Cabrio price dip

By Ross Pinnock

07th October 2007

That’s the verdict from trade bible Glass’s Guide. Values for drop-tops failed to reach their usual summer peak this year, and the experts at Glass’s warn the seasonal drop in the winter could see prices plummet.

Managing editor Adrian Rushmore told Auto Express: “This has been the worst year in living memory for used convertible values. From May to July 2006, prices rose by up to 10 per cent, but a combination of factors has led values to remain static during the same period this year.”

The major reason for this shift is a marked increase in supply. “A substantial number of additional three-year-old exam­ples will have reached the second-hand market during 2007,” Rushmore added. The number of new cabrio models buyers can choose from has also rocketed from 377 variants in 2003 to 531 by 2006 – that’s a rise of more than 40 per cent.

However, this summer’s poor weather hasn’t been a major factor. According to Rushmore, many dealers have been report­ing the same level of demand for cabrios this year as they have in the past. “The increase in supply of cars has meant buyers of these models now have more choice than ever, so we haven’t seen the seasonal hike in prices which has become an estab­lished feature of the market,” he said.

Meanwhile, Glass’s has relaunched its www.glass.co.uk website, which provides motorists with valuation reports. The new page is easier to use, and even lets drivers compare models from different marques.