2nd hand car prices still inflated?

slinxy

slinxy

slinxy

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Hi guys,

Are 2nd hand car prices still inflated or have they dropped back down to normal and I've just been out of the game for such a long time that they all seem high to me still?

My current car, I purchased an 2011 plate in 2015 VW 1.6 golf, one owner from new with all the mod cons and 98k on the clock for around £7000.

My car before that was an 2005 plate Audi a3 brought in 2008/9, one owner from new with 100k on the dail for around 6k.

I'm just looking for a replacement at the moment and cars of my age are still going for around £4000.

It's really making me think that I may be better off getting a car on a lease via work but I'm really looking for a German or Japanese motor... diseal and if possible a 4x4 as I do live in the sticks now.
 
While prices are always fluid I think its safe to say that used prices of old are gone now unfortunately.

Pretty ironic to think that my Leon, pre-reg with 10 miles on the clock was £15.6k back in 2019... that buys a three year old example now with average mileage :eek:
 
Surely with the surge of pcp at some point that deluge of used cars has to filter down?

I've noticed a shift over time to seeing either new or old cars but little in between.

In my naivety , I thought I was really poor because everyone could afford these fancy cars. I had no idea how prevalent finance was/is.

But surely if I usually keep a car until it dies. But all these pcp cars are a few years.. Doesn't that mean there's an ever building up number of used cars entering the market?


Current car was 3k!
 
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413x said:
Surely with the surge of pcp at some point that deluge of used cars has to filter down?

I've noticed a shift over time to seeing either new or old cars but little in between.

In my naivety , I thought I was really poor because everyone could afford these fancy cars. I had no idea how prevalent finance was/is.

But surely if I usually keep a car until it dies. But all these pcp cars are a few years.. Doesn't that mean there's an ever building up number of used cars entering the market?


Current car was 3k!
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PCP will drop used examples into the market at the end of their term so is quite a controlled flow of fresh used stock.

When we get to used cars peoples ownership lengths are far more varied. There are people who will keep a car for 10 years plus and people who will have multiple cars in a year. The vast majority slotting somewhere in between.

One of the big factors is the massive jump in RRP. Everyone says that it is irrelevant and yet everyone uses it as a justification as to why their financed car is such a bargain or to value how much they saved by buying used versus new.

When people say that their £40k car is only costing them £### a month the thought that always pops in my head is - why is that a £40k car in the first place?
 
sovietspybob said:
Yeah while not quite as mental as they were a year or so back they're still very high from what we'd all know as 'normal'

There are some good deals on electric cars mind.
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The issue I have with electric cars is the battery life span, I know I will have to switch at some point but not just yet for me.

I think that back in the days, companies and old people would buy a new car keep it for 3 years then move it on for a newer model.
Some car warranties have extended to 5 years. Car manufactures are not offering deals on company cars as they used to and people are working from home more so they are taking the risk of having an older car for longer.

Just seems to me it's crazy to pay 8k-10k for a car that is 8-10 years old...
 
slinxy said:
The issue I have with electric cars is the battery life span, I know I will have to switch at some point but not just yet for me.

I think that back in the days, companies and old people would buy a new car keep it for 3 years then move it on for a newer model.
Some car warranties have extended to 5 years. Car manufactures are not offering deals on company cars as they used to and people are working from home more so they are taking the risk of having an older car for longer.

Just seems to me it's crazy to pay 8k-10k for a car that is 8-10 years old...
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yeah don't believe what you read from the Facebook trolls about electric cars, apart from the Nissan leaf the batteries have been remarkably more rugged than anyone was expecting.

They still need to fit your life style, like if you can't charge at home it's a bit of a non stater at the moment and if you're one of the very small minority which seemingly needs to regularly do 800 miles in a single sitting and can only possibly stop for less than 5 minutes every 4 hours they'll be no good.

The price of them is kinda pushing me more towards them compared to an ICE car, i paid 8k for my main car when it was 5 years old and 45k miles, it's now 14 years old with 125k on the clock and really starting to feel its age and i'd love a new car, but like you i can't wrap my head around spending over 10k on a car which isn't substantially newer or lower milage than my old shed... it's still just nuts.
 
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Small cars especially seem to be holding their value. It seems like people prefer cheap to run at the moment with all the cost of living crap. Also people are just keeping them longer.
 
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I'm still running my '16 Astra (bought 1 year old in '17), nice car and nothing wrong with it, but I would have upgraded by now if cars weren't so expensive. Chicken meet egg.

