COVID 19 the effect of vehicle values
Watch the February COVID-19 webinar here As we close February, our team of experts reflected on the second full month of Lockdown 3 and the expected performance in the market following the latest Government announcement regards the roadmap to lift restrictions. Last year’s new car registrations ended at 1.63 million units, which is almost 30% down on last year. Consumer confidence clearly plays a part in this, and whilst most businesses have invested in click-and-collect it’s clear that this isn’t a substitute for showroom visiting for some consumers who are in the market for a new car. With Monday’s announcement that “non-essential retail” will remain closed until early-April suggest that this underperformance is going to continue into next quarter. Fleet sales are also down, again suggesting that confidence is lacking for some businesses, redundancies may be taking their toll and key players in the fleet sector like Rental Companies are holding back purchases due to lack of demand. ICE vehicles continue to decline in share: diesel down 4% and petrol down 6% (this includes mild hybrids). Hybrids too are declining, down from 9,000 units to 7,000, but PHEV and BEV volumes are both continuing to grow, with plug-in vehicles now accounting for 14% of new registrations. In the used car market, the full month of January, when we entered lockdown 3, ended up 45% down on the same month of 2020, so 55% of what we would class as a normal trade sales rates, but February has definitely seen an increase in buying activity. With Lockdown 3 entering its second month, for most retailers, February followed a similar, but slightly improved, pattern to that of January. Enquiry rates and sales were reduced from where they would be in more normal times but, for many at least, ahead of where they predicted as we entered lockdown on 4th January, and certainly ahead of where they were in Lockdown 1. It would be easy to be downbeat about the year-on-year reduction, in what is traditionally one of the most active and fruitful periods of the year for used cars. However, there were always going to be consumers put off by not being able to visit a showroom. Most retailers have held their nerve on advertised and transactional retail prices and as a result margins have increased. Whilst the temptation has been to use “days-in-stock” metrics and reduce in the traditional way, most have held their nerve and only reduced prices selectively. Some MPVs in particular have been adjusted downwards as their popularity continues to wane. It is clear more than ever that as well as holding advertised prices, retailers are also less inclined to negotiate on transactional price than they have been in the past. The majority of wholesale buying in February has been selective – stock in ready-to-retail, cap clean condition has sold, particularly if it was something that set it apart from the norm. Older, particularly premium stock in good condition has been sought after. In January, Live values dropped on average by 1.4% at the 3-year point & February has been similar, as we predicted. With lockdown still in place, we were not expecting a traditional lift in the month. Over the months since June 2020 there has been a marked decline in values of hybrids and electric vehicles compared to petrol and diesel values. This does appear to have stabilised for now, however, with values of all fuel-types dropping by similar average amounts during February. This may well be a temporary respite for these alternatively-fuelled vehicles however, as many still look expensive compared to traditional internal combustion engine equivalent cars. There remains little incentive for the used car buyer and supply levels are only going to increase – demand needs to keep pace or values will drop. Historically, used car values in March can go in either direction, although one consistent picture is that they do not tend to move too much either way. Last year was the exception. This year, demand in the new car market will remain relatively subdued as we remain in lockdown and head through March, as the industry remains online only. There are also supply issues around vehicle parts, particularly semi-conductors, that may well delay new vehicle registrations even when restrictions are lifted. Volumes in the used market are unlikely to increase in the short-term, therefore. We are expecting an increase in consumer demand for both new and used cars when lockdown is eased. It is fair to assume that if sales rates have been at c.65% in the used market, then the c.35% who have not purchased will be likely to do so over the weeks and months following Lockdown being lifted. In the LCV market, performance across the board was running at 104% of CAP average. What we have witnessed from October last year, is that the demand is still there, but the prices that the trade want to pay are not at the same heights as we saw earlier in the year. We may, in fact be seeing a ceiling on what the trade are prepared to pay for used vehicles. Vehicle condition is playing some part in the equation. Many of the sales that we have viewed in the last couple of months have had a higher number of vehicles that are being declared as a non runner with detailed faults, unlike 2020 when they were few and far between. Nevertheless, we are still predicting that the market will be strong going into March. Demand is out there for the right vehicle in the right condition.
