Dealers should take notice of recent findings by BCA, which reports that fleet vendors using its Smart Prepared pre-sale preparation programme are attracting significantly stronger bidding for their cars.

Ron Hope, European director of BCA Smart Prepared Operations, said: “Not only are cars selling first time, there is also an excellent return for the vendor in the shape of retained residual value against the cost of preparation, currently exceeding 3:1.”

He added: “We have conducted research among a sample of motor trade buyers on the main factors that influenced price in the used car market. While specification remains the strongest price indicator, presentation is the next important factor.”