What's you personal experience to back this statement up? I've had a Maserati Ghibli and BMW M3. At end of lease both went to a central auctions. One BCA and one Mannheim. I've also had a Scirocco that went to BCA auction in Newcastle and ended up as an approved used car at VW in Edinburgh. Also had a Mk2 TT when they first came out. At two years old that also went to BCA Newcastle.
So I can only go with my own experience but four lease cars all going to auction before hitting dealers and two of them being fairly exotic, cant be coincidence, surely?
I supply to the motor trade and have friends and colleagues that work in this field. It is a subject that comes up a lot in conversations and most recently with the Buying Manager of a large main dealer group, who purchased my RS6 from me last year.
Dealers will pay reasonable money for:
1. In demand stock.
2. Usually under 2 years old but up to 3 for selected higher end models. Independent garages will take older stock
3. Excellent original condition. They don't like panel repairs. Independent garages are not as fussy.
4. Original and unmodified.
5. Sound history including service.
I went to collect a low mileage 3 year old 335D Xdrive blind from a known independent last year only to discover that the front and rear had been poorly repaired - orange peel, barely any lacquer. They got it from an auction. They refunded my deposit and I drove home disappointed.
I am sure that many cars slip through the net and some lease companies are lazy and cars end up straight to auction but from what I have been told in the trade - models that are in demand (i.e. customers are paying good money for) seldom end up at auction unless they fail on points 2,3 or 4.
The person that took my RS6 also pointed out that unlike with BMW M cars, there aren't many deals to be had on leases with RS models. Most end up on PCP and come back through the dealer network and either put back on the forecourt or offered to independent garages they have relationships with. The point being that in many cases, any RS that ends up at auction is likely there because it has failed on one or more criteria with regards to condition or history.
My partner purchased a 40 month old 23k mile 2.0 TDI A4 from an independent in Croydon last year. It was an ex business lease, dealer supplied car that sat on the forecourt for 3 month unsold so it was offered to them.