7:48 am, May 2, 2025
The used car market overcame ‘political and economic turbulence’ to enjoy a strong month in April.
That is according to fresh data from Auto Trader, which says that retail values rose in the fourth month of the year.
The outfit’s experts have also reported that vehicles have been selling at record speeds over recent weeks, with sales volumes also increasing.
The findings paint a positive picture for dealers but Auto Trader has warned retailers to keep utilising data in order to stay on top of upply complexities, which are threatening to keep margins low.
Overall, analysts found that the average retail price of a used car rose 1.5% between March and April to reach £16,984 by the end of the month.
The trend mirrors similar findings by rival firm Motors, which reported a 0.8% rise in retail values compared to March.
Auto Trader’s data also revealed that April marked the first time in 19 months that retail prices haven’t contracted year-on-year (YoY), with current values at the same level as this time in 2024.
Deeper analysis reveals that strong prices are being fuelled by ‘robust’ consumer demand, within the 5-10 and over 10-year-old vehicle cohorts, where supply is struggling to keep up.
As a result, the two age brackets saw the largest increases in average prices, with 5-10-year-old cars growing 1.5% MoM and 1.1% YoY to £13,866. Meanwhile whilst those aged over a decade surged 3.3% MoM and 1.4% YoY to £6,545.
On the flip side, nearly new cars saw their value drop by 4.4% compared to this time last year – although they were still 1.3% up on March.
Models with biggest price growth
- Toyota Land Cruiser – Average asking price: £38,599; YoY Price Change: 13.0%; MoM Price Change: 0.7%
- Hyundai i30 – Average asking price: £8,768; YoY Price Change: 7.7%; MoM Price Change: 1.8%
- Volvo S60 – Average asking price: £12,764; YoY Price Change: 7.2%; MoM Price Change: 2.2%
- Mazda MX-5 RF – Average asking price: £19,464; YoY Price Change: 7.0%; MoM Price Change: 3.4%
- Volvo V70 – Average asking price: £5,961; YoY Price Change: 7.0%; MoM Price Change: 2.3%
- Volkswagen Touareg – Average asking price: £30,336; YoY Price Change: 6.7%; MoM Price Change: 1.4%
- BMW X5 – Average asking price: £39,621; YoY Price Change: 6.7%; MoM Price Change: 0.3%
- BMW 5 Series – Average asking price: £20,802; YoY Price Change: 6.6%; MoM Price Change: 2.7%
- Mazda MX-5 – Average asking price: £10,922; YoY Price Change: 6.5%; MoM Price Change: 3.9%
- Porsche 718 Cayman – Average asking price: £62,156; YoY Price Change: 6.5%; MoM Price Change: 4.1%
Auto Trader’s data also reveals that cars have been flying off the forecourts in recent weeks, with used vehicles taking just 27 days to sell in April.
The result is one day quicker than this time last year and also marks the fastest April since Auto Trader began tracking speed of sale.
Cars aged 5-10-years-old fastest – at an average of just 25 days with used car sales volumes overall rising by around 1.3% compared to last April – despite things slowing down over Easter weekend.
Models with biggest price drops
- BMW iX – Average asking price: £47,533; YoY Price Change: -19.1%; MoM Price Change: -1.3%
- Nissan ARIYA – Average asking price: £31,440; YoY Price Change: -18.9%; MoM Price Change: 0.2%
- Tesla Model X – Average asking price: £33,111; YoY Price Change: -18.5%; MoM Price Change: -3.4%
- BMW iX1 – Average asking price: £34,245; YoY Price Change: -18.3%; MoM Price Change: -0.5
- Tesla Model Y – Average asking price: £29,436; YoY Price Change: -18.0%; MoM Price Change: -0.7%
- MINI Electric Hatch – Average asking price: £13,744; YoY Price Change: -17.7%; MoM Price Change: -4.3%
- BMW i4 – Average asking price: £39,551; YoY Price Change: -15.5%; MoM Price Change: -0.9%
- Vauxhall Zafira Tourer – Average asking price: £6,056; YoY Price Change: -14.7%; MoM Price Change: -0.8%
- Kia EV6 – Average asking price: £30,240; YoY Price Change: -14.4%; MoM Price Change: -0.7%
- DS AUTOMOBILES DS 3 – Average asking price: £6,468; YoY Price Change: -14.1%; MoM Price Change: 0.4%
Commenting, Marc Palmer, Auto Trader’s head of strategy & insights, said: ‘The national media may be awash with unsettling headlines, but reassuringly, our data indicates the recent economic and political uncertainty has had little impact on used car buying demand.
‘Although the overall health of the market will be welcome news to the industry, retailers continue to face challenges, with margins under increasing pressure.
‘In today’s supply-constrained and heavily nuanced market, every vehicle counts, and so I would urge our partners to scrutinise the data to not only source the right stock for your forecourt, but price it correctly and confidently to the market.’
