News Story

Poor repair work can affect part exchange rates

Tuesday, 23 Sep 2008 10:32

Poor repair work could lead to your car's part exchange value plummeting

Manheim Auctions has stressed today that people should be wary of shoddy repair work being done on their cars, which could seriously affet later part exchange values.

For example, broken windscreens devalue cars by between £100 to £300, cracked headlights at £75 to £150, whilst serious damage to alloy wheels could mean as much as £50 to £150 per wheel knocked off the value.

Interestingly, poorly repaired previous accident damage was also a real turn-off, affecting the value by up to £250 per panel. Interior condition is also much more in the spotlight, with badly worn carpets and front seat upholstery both affecting values by between £100 and £350.

As well as vehicle condition, a typical three year old car lacking full documentation is being hit very hard, with as much as £200 to £500 being knocked off values for no service history and £200 to £300 for missing V5s.

Expired MOTs are also really bad news, with the cost being put at between £150 and £300.

Mike Pilkington, managing director at Manheim auctions and remarketing, said: "Apart from general consumer concerns over car running costs, the credit crunch is restricting the number of potential retail buyers in the market.

"This, coupled with the contraction of the sub-prime finance sector, is making trade buyers more conscious of preparation and stocking costs.

"Vehicles in poor condition are much harder to retail and there is not the appetite to take them into stock, unless the price reflects it.

"As the tough market continues I think that there is little prospect of trade buyers not coming down hard on damaged or missing items for the foreseeable future."