Used car prices in the UK are UP 38% on 2020

Used car prices in the UK have risen by 38 per cent since Covid, with best-sellers like the Vauxhall Corsa up by an astonishing 68 per cent.

It was always received wisdom that the best way to buy a ‘New’ car wasn’t to trolley off to your local dealer and spec your new toy, but instead to look for a good used alternative with a big spec and save a big lump of money.

But the impacts of Covid and the subsequent supply change shortages stymying new car production have seen car buyers who normally buy new turning to the used car market instead and, as a result, create more demand than supply. Which, in a free market, means prices increase until demand decreases or supply increases.

The impact of all that on the used car market has been profound with, according to CarGurus, an average increase in used car prices in the last three years of 38 per cent – but much more for some models.

For example, a three-year-old Vauxhall Corsa which cost £7,794 in 2020 has risen to £14,808 in 2023 (up 86 per cent), and a Ford Fiesta has gone from £9,672 to £14,808 (up 64 per cent) in the same period.

Other cars showing big increases in price in the last three years include the BMW 1 Series (64 per cent), MINI (63 per cent), VW Polo (62 per cent) and BMW 3 Series (59 per cent).

The message from all this is clear – keep hold of your current car if you possibly can until prices realign as new car production increases and demand for used cars decreases. That said, with the way new car prices have been going up, we’re unlikely to see a return to pre-Covid prices.

All that said, there are already signs that used car prices are softening – especially used EVs – with cars like the Kia ProCeed, Tesla Model 3, Jaguar I-Pace, Tesla Model S and Vauxhall Zafira all falling in price by between 22 per cent and 35 per cent in the last 12 months.