And it is celebrating with a sale of more than 400 convertibles from Lex Autolease at Manheim Auctions, Bruntingthorpe.

The convertibles include models from Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Porsche, Volkswagen and Volvo.

Manheim reckons that with convertibles accounting for only about 4% of all new car sales in the UK over the last five years, the number of second-hand convertibles is low, with three to four-year-old ex-fleet models even rarer – accounting for one in five of used sales.

Wholesale values for convertible models over the last year have risen in line with the market and the latest analysis of the market performance in Q1 2010 compared with Q1 2009 shows that although the average value of a convertible increased by just £139 to £8,249 during the period, the average age has increased by more than a year to 66 months while average mileage has risen by 9,000 miles to 47,875.

Mike Pilkington, managing director, Manheim Remarketing, said: ‘The wholesale market for convertibles swings into action now, with some fleets releasing vehicles into the market after storing them during the winter months. While convertibles from manufacturers such as Ford, Peugeot, Vauxhall and Volkswagen are usually readily available, motor trade buyers often struggle to find quality, fleet profile convertibles from manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and MINI.’

The auction, which is open to the general public, starts at 11.00am at Manheim Auctions, Bruntingthorpe.