Small Businesses to benefit from Glut of used Vans

According to Alex Wright, MD of Shoreham Vehicle Auctions, the number of new businesses that are on the lookout for a used van will mop up the large numbers of vans being released onto the market by the large fleets.

There have been a number of business failures, plus the pulling out of the market by TLS van hire.

This makes it a prime time to be buying two or three year old vans – even Mercedes-Benz Sprinters.  Wright says, "In early 2009 the new and used van market collapsed because reduced lines of credit immediately prevented van dealers stocking large amounts of vans. Any stock they did have they had to sell quickly, often at a reduced price to reduce their gearing. This damaged the used market for quite some time and was one of the major reasons behind the dip in market prices."

Now van dealers can get finance for the right people and the dealers can themselves afford to maintain stocks of vans.  Where demand has been slow over the previous two years, these businesses now have to buy a van.

Wright continues, "The current strong demand created for used van stock will push 2011 prices to some of the highest ‘percentage of cost new' we will ever see. The demand will be strong enough to force end users such as SMEs back to seriously considering buying new vehicles again."

It seems that, despite the rise in VAT, the used van market is set for a healthy 2011, supported by an improving new van market.  Most van buyers are registered for VAT so the increases will not effect the decision whether to buy their van or not.