(I paid 15k, prolly worth about 9k ish now)

The idea of buying a 1 year old top spec car for 15k now, yeah...
 
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lordrobs said:
PCP will drop used examples into the market at the end of their term so is quite a controlled flow of fresh used stock.

When we get to used cars peoples ownership lengths are far more varied. There are people who will keep a car for 10 years plus and people who will have multiple cars in a year. The vast majority slotting somewhere in between.

One of the big factors is the massive jump in RRP. Everyone says that it is irrelevant and yet everyone uses it as a justification as to why their financed car is such a bargain or to value how much they saved by buying used versus new.

When people say that their £40k car is only costing them £### a month the thought that always pops in my head is - why is that a £40k car in the first place?
Click to expand...

For sure people use RRP as a benchmark it definitely matters.

Our car is absolutely ancient. Quite noisy too now. It's a 2008 year! :D

Other day parking sensors didn't go off and I bumped a rocky out crop. Heard rear bumper crunch a bit.
Got out. Looked at it. Few scratches and a bit bent. But cause it's so old.. It's no bother! :D
 
They are still relatively high IMO. I’m constantly surprised by the price of some cars even when they are ten plus years old.

One of the reasons I’m still driving my C Class from 2007 - to get anything as clean or well looked after I would have to spend considerably more than it’s worth and it just seems pointless for me.
 
Prices of new cars have flown up so used car market reflects that also unfortunately, almost leaving a lot of cars in a timewarp price wise.

in 2017 a new focus was 'From 21k' (give or take) today a new focus would be 'from 28k'
I think a Fiesta was about £13k for a base level in 2017, today the entry level would be the puma from £25.5k
 
GhostWKD said:
Prices of new cars have flown up so used car market reflects that also unfortunately, almost leaving a lot of cars in a timewarp price wise.

in 2017 a new focus was 'From 21k' (give or take) today a new focus would be 'from 28k'
I think a Fiesta was about £13k for a base level in 2017, today the entry level would be the puma from £25.5k
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And a Puma IS a fiesta.

Over 10 grand more for the same thing, but made worse in every way :/
 
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I think current prices will be the norm for quite a while. There was a big drop in new car registrations during COVID which now results in far fewer ~3 year old cars on the market. Then coupled with cost of living and the end of cheap finance fewer people are buying new leading to higher demand on the used market.
 
413x said:
Surely with the surge of pcp at some point that deluge of used cars has to filter down?

I've noticed a shift over time to seeing either new or old cars but little in between.

In my naivety , I thought I was really poor because everyone could afford these fancy cars. I had no idea how prevalent finance was/is.

But surely if I usually keep a car until it dies. But all these pcp cars are a few years.. Doesn't that mean there's an ever building up number of used cars entering the market?


Current car was 3k!
Click to expand...

PCP has been around for many years and the number of new cars sold in the UK per year is still well below pre covid levels. Manufacturers are prioritising margins over volume. Lower new supply means the higher used prices are likely here to stay.
 
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Don't forget about inflation overall. £10k in 2014 is £13,500 today, and £10k in 2018 is £12,600!
 
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413x said:
Current car was 3k!
Click to expand...

413x said:
Our car is absolutely ancient. Quite noisy too now. It's a 2008 year! :D

Other day parking sensors didn't go off and I bumped a rocky out crop. Heard rear bumper crunch a bit.
Got out. Looked at it. Few scratches and a bit bent. But cause it's so old.. It's no bother! :D
Click to expand...

I got over the whole thing about having a nice fancy/expensive car a long while ago... Current car cost me £2k about 3 years ago (before the prices went mental) and is now 17 years old and no real issues with it. I have had to replace the rear brakes and a couple of exhaust sections but nothing you'd not expect to change at that age. No plan on when I will change it yet. Might be next year, might be longer - only approaching 48k miles now so very low mileage for age.

Someone accidentally banged a shopping trolley off it while I was there. I had a quick look very small dent on the door and a light scratch so told him not to bother. I could see his instant horror on his face for doing it - no point in ruining anyone's day over something that's negligible in the bigger picture.
 
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They are starting to come down a bit with some good bargains on electric cars.
I noticed there's a wild variability - prices are significantly influenced by supply and demand for certain models. Some suffer from significant depreciation whilst stuff that is in demand (even poor cars that are perceived as low maintenance and thus somehow desirable) is still at ridiculous prices.

We're a very long way away from pre pandemic bargains unfortunately.
 
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