The United Kingdom's leading car insurance retailer, Swinton, has recently done some research into the average age of the typical car on UK roads.
According to the 2011 Used Car Market Report, a BCA publication, used car sales increased by 270,000 during the course of last year. This follows a pattern that started some time ago and Swinton does not see an end to the trend any time soon. The company says it is mainly due to new cars getting too expensive for the average buyer and the unwillingness of people who don't have job security to get caught up in long-term debt.
Swinton also says that during 2011 there was a 5% increase in the number of car insurance policies sold for vehicles aged between 10 and 17 years compared to the previous year. This figure, the company says, will in all likelihood increase during 2012.
Swinton in fact predicts that by the end of this year there will be a 24.5% increase in the number of car insurance policies sold for cars that are between 10 and 18 years old.
Swinton's Claims Manager, Steve Chelton, said: "More motorists are opting for used cars as it seems to be a cheaper alternative. In this current climate, people can not afford to pay for new cars in full or they do not want to be tied into a finance deal."