The average price of used cars sold online in the first quarter of 2015 through Autorola UK’s remarketing portal was at £8,624, £140 higher than in quarter four 2014 (£8,484).

This is the highest average used price in Q1 since Autorola started its online price survey in 2012.

Typically the average age of stock in Q1 2015 was 33 months (compared with 34 months in Q4 2014) while mileage reduced slightly to 21,407 miles in Q1 compared with 22,811 miles in Q4.

Autorola UK’s sales director Jon Mitchell (pictured): “Part exchange volumes were slower to come to market on the back of the 15-plate change this year. Combine that with stock sold on our portal getting slightly younger and with reduced mileages than in Q4 2014, this has also helped prices increase.

“Performance against the used value guides shows that online prices are staying strong, which is helped by the growth in brand repatriation among challenger car maker brands, thus increasing buyer demand. With more large fleet vendors including online as part of their overall remarketing strategy, the type and age of stock we are selling is constantly changing which is also helping keep our 2,000 active buyers happy.”