With rising numbers of used vans reaching the used market, BCA Blackbushe established record sold figures on February 2, when the centre staged the biggest LCV sale ever held in the BCA group.

The Blackbushe centre offered nearly 700 vans in one day for the first time, as buyers turned out in force, with competitive bidding in-lane and via BCA Live Online.  A total of 540 vans were sold, beating the previous high point established in April 2016.

Vehicles sold on the day ranged from late year, low mileage models, through to hard-worked, older, high mileage examples, with stock entered by all the familiar brand names from the fleet, lease, rental, finance, local authority and dealer sectors.

BCA’s LCV operations director Duncan Ward said: “Buyer demand remains firm, but with greater choice we have seen an element of cherry-picking and the development of a two-tier market. 

“Typically, the best presented and specified vans outperform the market by some margin, with plenty of interest for any vehicles with an unusual configuration or special equipment.

“In contrast, higher mileage or damaged examples needed to be realistically valued to attract attention from the buyers. 

“Short-term influxes of similar models can also impact demand and vendors should work closely with their remarketing partner to manage stock sensibly back into the market. It underlines the importance of appraising and valuing vehicles sensibly and in line with market expectations. ”