This is the finding of independent vehicle valuation experts EurotaxGlass’s, which reveals that sales of luxury models have slumped by a quarter in five years.
Large luxury cars now account for a paltry 2.5 per cent of the prestige market as a whole, thereby putting their future existence into doubt.
Manufacturers invest billions in the development of new models and if they are not then bought in sufficient numbers they may not be replaced.
The UK’s large luxury car market is dominated by just four models, the BMW 7 Series, Mercedes S-Class, Audi A8 and Jaguar XJ, sales of which have collectively declined by 25 per cent since 2000.
This is partly because buyers have downsized to prestige models in the class below, including the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class and Audi A6.
The Jaguar XJ has been further hampered by the lack of a diesel engine, which it has only just been fitted with.
Another reason for the shift is the massive move towards large four-by-four models such as the BMW X5, Mercedes M-Class and Porsche Cayenne, with most buyers migrating from large luxury saloons.
Richard Crosthwaite, prestige car editor at EurotaxGlass’s, says that large luxury models are now locked into a vicious circle that could threaten their very existence.
He says that heavy depreciation is putting off buyers of both new and used examples and the resultant slump in sales is generating even higher depreciation.
This is in stark contrast to most other prestige car sectors which have seen unprecedented growth in registrations coupled with unrivalled stability of residual values.
The prestige car market as a whole has grown very strongly and is up by more than 50 per cent in the last five years.
However, whilst in 2004 the average trade value of a one-year-old, 12,000-mile luxury car was 67 per cent of its original list price, today that has fallen to just 57 per cent. This compares with 70 per cent retained value for the typical large prestige saloon such as a BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 or Mercedes E-Class.
The figures for prestige SUVs such as the Mercedes M-Class and BMW X5 are even more impressive at 73 per cent of their original value after one year.
Mr Crosthwaite adds: “A number of factors have contributed to the decline of the luxury car over recent years.
“There is much more choice in the market than ever before and many traditional luxury car buyers are migrating to prestige SUVs and niche coupe models.
“We are also seeing more affordable new luxury cars from the likes of Aston Martin.
“The traditional big saloon is not considered as desirable as it once was because it has higher running costs and buyers are becoming more aware of the high levels of depreciation.
“Vehicles such as the Mercedes E-Class now offer the space that buyers need but the initial outlay and running costs are less and the residual values are higher.”
]]>AnswerNo, you are not legally obliged to secure your dog during car journeys. But what you need to remember is if you don’t you might damage him or he might damage you.
In the event of an accident, an unrestrained animal travelling in the back seat of a car will be propelled forward with the force of a Napoleonic cannonball – or even worse than that depending on the size of the dog. If the dog makes contact with a front seat passenger it could cause untold damage to both parties.
There are a number of pet harnesses and other safety devices on the market which will properly protect you and your pet.
There have been odd instances of accidents where emergency services have difficulty attending to injured motorists as an unrestrained dog is protecting its ‘master’.
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AMERICAN sports bike maker Buell has launched a new brochure featuring over 50 clothing and accessory items designed to complement its machines.
Leathers, body armour, rainwear and casual clothes are all featured with custom graphics as well as a wide range of accessories including a black tinted wind deflector for the Firebolt XB9R as well as a race competition graphics package which offers classic track-inspired livery for the Firebolt’s bodywork and frame.
There’s also a host of bespoke accessories for owners of the Lightning XB9S, the X1 Lightning and M2 Cyclone to choose from. Buell’s European stunt champion Craig Jones (pictured) helped launch the new brochure which is available from Buell dealerships.
First published Thursday 19th Jun 2003
]]>Of course, the congestion is not actually getting any better and I don’t know about you, but my budget won’t run to the latest hybrid or bio-fuel trickery. So if we are going to live in or visit a city in the future, we are either going to pay heavily for it or have to drive something small.
Until recently, assuming you don’t want a Fiesta, this meant spending a large amount of money on a tiny but trendy new car. But trendy city cars are now widely available on the used car market.
Audi A2 (2000-present)
The least kooky design here, this is a high quality small hatchback, which was overpriced new but is now becoming very affordable. It is safe, well built and different. The only drawback is the rice to repair and get serviced.
Most economical: 1.4Tdi which does 67.3mpg
Best used buy: 1.4 SE offers good economy (47mpg and good specification).
UsedCarExpert.com faults to check for: 10
Price: A year 2000 1.4 Tdi with 70,000 miles will be around £4,650 at a dealer.
Mercedes-Benz A-Class (1998-2004)
Here is a practical city car but you still pay extra for the badge. It is surprisingly spacious yet also easy to park. The longer models from 2001 are the most sought after and to protect re-sale value it is best to avoid basic specifications.
