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Our disposable income is being squeezed more than ever in recent months. While it is hard to ignore the eyewatering price increases at the pumps, skyrocketing car asking prices are not so obvious, unless you are either a trader, or a serial car swapper. The reasons are manifold, politics included. Often forgotten, however, is that the race to develop currently unprofitable electric vehicles has pressured mainstream manufacturers to increase prices of their internal combustion-engined offerings.
Furthermore, production shortages, caused by the difficulty in sourcing parts (semiconductor chips especially), have also led to market forces taking over, stoking price increases.
The situation trickles into the used car arena. Auto Trader reports that some three-year-old models are selling for over 60% more now than two years ago. With demand remaining high and supply being low, there is little chance of the situation abating before the end of this year. Unsurprisingly, auction prices are also up. Even at the bottom end of the market, scrap prices are buoyant and it is increasingly difficult to source a reasonable, roadworthy ‘banger’ for under £1000.
Snapping-up salvage
While used car auctions can offer a viable way of saving money, salvage auctions offer even greater potential for the more hands-on car owner. These auctions are moving to an online model, especially post-COVID, meaning that you can bag a bargain from the comfort of your home.
Our partner for this feature proclaims itself as the UK’s leading online salvage platform, home to thousands of damagerepairable vehicles from a range of nationwide suppliers. It is not hard to see why. SYNETIQ was born a little over three years ago from not just a merger between Motorhog of Doncaster, Car Transplants of Cheshire and Foreign Auto Breakers of Gloucester but also DH Systems of Edinburgh. This is relevant, because the Scottish IT specialist was also responsible for writing the online salvage auction platform for all three organisations. Today, SYNETIQ operates salvage yards all over the UK but its online platform brings them all