KIA XCEED PHEV
Is it a Hatch, is it a five-door Coupe, is it a SUV, in reality, it falls into all of these categories. If it was to be put on a list for an award, I’m not really sure which it should go on, it could even go on the ‘Best Plug-In’, so for now let’s just call it the XCeed. This is the fourth member of the Ceed family and shares the same wheelbase as the Ceed hatchback. The Ceed family has been designed and built in Europe with over 1.3 million sold so far. The Xceed I had on test from KIA UK Press Office was the new PHEV (Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicle) and was the ‘3’ model, powered by a 1.6-litre petrol engine that produces 104bhp, is coupled to a 6-speed DCT automatic gearbox. It accelerates from 0-60mph in 10.4 seconds, and has a top speed of 107mph, where permitted, which is virtually nowhere. But it also has the advantage of also having an electric motor that produces the equivalent of 32bhp, giving it a total of 139bhp, so how does this Plug-In system work? As it says, it is a Plug-In, so guess what, you have to plug it in, but then again, you don’t have to if you don’t want to! I had to use a standard household 3-Pin plug, just inside my front door, as my wall box, that charges a bit quicker, is in my garage and using this box means taking my old Mini out and putting it on the road. Sounds easy, but really not worth all the effort. So the front door option it was, which meant leaving the front door slightly ajar while charging, so couldn’t be done overnight in my personal circumstances. The advertised range when fully charged is 36.6 miles, but after a charge of around three-hours it was fully charged, and showing a 31 mile range. It’s basically a petrol-engine car, but I’d say it’s cleverer than that, it will self-charge itself, for example, when you are slowing down, or going downhill. If you are coasting and don’t need any power, the engine will automatically turn off, so you save fuel and reduce emissions. But if you want to go completely on full electric you can press a button and it will travel purely on the batteries with zero-emissions. I went from Huddersfield to Bicester, mainly on motorways and at maximum motorway speeds, and the XCeed achieved 56mpg, which I thought was a great result for a large petrol-powered car. The KIA XCEED is a good looking car, whether it’s a hatch or SUV, the designers have certainly got the styling just right, but it’s not just the exterior that has appeal, the interior is just as pleasing. Despite the slightly sloping roofline to give it a bit of a Coupe/Sporty look, there is still plenty of headroom for rear seat passengers. The boot is also a good size, even though there are some batteries hidden away, somewhere under the floor. KIA hasn’t forgotten about safety either, with a great long list of standard features, including: Lane Assist, Lane Following Assist, Driver’s Attention Warning, Forward Collision-avoidance Assist, and so the list goes on. KIA has of course, put a load of standard goodies in the car, again the list is long, but do include heated front seats and a heated steering wheel, which are great in winter to keep you feeling cosy and warm. The driving dynamics are not spectacular, it’s not a sports car, and you wouldn’t expect it to be the quickest or best handling car on the road. But where it falls down on driving appeal, it gains on comfort. It’s the sort of car you can sit in for hour after hour, mile after mile. It is such a lovely car to either drive, or be passenger in. This is a good all-round car and does a lot of things so well, especially fuel economy and comfort. I hope it’s one of those cars that makes it on to people’s choice lists because it’s worth a look. This high spec version of the car costs £30,695 in the UK, which does look good value. Martin Ward
COVID 19 the effect of vehicle values
Watch the January COVID-19 webinar here With January in full swing, our team of experts reflected on the outgoing effects of 2020 and looked forward to what 2021 is likely to bring. In the car market, wholesale trade volumes declined steadily from September 2020, until the end of December, following a period of strength as we came out of Lockdown 1. In the first week of January, and firmly in Lockdown 3, volumes were almost 50% back on the first week of last year. In terms of car valuations, December’s value movements and into January, dropped by an average of 6.5%, however, the change was coming with high prices towards the end of 2020 experience a realignment, more towards the natural order of things. Derren compared a number of years directly to show that values today remain favourable compared with many previous years and there are still question marks as to whether 2021 can sustain the high values that are still being experienced over previous years. COVID has thrown up a number of surprises, one of which was the ports sector increasing the most, by 5.1%, of all sectors. The City Cars and Superminis also fared well overall. The