Most economical: A170 Cdi – 56.6mpg
Best used buy: A160 Elegance
UsedCarExpert.com faults to check for: 9
Price: A year 2000 A170 Cdi with 70,000 miles will be around £4,700 at a dealer.
Smart City / ForTwo (2000-present)
This is the car that makes the biggest statement about you. It is clever, economical and becoming cheap with time. Early left hand drive examples now make bargain buys. You pay more for cabrio and the post-2002 versions as they were improved.
Most economical: 57.6mpg
Best used buy: Passion
UsedCarExpert.com faults to check for: 12
Price: A year 2000 Passion with 70,000 miles will be around £2,300 at a dealer.
]]>This is one of the findings of the Government’s latest survey of vehicle use in the UK, which reveals a general decline in car use in line with increasing congestion.
It supports claims that more of us are switching to buses for journeys where bus lanes make travelling quicker than using our own cars.
The Department for Transport has published National Statistics on Traffic in Great Britain for the fourth quarter of 2007 and for 2007 as a whole.
The figures indicate that estimated traffic levels fell by 0.9 per cent between the fourth quarters of 2006 and 2007. Comparing the whole of 2007 with 2006, traffic is provisionally estimated to have increased by 0.6 per cent.
It shows that between the fourth quarters of 2006 and 2007 car traffic decreased by three per cent, van traffic increased by ten per cent and heavy goods vehicle traffic increased by three per cent.
Traffic on motorways and rural A roads was unchanged, traffic on minor rural roads increased by one per cent and traffic on urban A roads and minor urban roads fell by three per cent and two per cent respectively.
Cars account for virtually 80 per cent of all vehicles, light vans make up 14 per cent, goods vehicles six per cent and other vehicles such as buses two per cent.
The average vehicle delay on the slowest ten per cent of journeys rose from 3.78 to 4.05 minutes per ten miles. The average journey time on these routes rose from 13.4 to 13.7 minutes per ten miles.
The quarterly estimates are based mainly on data from 190 automatic traffic counter sites and 10,000 manual counts, combined with road lengths.
]]>Many have stored their vans until the caravanning season traditionally starts in spring. For some it is a case of out of sight, out of mind.
Now CRIS, the Caravan Registration and Identification Scheme, is urging owners to keep thieves at bay by ensuring they have adequate security.
Caravan theft is now big business, with some models worth more than £20,000. CRIS advises that security is of most importance during the winter because stored caravans are an open invitation to thieves.
CRIS spokesman Simon Walker says: “Although many people think that their driveway is the safest place for the caravan, it is just as likely to be stolen from there as anywhere else. Owners need to take as many security precautions as possible. Wheel clamps and quality hitchlocks are essential to thwart the opportunist thief, although even these measures are not always effective against the more determined criminal.
“Owners may also consider taking their caravan to a Caravan Storage Site Owners’ Association- approved storage site. These sites offer enhanced security, with floodlights, guards, fences and CCTV.”
All UK caravans manufactured since 1997 have a “hidden extra” to help police return stolen caravans to their rightful owners. A microchip containing the Vehicle Identification Number is supplied by CRIS and built into the bodywork of the caravan.
Using special handheld scanners, police can check the electronic tags and verify the VIN with CRIS.
Mr Walker says: “CRIS registration provides caravan owners with peace of mind, knowing that it can be traced back to them if it does get stolen. Nothing is foolproof, but there is much that people can do to help keep their caravan in good condition and the thieves at bay.”
CRIS offers the following winter security tips:
Before buying a caravan always check with CRIS first to ensure that the seller is the registered keeper. The CRIS Check costs £9.95 and will also tell you if the caravan has outstanding finance recorded against it, been written-off by an insurance company and whether it is currently recorded as stolen.
The National Caravan Council (NCC) and HPI established CRIS in 1992, to provide touring caravan keepers with an organised national registration system, similar to the DVLA for cars. CRIS has 250,000 touring caravans registered and records of 100,000 changes of ownership. Details are held of more than 10,000 stolen caravans.
]]>Due to come into force in January, it will amount to a 52 per cent rise in the registration fee, which was introduced as a new revenue-raiser just five years ago.
An addition to all of the other taxes associated with buying a new car, including 17.5 per cent VAT, the first registration fee was set at £25 in 1998. With an average of two million new cars registered every year, this amounts to a £50 million windfall for the Treasury.
Now this fee is to be arbitrarily raised to £38 per vehicle, amounting to a further £26 million a year from new car buyers bringing the total to £76 million.
