Bargain hunting? Be quick about it

Yes, Jaguar, GM, Ford et al may be worried but Arthur Daley can nip off down to Primark for a new Crombie.
Low-level new car sales is the main reason used prices will stabilised with less trade-in metal on the market.
Adrian Rushmore, managing editor at Glasses' said something about this but, frankly, I couldn't understand what he was on about. You try: "During the late spring of 2008 used car demand was starting to decline, and yet new car registrations simultaneously hit a three-year high, buoyed by sales to fleets who had not yet suffered the ill effects of the downturn.
"This meant the new and used car markets were running at different speeds, with used car demand totally out of step with the growth in supply. As a result prices fell at a faster rate than at any time in living memory, far surpassing the decline of the early '90s."
Such a severe mismatch of supply and demand is unlikely to be repeated in 2009, he suggests: "The fall in new car sales since last September has, to some extent, addressed the imbalance seen last year. While new car sales remain at a low level, the supply of used cars entering the market will be more manageable, with fewer adverse effects on residual values."
While values are expected to be less unstable in 2009, a tangible improvement in demand is not anticipated. "Demand will remain lacklustre for much of the year. Prices for used cars have not yet hit rock bottom and are likely to continue on a downward path for much of 2009," Rushmore concludes.
I would bet 4x4 prices remain low, especially with the government's exciting new initiative of executing anyone who drives one.
One word of warning. Although competition will be tight, don't expect and freebies Be especially aware of high street voucher offers. Especially for Woollies and Zavi.