motoring Issues

What is my car worth?

The credit crunch has hit and the economic crisis is worsening! Well believe the media hype or not there has been a distinct impact on the worldwide automotive market. Unfortunately there we have suffered from an initial impact of pending recession by certain trade pricing companies exacting a negative impact of used car values.

The fact of the matter is, this does not only have an unnecessary impact on used car pricing but also wipes £1000′s off of dealers balance sheets. On the more positive side, money is cheap to borrow again if you can get it and from a simple cost of asset point of view – a used car is much better news than a new one.

So what is your car worth or what should you being paying? The reality is that a lot of the guides are out of bed and valuing outside of what is actually happening in the market. Good used cars are fewer and further between mainly because people are replacing their pending new car purchase with a new used car.

So when you hear about Bentley‘s and Aston Martin’s dropping tens of thousands of pounds – take heart – no one is buying new ones at the moment so in 12 month to 24 months time there will be less in the market and your car will sell at premium.

Want to know what your car is really worth or advice on when to sell, why not email us at info@prestige-car-sales.com

Filed under: General Buyers Advice, Motoring Issues

Weak Pound makes for bargain cars for Europe…

With the British pound as weak as it is as the moment UK cars and vans make a seriously attractive propostion to our Euro wielding neighbours. Ok you need to be able to put up with a right hand drive car but the potential savings are massive. In the last 4 of 5 months alone interest from Southern Irish buyers has grown massively and in a difficult car sales market being able to buy a car either cheaper or at a price advantage is a major plus point for both private buyers and the trade.

In simple terms you can really feel the benefit in buying prestige product. The higher price tag means that the savings are greater in percentage terms particularly in the smaller EU countries. There has been a marked increase from the spanish islands and Malta to name but a few and especially Cyrus, who drive right hand drive cars are reaping the benefits.

Filed under: General Buyers Advice, Motoring Issues