The huge tax hike has incensed the normally-restrained Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders.
The organisation says it is a case of penalising law-abiding consumers for the Government’s failure to crackdown on crime, with an estimated 1.75 million untaxed cars a year.
SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan says: “There is simply no justification to increase this fee by up to 52 per cent for buyers of new cars and commercial vehicles. The truth is that 1.75 million car owners fail to pay their duty each year and it appears that this is a back-door way of recovering the money.
“At a time when new car prices have fallen by up to 20 per cent and the car market is under considerable pressure, it is outrageous that a tax hike of this kind has been approved.”
A Treasury spokesperson said it is a matter for the Department of Transport, whose spokesperson said it is a matter for the Treasury.
]]>Initially they were due to end in spring, then summer and then autumn, and now the company says they will definitely finish at the end of November.
In reality, the cashback cost of the cars is now so well established that it is really the list price, although punters prefer to think they are grabbing a bargain.
It means that a sporty family model such as the C5 VTR is available for just £12,500, which is a lot of metal for the money.
By way of comparison, a Nissan Primera 1.8i SVE is £17,000, as is the equivalent Toyota Avensis 1.8 T4.
The same offer applies to the slow selling C8 automatic models, meaning that buyers can now get an auto version for less than a manual.
To make way for the 2004 Xsara range, there are big discounts on Xsara LX and SX models. Equipped with anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, a CD Player and four airbags, the 1.4i LX is just £8,495.
The Xsara Picasso Desire now comes with a £3,000 cashback, meaning that the range now starts from £10,795.
Citroen has also lopped £1,800 off the price of its new C3 supermini models, but only those without anti-lock brakes, which are now standard across the range. Without this important safety feature the cars will be worth proportionately less when it is time to sell.
Even the new C2 city car gets a £500 cashback on LX and SX models and there is the last chance to get a Saxo, with official list prices from £5,800, although dealers will probably take less.
]]>The pair, who were involved in the design and development of supercars such as the McLaren F1 and Mercedes-McLaren SLR have developed what amounts to a road-going Formula 1 racing car.
However, rather than using a hugely powerful engine of 1,000bhp or more, they are using one with less than half that power to achieve the same result.
The key to the car’s performance prowess is its optimum power to weight ratio, as is the case with lightweight pocket rockets such as the Lotus Elise.
The trick is to achieve a power to weight ratio in excess of 1,000bhp per tonne whilst maintaining sufficient weight and strength within the structure to ensure that the car complies with safety regulations and crash worthiness tests for road-going cars.
Designers Ben Scott-Geddes and Graham Halstead say that this is what makes their Freestream T1 project unique in being the world’s first road car to achieve this.
They say that the car is more than a mere concept, with the 2.4-litre supercharged V8 engine and six-speed sequential transmission achieving F1-style acceleration from standstill to 100mph in just five seconds.
The top speed is in excess of 200mph and the car can stick to the road through corners with lateral forces reaching 3G.
Mr Scott-Geddes, says: “The only way to truly convince car makers that we have the experience and skills to design and engineer a safe, reliable, cost-efficient high-performance car is to actually design and build one.
“There is a global market for an exclusive, ultra-high performance track car that can also be used on the road.
“Customers for the car will either be private individuals with a passion for high performance sports cars or corporate clients requiring an affordable yet prestigious track car for the fast growing market of hospitality race experience events.”
The carbon and aluminium honeycomb monocoque features a separate composite crash structure at the front, while the rear sub-frame uses aerospace grade steel.
If the car goes into small-scale production it is expected to carry a price tag of £150,000.
]]>Those were among the more revealing answers to a Glovebox Secrets poll among drivers quizzed by an internet motoring magazine.
Sunglasses were the most popular item kept in the glovebox according to the survey, but other answers were more bizarre.
Nick Fletcher, roadtests.co.uk’s associate editor says: “We expected fairly normal items to be listed, and most people did indeed say they keep sweets, maps or pens in the glovebox of their car. But not everyone – some of those polled came up with some much more unusual things.
“One woman always kept packs of dog food to feed any foxes she spotted and another said she never travelled any where without a pair of what she described as ‘emergency knickers’ in the glovebox. But the most amazing answer was from a man who said he kept a pet snake in his car. Our researcher thought he was joking, but he opened the glovebox and showed him a small python curled up asleep.”
The six most common items carried in the glovebox are: sunglasses; sweets/chocolate; a pen; roadmaps; loose change; tapes or CDs.
Ironically, the quiz failed to find a single person who actually kept a pair of gloves in the glovebox.
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