THE price of used cars fell five per cent year-on-year to £8,620 from April to June 2012, the Q2 2012 Auto Trader Retail Price Index reveals.
The index reveals the decline was driven by an increase in the number of vehicles aged over 10 years old in the used car market – the lowest since Auto Trader began tracking in January 2010.
However, as demand for newer vehicles rises, the price of younger vehicles has increased, with the price of vehicles under one year old rising three per cent quarter-on-quarter.
The fall in used car prices of five per cent in quarter two 2012 follows a fall of 3.9 per cent in the average asking price of used cars reported in quarter one 2012. Q1’s fall occurred due to an increase in the volume of older stock on the market and a decrease in newer, higher priced vehicles.
This trend has continued in quarter two with the volume of cars more than three years old now at 73 per cent and the volume of cars less than three years old at 27 per cent.
The asking price of used cars more than three years old fell 6.5 per cent (£6,774 to £6,331) while those less than three years old increased by just 0.2 per cent (£14,983 to £15,010) when compared with the same period in 2011.
