Used car prices drop for the third consecutive month

Average price for a used car fell by 3.8 per cent in November

The average price of a used car fell for the third consecutive month, according to new figures from Auto Trader.

According to the online marketplace’s data, the average price of a used car was £17,319 in November – a 3.8 per cent drop year-on-year. It’s the prices of newer used cars under five years old that are fuelling this drop, with these down six per cent, while vehicles over 10 years old are up seven per cent year-on-year.

The Nissan Leaf was the fastest falling used car in November. (Nissan)

Despite used car prices down, Auto Trader says ‘consumer demand and the speed in which cars are selling remain robust’, and says that used car prices are still up a considerable 39 per cent on November 2019, before the pandemic forced values up while there was a limited supply of new vehicles.

Used EV prices continue to drop, with the average price for a secondhand electric car dropping by 21.1 per cent, while traditional petrol and diesel cars reduced by just 1.8 per cent. Prices for used premium vehicles are also falling faster than volume brands, reflecting cost-of-living pressures.

The VW Beetle was the car that had increased the most in value. (VW)

All but one of the 10 used cars that had contracted most in price were electric, with the Nissan Leaf being the fastest faller, dropping by a significant 24.5 per cent year-on-year to £15,664. This was followed by the Renault Zoe, which had dropped by 24.4 per cent to an average asking price of £13,798, and then the BMW i3, which had fallen by 24 per cent to £17,001.

Despite the drops in price, several used cars had seen significant price increases, with the Volkswagen Beetle increasing by 13.3 per cent to £8,007, followed by the Peugeot Partner (up 8.9 per cent to £9,276) and Dacia Sandero (up 8.3 per cent to £9.726).