weakest sectors were large executive cars and upper medium or the D-sector. In terms of fuel-type, there continues to be a lack of anti-diesel sentiment amongst buyers. Values were helped by lower volumes, although they still make up a high proportion of the data we see, behaving almost exactly as petrol cars. The big story is what happened to alternatively-fuelled vehicles. Pure hybrids saw the heaviest drops last year, down 10.1%, with plug-ins also reducing. It appears that buyers forgot their green credentials when comparing the expense of AFVs compared with ICE equivalents. With incentives in place, electric vehicles started the year off strongly but also dipped away given the currently look and expensive purchase compared with more traditional fuel-types. At the time of writing, retailers are currently reporting business levels to typically be around the 60% of last year. With the announcement that Click & Collect would no longer be allowed in Scotland and it was already banned in Northern Ireland. England & Wales may well follow. So far, values have only dropped by around 0.5% on average in January. For the remainder of this month Derren expects values to continue to drop away, but not by huge amounts. The severity of any drop will depend on Click & Collect. Value movements in the next few weeks and months are very dependent on how long this lockdown lasts for. For LCVs, 2020 finished 11% down in sold volume compared to the previous year, and with high conversion rates from May onwards, 2021 was actually considered a good year for commercial vehicle sales, driven by the reliance on home delivery. This wasn’t the case across all sectors, however. Two weeks into the new year and early indications are that there will be no large scale defleets taking place as we still battle the pandemic. On values, a typical 3 year old vehicle has increased by 22.9% since we came out of our first “Lockdown” in May (subject to the vehicle sector). But, as with cars, there will come a point when values have to stop increasing month on month at the level we have seen, and this we started to witness at the end of quarter 4 2020. For 2021, early indications for January are that stock levels will be an issue, with prices still strong in most sectors, in particular the van ranges. Both vendors & trade have adopted well to online sales and we predict that thelosers will be the ones that allow this not to be an important part of the sales process.With businesses capitalising on the lack of availability of new vehicles in 2020 there was an increase in sales of vehicles less than 1 year old in the main van sectors. The lost production of 2020 was lost for good. The knock on affect of an increase in the less than 1 year old vehicles being sold, is that they will not become that 1 – 2 year old vehicle this year, and so with difficulty obtaining new stock, whatever stock does come to market in the short term will be sort after.
Mini Cooper S Electric
I have said for sometime now that it should be illegal for anyone to make comments or have opinions about electric vehicles unless they have lived with one for a minimum of a week. It is far too easy for politicians or commentators to either say how fantastic they are, or rubbish them, when they have had no experience whatsoever of driving one or, more importantly, all the logistics involved with owning an electric vehicle. The Mini Electric that was delivered to me looked a million dollars. Metallic white with bright yellow features, yes certainly an eyeful to behold. The advertised maximum range of this particular EV is 140-145 miles from a full battery charge. I do have a wall box in my garage, but getting to it is a bit awkward as I have to move my 52 year old Mini out of the garage and put it on the road just to gain access to the box, a little inconvenient every time you want to charge the car, but that’s my problem. I guess if I owned an electric vehicle then I would consider spending a few hundred pounds on a wall box in a better place. Instead I took the easy option, and parked the Mini close to my front door and charged it from a 3-Pin plug instead. Unfortunately, and here’s something to consider when owning or running an electric vehicle, the cable is so thick that the door won’t shut with the cable in place, but on this occasion the weather was kind so no real problem, except I could only charge during the day when I was home and obviously not at night. It took around 12 hours to get the car fully charged and the maximum (100%) I found was a range of 98 miles. I had a trip to Manchester airport, so I thought I’d go in the Mini. From my home, the M62 proves to be the shortest route time wise and in distance we’re talking 52 miles each way. If I’d have taken the scenic route over Saddleworth Moor it’s only 38 miles, but takes longer. Prior to me leaving home I checked with the car park at the airport and currently they do not have any charging facilities, so I had to think beforehand about the right route and what spare I’d be left with after the journey. I set off and took it very easy on the accelerator (another consideration) every time I could coast and produce a bit of electric, the more comfortable I felt, so there’s some psychology on driving a electric vehicle certainly. Going up the steep hill out of Holmfirth took its toll on the range and I’ll admit I did begin to panic and get a bit of ‘range anxiety.’ But for every hill you go up there is generally one to go down. I coasted down the hill to Dovestone and put some miles back on the range, phew. That anxiety had disappeared for now. There is a switch you can press on the dash to either let you freewheel a bit more, which generates less electricity, or press it the other way and it generates more, but take your foot off the accelerator and the car stops almost immediately, much to the annoyance of anyone behind you. You can also press a button to give you ‘Economy Plus’, which turns off just about everything electrical including the air-con and eek out a bot more range. All the way to the airport I was looking for places I could stop on the way back just in case I needed a quick top-up of electric to get home, call it what you will, I’ll call it planning ahead. During the drive back home I decided I had enough range left to treat myself over the moors near Dovestone Reservoir to the Sport button. Despite it using more electricity, I’d calculated that I could try out this mode whilst still have enough to get me home. I did, and wow, it turned this very nice docile Mini into a bit of an animal, it was incredibly quick, yet being a Mini, it still felt incredibly safe and stable with superb road holding as yu would expect from a Mini, what a machine. But I soon turned off the Sport mode and went back to Mr Sensible. I coasted back down into Holmfirth, generated more electric, upset all those following me, by going very slowly, but by doing this I got back home with 35 miles range left in the batteries. The Mini Electric is a great car to drive. It looks good, it’s built to a high quality and in Sport Mode is a hoot. Prices in the UK start from around £25,000. But like every other electric car, you have to drive them differently, plan your journeys, and be prepared to wait many hours to charge them up, it’s not as simple or as easy as popping down to the filling station to put some petrol or diesel in them, which takes minutes rather than hours if you charge from your normal wall socket. I really enjoyed driving the Mini Electric. A fun car that’s quick, clean and clever if you can live with the issues of any current electric car. Martin Ward
First impressions: BMW 2-Series Gran Coupe 220d
When the Gran Coupe was delivered, it was parked outside my house and all I could see was the side profile. I mentioned to the delivery driver that I was expecting a BMW, she said, “it is a BMW!” And walking to the front of the car it became blindingly obvious it truly was a BMW, but from the side, it certainly didn’t look like your typical BMW. The Gran Coupe is basically a four-door saloon with a sloping roof, it has a boot as opposed to it being a Hatch. A hatch generally costs more to produce and adds weight to the car, two things I’m sure BMW wanted to avoid. Also the Gran Coupe will be sold in China and the US, and these countries are traditionally not keen on hatchbacks, they prefer the traditional saloon with a boot lid. The sloping roof does make it look more Coupe-like, more sporty and adds buckets of appeal. But it does mean that the important interior headroom for rear passengers is reduced. It loses around 4cm, or nearly 2-inches compared to the 1-Series, which doesn’t sound much, but for the average sized adult, it makes the difference between your head touching the roof or not. The test car Id received was powered by the sweet 220d and coupled to a silky smooth BMW automatic gearbox. The engine produces 190bhp and goes from 0-62mph/100kph in an impressive 7.5 seconds.After many years of BMW telling us that rear wheel drive gives the perfect balance between front and rear (“the ultimate driving machine”), this is yet another example of a front wheel drive BMW. It suggests front wheel drive could be the new rear wheel drive for BMW and the trend continues. And, there is nothing wrong with Front driven wheels. Why it has taken BMW this long to realise is a mystery. How many times have I seen a BMW stuck in half an inch of snow, when everything else is moving along nicely? Being front wheel drive means there is no transmission tunnel that runs from front to rear and taking up valuable interior space, a great benefit on a compact car. I would have loved to have been in the meeting room when someone actually dared to suggest making a front wheel drive BMW! The interior definitely has the upmarket look and feel and quality you would expect from a high end car. The dash and centre console do look a bit cluttered, filled with knobs, buttons etc and it does look a bit busy, there is something