In its latest editorial, the firm said: ‘There are a number of factors to take into account when trying to justify the reasons for this: the increased new car sales activity of September spills over into October, creating what can be perceived as an artificially buoyant month for trade activity. This tails off very quickly and fuels the downturn in the market.

‘A lot of part-exchange vehicles are still sat around unsold as we move into November, which limits re stocking. Buyers are now starting to focus on the imminent festive season, which historically restricts spending towards the latter part of the year.

‘The auction halls are certainly a lot quieter than only four or five weeks ago. The lack of buyers and bids has certainly not gone unnoticed by dealer groups who use the auctions for trade disposals. They are now being very cautious once again when valuing a non-retail part exchange in order to get their money back at auction.’

VIPDATA said nearly-new Corsa, Fiesta, Astra and Focus along with mid-size MPVs are still selling but at a reduced price when compared to only a few weeks ago, and adds that ready-to-retail condition is the key.

Its editorial continues: ‘The prestige models over £15,000 such as 5 Series and A6 have slowed along with the trend. These models remain very specification and colour-sensitive and must be in tip-top condition to achieve bids.’

Throughout the remainder of 2011 VIPDATA predicts an average drop in the used car market of around 8% due to the usual season factors. For November it has dropped prices by 3 to 4% on average, although 4×4 values have remained consistent due to the imminent rise in demand.