Used car prices continue to rise

Turners Auctions chief executive Graham Roberts. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Prices for used cars sold by Turners Auctions continued to rise in the first quarter of 2011, latest figures from the company show.

Turners Auctions chief operating officer Todd Hunter said a steady rise in the price of used cars in the past four months was due to pressure on supply.

"Stock levels were tight at the beginning of the year and demand has increased this quarter as people begin to replace some of the 750 vehicles lost in the Christchurch earthquake," Hunter said today.

The upward trend was expected to continue as the impact of the March Japanese earthquake filtered through.

"This data does not yet show the impact of the Japanese earthquake. We expect prices for used cars to remain strong in the second half of the year as supply is put under pressure by the reduction in the number of Japanese imports available to the New Zealand market," Hunter said.

Turners Auctions said prices had risen for vehicles of all engine sizes.

The trend was most pronounced in mid-sized engine vehicles, where figures had bucked a consistent downward trend and prices were now at their strongest in 12 months.

- NZPA