Late-plate cars over £20,000 deliver 'sweet spot' for dealers in July

Sub-two-year-old used cars priced over £20,000 were the sweet spot for dealers in July, according to the latest eBay Motors Group Market View.

Despite the pressure of the cost-of-living crisis on household budgets, these cars sold quickly as demand continued to outstrip supply, the online automotive marketplace said. 

The average advertised price of a sub-two-year-old car in July increased by 3.5% month-on-month (MoM) to £34,099, the only age segment to increase in value against an overall 1.1% drop in prices to £16,841.

The year-on-year (YoY) average for these cars increased 35% from £25,297, a rise of £8,802,

Lucy Tugby, head of marketing at eBay Motors Group, said: “With car buyers facing lengthy delivery times on new cars, demand for sub-two-year-old models was particularly high in July and dealers who worked hard to stock them were rewarded with quick sales and strong prices.

“But these were the exceptions in a market hampered by reduced supply and the impact of the cost-of-living crisis. As a result, we are seeing a growing trend of older stock being listed by dealers and more buyers searching for these vehicles than this time last year.”

Image-conscious Brits don’t want to be seen driving a car that’s more than five years old, according to a new survey.

eBay Motors Group said the fastest selling price segment for the month were vehicles listed online from £20,000 to £40,000, lasting 35.3 days on forecourts, closely followed by the £15,000 to £19,999 band at 35.9 days. Both segments beat the overall average of 39.5 days.

Used car values continued to grow on a YoY basis in July, although the rate of growth is softening.

The sentiment is backed by Cap HPI’s director of valuations Derren Martin.

The fastest selling cars for the month on Motors.co.uk were dominated by models aged under five years with up to 40,000 miles on the clock.

Topping the list was the diesel version of the BMW 1 Series, aged three to four years, taking just 15.2 days to sell; followed by the Seat Leon petrol, aged four to five years, at 16.4 days; and Toyota Aygo petrol, aged two to three years averaging 16.5 days.