The softening of used prices in October was driven by younger age profile cars, according to the latest Cazoo Market View report.
On Cazoo, the average price of a used car was £17,432, down -0.3% month-on-month (MoM) and -2.3% year-on-year (YoY).
Lucy Tugby, chief marketing officer of Cazoo, said: “The softening of used car prices in October reflected new car discounts biting into nearly new values, prompting franchised dealers to trim prices accordingly, while car supermarkets and independents held firm.
“There was also a notable increase in stock levels following the September plate-change with cars taking slightly longer to sell.
“However, the market remains dynamic with cars priced between £20,000-£40,000, including a high proportion of EVs and hybrids, proving to be the sweet spot for many dealers, with these units achieving the fastest sales of just 34.6 days.”
The drop was driven by cars aged under two years falling -1.9% MoM from £29,082 to £28,528, as well as those aged 2-5 years down -0.9% (MoM) from £19,879 to £19,708.
Franchised dealers were the only retailing sector to see prices drop, down -1.6% MoM to £22,307, a YoY fall of -5%.
Car supermarkets improved 1.1% MoM to £17,045, up 1.3% YoY.
Higher prices for older cars meant a 0.2% MoM increase for independent dealers to £14,214, a YoY jump of 9.4%.
Days to sell increased slightly MoM from 39.7 to 40.2 days.
Car supermarkets achieved the fastest sales (31.3 days), followed by franchised dealers (31.6 days), and independent dealers (49.6 days).
Electric vehicles were the fastest sellers by fuel type (32.3 days), followed by hybrids (32.8 days).
Dealers increased their inventories MoM with car supermarkets up from 201 to 212, franchised up from 61 to 65 and independents up from 41 to 42.
Alternative fuel vehicles accounted for 19.5% of cars stocked by dealers, up from 17.2% last October.
