1:03 pm, January 30, 2026
Independent dealers saw the number of days for a used car to sell fall dramatically in January while sold prices grew, according to the latest data from Motors and Cazoo.
Days to sell for independent dealers fell by 10 days, with cars averaging 42 days on physical and digital forecourts compared to 52 in December.
Motors saw the number of used cars available on its websites grow by 14% in January, paired with record levels of consumer traffic on the Cazoo platform.
The average price of cars sold by independent dealers increased month-on-month by 1.4%, or £192, to £13,902, while year-on-year there was an increase of 6.2%, up £816.
Both franchised dealers and car supermarkets saw the average sold price of a used car fall, down 1.5% to £23,113 and 1.2% to £16,919 respectively.
This is likely partly due to older profile cars, aged over five and 10 years, which saw the biggest year-on-year improvements, with prices up by 4.7% to £13,731 and 8.8% to £7,375.
Across the market, the average price of a used car in January was £17,815, down 1.6% month-on-month but up 1.3% year-on-year.
Stock levels dropped from 58 units in December to 54, but increased by two units year-on-year, while average days to sell rose month-on-month from 31 to 35 days.
Nearly-new models aged less than six months with under 5,000 miles were the fastest to sell in January, with the MG MG3 topping the list.
Petrol models of the MG averaged just 7.4 days on forecourts, followed by electric versions of the Vauxhall Frontera at 9.7 days and the petrol-engined MG ZS at 10.2 days.
Commenting on the data, marketing director of Motors & Cazoo Lucy Tugby, said: ‘Seasonal trends were clearly in evidence in January with the market gathering momentum as buyers returned to the market following December’s festivities.
‘The standout trend for the month was the strength shown by the independent sector. As a business we recorded a 14% year-on-year increase in the volume of cars being advertised by independents on the Motors marketplace.
‘We believe this is the result of disgruntled retailers choosing to cast their nets wider than their usual platform and advertise with us.
‘We also saw record levels of traffic and leads to the Cazoo website and app, helping to deliver strong volumes of leads to dealers across all car retailing sectors.’
