Used car buyers set to cash in three years after finance bonanza

New car sales reached a record-high in 2016 with an estimated 86% bought on finance contracts, the most common of which were three-year Personal Contract Purchase and Personal Contract Hire plans.

This means that many of the 2,692,786 vehicles registered in 2016 will be hitting the used car market in 2019, offering savvy buyers the opportunity to find a great deal on the forecourts.

Indeed, the CarGurus motoring web site reports a surge in dealership stock of good condition, low-mileage, three-year-old cars.

“While 2016 proved to be the year of the new car, 2019 could be very much the year of the used car with a vast swathe of ex-finance contract vehicles heading back into dealer stock” Chris Knapman, the Editor of CarGurus UK, said.  “Buying a three-year-old car now makes sense as there will be a consistent turnover of high-quality vehicles that are being returned or traded in by their original owners at the end of PCP contracts.

“The bonus of buying ex-finance vehicles is they are often well-maintained with comparatively low mileage because of the finance contract terms and conditions.”