hi all

when i got my td4 my mate had just bought his ford galaxy - bus.

at that time our cars had a similar vale ( according to parkers)
now checking on parkers i see that his car is worth more than mine.

does any one who works in the trade know the answer to this?

Not in the trade but I can tell you from doing a bit of research into this that 4x4 values are falling faster than anyother class of motor vehicle. Partly because of rising fuel cost, partly because of bad publicity (co2, london charging, taxbanding etc) But mainly because of over capacity It seems the market is awash with 2nd hand 4x4's of all makes and models.

when i got the td4 i valued it using the wisebuyers web site, its in very good condition and i got it at the value of one midway between poor and top nick.

so i was really shocked when io checked on the same site to see how much the value had fallen in 12 months, now my mates same reg galaxy ghia is worth more.

IT dunt boffer me wot ma vehickle is worf. . . .as long as it starts un can carry my whares , i bought it ,to skid through mud ,good on motorway ,not a bad mpg fer er 4x4. . . . .lets face it the gaylander is the best in its class [no doubt of that]. . .it int a deepender , but fer on /off road ,its the bee's knee's,if yer bofferd bout wot its worth , then youve lost the plot, dunt hear the tratter boys worrin bout the cost er their beloveds [only the cost er the next gearbox] reet i'm orft ta pub. . .

It's always up and down with a sectors of cars depending on lots of factors (fuel costs, tax, image, time of year, supply, etc). 4x4s have taken a bigger dip in the last couple of months than other sectors but prior to this have been very strong despite all the affecting conditions. The big factors causing the recent drop are the psycologically bad £1.00 per litre looming but more so the number of used 4x4s traded in at the new September registration change. This has caused an oversupply which will fade out once the weather starts to turn to winter which is when 4x4 sales traditionally pickup.

Interestingly, early new reg figures from the trade are showing that 4x4 sales (small SUVs anyway) have been very strong this September and this bodes well for 4x4 demand - and therefore prices - once the oversupply has been mopped up over the next couple of months.

Cheers

Rog