JAPANESE car firm Honda has shown how desirable its cars are, even when they are second-hand.

At a time when most used car prices are either stable or recording modest increase, the car firm, which has a factory at South Marston, is one of the few manufacturers whose products have fared particularly well.

In its January edition, Glass' Guide has re-evaluated the price of used Hondas, increasing values by about two per cent.

In practice this means used prices of the Jazz have increased by £100-£200, the Civic by £100-£400 and new Accord by up to £300.

Jeff Paterson, Glass' Guide's senior editor said: "Stocks of used Honda models are at a low level and with continued strong demand for used examples it's natural prices have risen. While on the face of it, this is bad news for would-be purchasers, the news is offset by the on-going low depreciation typical of Honda products.

"Any increase in price that a used buyer pays now is likely to be offset by a higher re-sale price when the time comes to sell, when the car is three, four and even five years old.

"Plus, the situation is good news for owners of the marque who in the short term at least, will have that rare satisfaction of owning a car that has actually risen in value."

The Swindon-built Honda Civic kept between 58 and 60 per cent of its value, while the two-litre CR-V SE kept 70 per cent of its value.

In 2004 Honda (UK) topped 90,000 car sales.