October and November have seen a 'vast improvement' in used car buyer activity, says Manheim Auctions.

The number of cars for auction has increased following the new car registration surge in the fleet and business markets, which saw a 9.2% and 49.5% rise in October.

John Bailey, Manheim Auctions chief executive and managing director, said: “Many of our centres are reporting more buyer interest, indicating that dealers are experiencing or expecting to see an increase in sales. Vehicles that have struggled to sell during the past three/four weeks are now being sold at slightly better bids. The general feeling at the auction halls is that buyers are stocking up for now and the New Year.”

What has also helped the market, the company says, is many vendors reassessing their reserves and re-appraissing their vehicles in an effort to move them on.

“If more and more vendors adopted the idea of re-appraissing their not-solds on a weekly basis and looked at their reserves in relation to their current market values, they would find their flow of stock would be more fluid,” said Mr Bailey.