going on everywhere. The 2-Series Gran Coupe shares a lot of the underpinnings with the 1-Series, and the interior is virtually the same. Again, I’ say there is nothing wrong with that. Three engines are available in the range: 318 which has a 3-cylinder petrol, M235i xDrive 4WD petrol and the 220d, so BMW have not over complicated the line up. Trims are also simple; Sport and M Sport, and for only £2,500 more, the M Sport is the one to have, for all the nice goodies you get, for not a lot of money. There is one piece of tech I would like to point out, All Gran Coupes are fitted with Near Actuator Wheel slip limitation (ARB) system. This gently brakes the inside front wheel during cornering to help prevent understeer and in my test I thought it worked well. The boot has a double floor, so does increase the size quite considerably. When you open the boot lid initially it looks tiny with the false floor in the upper position, but lower it, and it becomes acceptable. The design is very subjective by my own experience of driving it for a week and talking to others. There were a lot of differences of opinion, some absolutely loved it, others weren’t so convinced. One of my neighbours saw it from the side and said: “I like the look of the Honda”, then he saw the large grille and said, “ah… it’s not a Honda is it.” Prices for the 220d M Sport in the UK start from £34,560 and overall I’d say the 2-Series Gran Coupe is a car that won’t suite everyone. its design adds style but removes practically. The huge front grille adds to its appeal and will sell to a niche audience, but it will also be dismissed by others as it limited in its flexibility, so bear that in mind, but a good looking car nonetheless. Martin Ward
Vehicle value performance falls from September but Lockdown 2 has little affect
On 19th November our experts reviewed the latest new and used market vehicle performance in the context of the current economic performance across the UK. You can watch the webinar here for a complete view by our experts New car registrations for October were only marginally behind last October, with LCV new registrations performing better than the same time last year. Overall the private car sector has performed better than the fleet and business sector.The trend within new vehicle purchases is a continuation in the popularity of BEV models at the expense of ICE variants, particularly diesel models. The team forecast 2021 will be a bumper year for BEVs. The overall view of dealers large and small for the second lockdown is that it remains well worth their businesses remaining open. Many businesses have moved to adapt their operations to remain open, learning from the significant impact of Lockdown 1. Looking forward, the lack of Brexit clarity makes it difficult to provide clarity on how this will affect values, but the considered view is that if tariffs do happen, it will be bad for new car sales but good news for used car values. Our short-term forecasts for the next 3 months will be for a fall in values.
cap hpi wins provenance provider of the year for the 7th year in a row
The prestigious Car Dealer Power Awards 2020 took place last night streamed live from the Car Dealer magazine website and cap hpi were crowned provenance provider of the year. The awards were voted for by Car Dealer magazine readers and Wendy Swaine, head of sales (retail) of cap hpi accepting the award gave a big virtual thank you to all our customers and the whole cap hpi team Wendy followed up with“We put our heart and soul into the product and it’s all about our data quality When we get someone interested in moving over to cap hpi, the first thing we do is get them to test the data for themselvesOur experts continue to ensure the data is enriched and enhanced all the time and we know we’re supplying the best data possible If you get the thumb print of the vehicle correct, everything flows through from the matching of the cap code to the correct valuations. ” John Dennis, Sales Director of cap hpi said afterwards “We are delighted to win this award, voted for by our customers, for the 7th year in a row. It really shows a huge team effort and dedication that goes into everything we do to support our customers. ” You can watch the acceptance video here
Suzuki Vitara SZT Hybrid Test Car
