Residual values in the UK fell by 6.5% in the Year 2000 according to the latest EurotaxGlass's European Used Car Residual Price Index, published by eurocarprice.com.

But British motorists are better off than those in Belgium who have seen their car drop in value by an average of 7.2% in the same period. However, in Holland and Spain residuals have rose by 1.9%.

The EurotaxGlass's Index, which tracks second hand car values in 13 European countries, including western Europe's largest new car markets, saw second hand values fall on average by 2.3% in 2000.

The index also shows individual models' second hand values. These vary from the Renault Megane and Fiat Punto, which have fallen in value by 7.8% and 9.2% respectively, to the Fiat Brava and Volkswagen Golf that have appreciated by 4.8% and 0.9% during 2000.

All market segments have been affected by a reduction in residual values, but the largest drops have been in the large SUV (6.2%) and Sports Coupe (4.2%) segments. The mini and executive segments also fell by 5% and 4.4%.

The index shows the UK has the highest overall residual values, mainly due to the strength of sterling, closely followed by Portugal.

Paul Jarvis, Glass's Information Services managing director, said: “The changes in the UK are linked to many factors such as availability, customer demand and time of the year. They are also closely linked to new car 'transaction prices'.

“They have been falling for many months in response to customer pressure and any further reductions will put additional downward pressure on used car values in the UK.”

Average European residual value trends in 2000 by country
Austria - +1.6%
Belgium - -7.2%
France - -1.0%
Germany - -2.1%
Netherlands - +1.9%
Portugal - -7.0%
Spain - +1.9%
Great Britain - -6.5%
Italy - +0.6%
Switzerland - +1.6%

Average European residual values changes by model in 2000
Fiat Punto: -9.2%
Ford Fiesta: -3.0%
Nissan Micra: -7.7%
Renault Clio: -1.9%
Renault Megane: -7.8%
VW Golf: +0.9%
Audi A4: -5.2%
Ford Mondeo: -3.2%
Opel Vectra: -2.8%
BMW 5 series: -4.5%
Mercedes E-Class: -6.4%