Used car prices soften after steady increases
Used car prices went into reverse in October and two months of rising values.
Data from the latest Cazoo Market View found that average prices fell 0.3% month-on-month and 2.3% year-on-year to £17,432.
The drop was driven by newer used cars, with models under two years old seeing values dip 1.9% month-on-month to £28,528 while prices for vehicles aged two to five fell 0.9% to £19,708.
However, the average value of cars over 10 rose one per cent month-on-month and 10.3% year-on-year to £7,795.
Meanwhile, days to sell increased from 39.7 days in September to 40.2 days in October, with car supermarkets achieving the fastest sales at 31.3 days compared to 31.6 days for franchised dealers and 49.6 days for independent dealers.
In terms of fuel types, electric vehicles found a buyer in 32.3 days, followed by hybrids (32.8 days), petrol (39.2 days), and diesel (49.6 days).
Lucy Tugby, chief marketing officer of Cazoo, said: “The softening of used car prices in October reflected new car discounts biting into nearly new values, prompting franchised dealers to trim prices accordingly, while car supermarkets and independents held firm. There was also a notable increase in stock levels following the September plate-change with cars taking slightly longer to sell.
“As we enter the final months of the year, always a challenging time for big ticket purchases, dealers will be monitoring consumer confidence and adjusting their stock mixes and pricing to remain as competitive as possible.”