The Vitara was launched in 2015 and had styling and safety updates in 2019, proving to be a popular compact SUV. The new 2020 model now offers a higher level of standard specification and hybrid technology is now fitted as standard. We have our own 2017 Vitara, so I’m very used to driving this Suzuki, but the very first thing I noticed when the hybrid test car arrived was the difference in how the doors and boot close. The 2020 model just feels so much more solid, the difference in sound and feel when closing the doors is so much improved, not quite sure how they have done that, but it’s impressive.The Vitara styling is good, and has loads of character. I remember on the original launch five-years ago, just how much the sloping roof resembled the Range Rover Evoque, maybe just a coincidence or did Suzuki deliberately copy this bit of clever design to enhance its appeal and make it look more like the premium Land Rover? We may never know, but it certainly hasn’t been a bad thing. The Hybrid system is basically a mild-Hybrid and consists of a 48V lithium-ion battery, integrated Starter Generator (ISG) and 48V-12V (DC/AC) converter to power components requiring low voltage, including lights, audio and air conditioning. The ISG acts as both generator and starter motor. This assists the petrol engine during acceleration. If that is a bit too technical or complicated, then here is the simplified version. As you decelerate or brake, the car produces energy and this energy is saved in the lithium-ion batteries. This stored electricity is then used through an electric motor to help produce power when accelerating. This saves the engine needing to be used as much and thus saves fuel and reduces C02 emissions. To put it even more simply: Don’t worry about it, the car does all the work and thinking. During the week I had the car, I saved a considerable amount of petrol by this system and the engine was turned off for a total of 24 minutes whilst I stopped in traffic. There are three models in the Vitara range: SZ4, SZ-T and SZ5, after looking at the difference in specification, for me, the middle model is the best one to have. The SZ-T is fully loaded with standard equipment and technology, and has one thing I wished our Vitara has, a front centre arm rest, something I miss. But the list is so long and does include: Sat Nav, Adaptive Cruise Control, Air-Con, Traffic Sign Recognition, rear parking camera (though I prefer audible parking sensors), airbags everywhere, and so the list goes on.The Vitara is powered by a 1,373 cc, or 1.4-litre petrol engine that produces 129PS and accelerates from 0-62 mph in a respectable 9.5 seconds. It has CO2 emissions of 128g/km (WLTP). The car I had on test had a very smooth 6-speed manual gearbox. The overall length of the Vitara is 4,175mm, and is 1,775mm wide, so is very manoeuvrable and easy to park. On the motorway I took advantage of the Adaptive Cruise Control. I have used this technology so many times in various cars, but I am always, initially wary and a bit scared by it. You set your maximum speed, which of course is 70mph in the UK. You select the distance you want to maintain between you and the vehicle in front. Take your foot off the accelerator, and let the car do all the work. The Vitara will keep up with the car or truck in front, if it slows down, you slow down, if it speeds up, you speed up> It’s that simple, but, you can’t help having your right foot hovering over the brake pedal, just in case. The problem is, the system never misses anything, it sees things before you do – how very, very annoying! The cost of the Vitara 1.4 Boosterjet Hybrid in the UK is £22,749, which does look good value for this small, competent, well built SUV. Martin Ward
COVID 19: The effect on vehicle values
On 24th September Webinar concentrating on COVID 19, our expert panel of editors reviewed the latest market considerations and subsequent value movements across cars and light commercial vehicles over the last few weeks.The panel reviewed the current scenario and looked forward to the short to medium term future of values as a second wave of COVID 19 hits and with Brexit on the horizon. You can watch the webinar here for a complete view by our experts Overall, the current outlook remains positive, with August new car registrations remaining strong, especially in a month that tends to be one of the quieter times of the year. We continue to see EVs rise at the expense of ICEs. The market overall still remains strong and trade values remain high. Sales continue to be consistently high, despite an expected small dip in the august ‘summer’ month and the related Bank Holiday. Dealers continue to see strong sales across both online platforms and in person deals. Similarly, auctions have been busy, both those who have opened physically and those providing online routes to purchase. From a retail perspective, dealers are holding out for strong prices, but this is not affecting their ability to sell. There is some concern over future stock supply, but dealers remain upbeat if not quite as bullish as they were last month. Going forward, we expect consumers to press ahead with a propensity to online trading, for vehicles, something they have got increasingly comfortable with over the last few months.In the LCV market 2018 was dubbed the year of the used van. We are on course to overtake this in 2020. Our guide values have increased over the last few months for a typical 3 year old vehicle. Lost production as a result of the lockdown will have a knock on effect, with new vehicles more difficult to obtain.Moving forward, we do expect to see values to fall significantly next year. Next year certainly, supply will outstrip demand.
