8:19 am, September 5, 2024
August saw strong demand for used cars with dealers taking an average of 28 days to sell as prices and stock levels stayed steady.
That’s according to Motors’ latest Market View and was four days faster than in July.
Franchised dealers performed the best with an average of 18 days, while car supermarkets followed with 22 days. Independent dealers, meanwhile, averaged 50 days –a seven-day improvement on July.
The average price of used retail vehicles stayed marginally the same at £17,362 –a small decline of £58 month on month.
After hitting £19,183 in January last year, prices this year have consistently tracked at under £17,500, said the advertising platform.
Compared with year-on-year figures, it only dropped by £682 in August, whereas in February it was down by £1,866, showing a rapid change in the market value.
Although exact figures weren’t given, views per vehicle rose by 7% month on month in August to reach a new high for the year, with cars bearing a price tag of under £10,000 garnering the most attention.
Stock levels for August remained flat at 53 units, which suggested that dealers were replenishing inventories as cars were sold, rather than stocking up.
Lucy Tugby, marketing director of Motors, said: ‘Despite the traditional impact of the summer holiday season, used car buyers remained active in August as demonstrated by improved days to sell and increased online viewing activity over the course of the month.
‘Affordability remains a key issue for many used car buyers, as seen by the high level of interest in vehicles priced under £10,000, rewarding dealers prepared to source older cars as part of their stock mix.
‘Overall, it’s encouraging to see further stability in the used car market, with minimal monthly price fluctuations and a gradual increase in year-on-year disparities.’
The Vauxhall Corsa was the top-selling car on Motors for the fourth month in a row, followed by the Ford Fiesta, Volkswagen Golf, Ford Focus and BMW 1 Series.
Report by Cameron Richards
