Used car market shifting to newer models
New data suggests a shift in the used car market with buyers moving away from older models to premium cars.
Dealer Auction’s Retail Margin Monitor for November found that average used car prices hit their highest level of the year last month, rising to £6,526.
Meanwhile, the average age of sold cars came down to 7.6 years and average mileage decreased to 69,352 miles.
Among the big model movers, the Range Rover Evoque entered the sub-£10,000 category for the first time and immediately took top spot with the highest retail margin recorded this year – £3,175. At brand level, Land Rover topped the rankings for sub-£10,000 models, with an average margin of £2,875, followed by Mercedes-Benz (£2,300) and BMW (£2,275).
Strong performance
Dealer Auction’s marketplace director Kieran TeeBoon,said: “Last month was all about strong performance from older cars. This month, the story flips. We’re seeing younger, higher-spec models filtering into brackets where they’ve rarely appeared before. It’s a striking early sign of the market repositioning itself ahead of the fallout from November’s Budget.”
He continued:
“The Autumn Budget could prove one of the most impactful for road users in recent years, particularly for the fleet and leasing sectors. The relationship between age, specification and price is already changing, and the next quarter will give us the clearest view yet of how the Budget measures reshape the used market.
“Over the year, we’ve broadly seen older models performing well; could the dynamics for 2026 be already in motion?”
