The Used Cars Worth 4x More Than They Were Brand New
As normal life has somewhat resumed and the UK inflation rate eases slightly, the price of used cars has quadrupled in just 6 months. This means the used car you recently purchased could now be worth a small gold mine.
Recent data from Auto Trader has revealed the price of a used car increased 23.9% year-on year last week, following 76-weeks of consecutive growth.
But why is the price increasing so much? Part of the reason is consumer demand, due to many Brits opting to travel in their car rather than public transport, as a result of the pandemic. This increased demand also resulted in retailers selling their stock much quicker than previous times. Last week, it took an average of 23 days to sell a vehicle, which is 17% faster than the speed of sale during the week of 12th April. So, if you’re looking at purchasing a used vehicle, it’s best not to hang around!
Used cars now more expensive than their brand-new equivalents
As used car prices are accelerating, the result is over 17% of the nearly new cars available in the market are currently more expensive than their brand-new equivalents.
When will the price surge stop?
Auto Trader’s Data and Insights Director, Richard Walker, said: “Whilst inflation in itself does pose a potential risk to consumer demand, we don’t expect to see price growth slow anytime soon. This is based on the continued acceleration we’re tracking across the market - fuelled, in part, by increased levels of household savings, a positive sentiment shift towards car ownership, and the 1.5 million ‘lost’ transactions last year - coupled with the ongoing shortage in both new and used car supply.”
Which used cars are have the largest price increase?
| Rank | Make | Model | Average Asking Price | Price Change |
| 1 | Jaguar | XK | £28,505 | 46.1% |
| 2 | Hyundai | i30 | £12,605 | 41.8% |
| 3 | Ford | Focus | £14,118 | 39.1% |
| 4 | Land Rover | Defender 110 | £78,767 | 38.0% |
| 5 | Ford | Kuga | £19,587 | 35.0% |
| 6 | Mitsubishi | Shogun | £18,000 | 34.3% |
| 7 | Kia | Sorento | £21,008 | 34.3% |
| 8 | Ford | S-Max | £12,429 | 34.2% |
| 9 | Mazda | MX-5 | £13,626 | 34.2% |
| 10 | Jaguar | XKR | £27,416 | 33.7% |