Derren Martin’s story
Last December, completely out of the blue I was diagnosed with prostate cancer. I wanted to share my story, to raise awareness & encourage men to get checked. 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer in their lifetime – if you catch it early, you can remove it or treat it & survive it. For me, the story started in August, 2019. I was lying by the pool on holiday & realised I had some annoying pains in my feet. I did nothing for a month, then decided I’d go to the doctors, something I hadn’t done for years. The doctor suggested a blood test for gout. I asked for my PSA (Prostate-Specific Antigen) level to be tested too & the doctor asked why – did I have any urinary symptoms? I explained I’d had symptoms in the past, where I need to go to the loo more frequently, actually since my mid-30s when I went on a particularly heavy stag do! But I’d been checked out & was fine. Other reasons for getting the test were my father died of cancer at 70, but we never found out what the primary cancer was, plus there had been lots of recent PR around getting checked – Soccer Saturday presenters wearing the “man of men” pin badges, for example. The doctor tried to talk me out of getting the test saying I was too young & it can be inconclusive but if I really wanted to, I suppose I could. Having a high PSA level can be inconclusive but it is the first stage of finding out if anything is wrong. I had a PSA test a week later & received a phone call literally the following morning. My PSA level was high, & I was referred to outpatients urology department within 2-weeks. Ironically, at this point the pain in my feet had gone away – I never knew what it was. I’d call that pain “fate”. Over the next few weeks I had an examination & an MRI scan. Initially the specialist said he thought everything was ok. Following the full MRI results, however, I was referred for a biopsy. Really scary time but deep down I still thought I was ok. That changed while I waited for the results though.Following my biopsy, before I got the results one of the times that sticks in my mind was a 2-hour drive to Bristol – 2-hours of thinking time, planning my funeral & writing letters to my kids in my head. It sounds dramatic, but at the time I had an idea what was wrong but no clue what that meant. You think cancer & you think the worst. My follow-up appointment was arranged for Tuesday 3rd December – a couple of weeks after the biopsy & a date that will always be in my head. I was on a train to Leeds the Thursday before that, when I got a call cancelling that appointment & rearranging it as a meeting with a specialist nurse, followed by a specialist urologist appointment a couple of hours after. At this point, I knew it was bad news. Why would I need to see a specialist nurse otherwise? The day before my appointments, I got a letter confirmation with name of specialist doc I was due to see. I googled him – he’s a prostate cancer specialist & surgeon. That night was one of the worst nights of my wife & ours life. We went to my appointment, sat in the Waiting Room for an hour. When I got called the Macmillan nurse asked “Do you know why you are here?”, I replied “Yes, because I may have cancer”, she said “Well you do have cancer but we are going to remove it & you are going to be fine. Here’s what we are going to do…..” It was actually a huge relief after all the uncertainty. On January 20th I went into hospital & had my prostate completely removed via robotic surgery through my stomach. I was allowed out the next day & told that the operation had been a complete success as far, as they could tell. Cancer completely removed, negative margins, so all nerves saved which means I can lead a normal life going forward. I had 6-weeks off work – feeling very delicate for the first few then a gradual recovery. Severe tiredness, lots of bladder issues to contend with. During this time it was great to be well looked after & fantastic to have good friends keeping in touch, seeing how I was. 2-months after the operation, it was like a switch was flicked. I felt so much better, just in time to tackle the COVID-19 lockdown crisis! On April 21st following a further PSA test, I got the all clear – a very emotional moment! After 3-months I was almost back to normal in all departments, leading a normal life. After 6-month I’m now cycling every day & completely back to normal. Others are not so lucky – if this hadn’t been caught when it was I think I’d have had a 10-yr lifespan & lots of treatment during that time. The surgeon said the cancer had been growing for around 18-months to 2-years, but thankfully it is a slow growing cancer. Awareness & early diagnosis of prostate cancer are so important. If I hadn’t followed my gut feeling at the initial GP appointment, my story would be very different.Key stats: Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in men. One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This raises to one in four for black men. One man dies from prostate cancer every 45 minutes. Most men in the early stages of prostate cancer don’t have any symptoms, that’s why it’s important to know your risk. Urinary problems can be a sign of a prostate problem, but not usually prostate cancer. Other countries (Germany for example) have nationwide screening. This is
