The wildly successful UK scrappage scheme officially ended in March. What does this mean for consumers? Well, for one thing it means that new cars and trucks will be two thousand pounds pricier than they were before. We also know that automakers have increased their prices due to the weakness of the pound. It is only a matter of time before the dealerships do the same. Not surprisingly, industry insiders are predicting a rough road ahead for the new car market. Fortunately for consumers there are still used cars to consider. In fact, the market for secondhand cars has been on the rise even without the aid of a government program. According to the latest report, the market was up by six percent in 2009. Why do consumers prefer used cars? The first and most obvious reason is that they are cheaper cars. This is due to the fact that new vehicles depreciate at an alarming rate. On average, they lose about half of their value in the first three years of ownership. Perhaps that is why used cars outsell them 3-to-1. But it wasn't always this way. There was a time when secondhand cars were considered a gamble, since there was no buyer protection. For instance, if you bought a vehicle that broke down a mile from the dealership, you were responsible for all repairs. Fortunately, used cars dealers finally started offering warranties, which gave buyers some protection against the dreaded lemon. It also meant that dealerships were forced to test each and every vehicle, since they did not want to pay for future repairs.
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