Rising demand fuels 10% hike in prices for used petrol cars

Rising demand fueled a 10% year-on-year increase in petrol car prices in October compared to just 3% for diesel cars.

On a like-for-like basis, used diesel prices saw an annual increase of 3% to £14,555. The average price of a used petrol car was £10,287, 10% higher than in October 2016.

According to the Auto Trader Retail Price Index, overall the average price of a used car in the UK reached £12,639 in October, a 6% increase year-on-year.

The Auto Trader Retail Price Index analyses data from 500,000 trade used car listings every day as well as additional dealer forecourt and website data.

Whilst diesel average price increases have been slowing for most of 2017, October marks the third consecutive month used diesel prices have grown at a more accelerated rate.

Since November 2016 the number of searches for diesel cars has steadily declined. In May 2017 this decline began to reverse with diesel searches gradually rising to 56% of all fuel searches in September. However, diesel searches saw a slight decline in October, dropping to 55%. Petrol remained flat, representing 40% of all fuel searches in both months.

Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s retailer and consumer product director said: “As we’ve seen from October’s new car registrations, new diesel sales continue to fall in the wake of the negative rhetoric that currently surrounds the fuel debate.

“On our marketplace, used diesels have shown greater resilience in recent months, in terms of both searches and average used price. However, the slight decline on September does mark the first-time diesel searches have dropped since May.”