By ROB HULL
Updated: 19:37 AEDT, 21 December 2024
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The post-Covid boom in second-hand car prices has now a distant vision in the rear-view mirror as used vehicle prices have softened in recent months.
Auto Trader's Retail Price Index shows the average advertised price for a pre-owned motor across all ages and segments in November was £16,492.
This is a down around 7 per cent on the same month in 2022, when the average used car price was £17,801.
But there are still examples that are rising in value.
The 10 biggest second-hand car price increases over the last 12 months - and the 10 most significant drops in value - have been revealed in exclusive data for This is Money by cap hpi.
The figures are based on three-year-old vehicles with an average of 30,000 miles on the clock.
Rather than a measure of depreciation (how much a car loses in value as it gets older), we have conducted a like-for-like comparison of three-year-old examples in December 2024 and the same model as a three-year-old car sold in December 2023.
This provides a clearer picture of inflation - and deflation - in prices compared to a year ago. Here's the countdown...
BIGGEST USED CAR PRICE RISERS OF 2024
Dec23 price: £20,607
Dec24 price: £22,593
Price increase: £1,986
Diesel powered BMW 4 Series Gran Coupes appear to be increasing in demand with average used values rising by almost 10% in 2024
Who said nobody want to buy diesels anymore? The BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe is proof there's still plenty of demand for the fuel type, especially among drivers who need a suitably large family saloon with lots of style and great fuel economy for longer journeys.
A three-year-old first-generation 4 Series Gran Coupe diesel in December 2023 was valued at just over £20,600. The same car with that mileage today is valued above £22,500.
Dec23 price: £33,138
Dec24 price: £36,456
Price increase: £3,272
Could the arrival of the new Toyota Land Cruiser be pushing up values of the previous-generation SUV? Used prices are up 10% in the last 12 months, cap hpi data shows
Toyota's Prius+ offered something very unique when it entered the market some 12 years ago.
It was the first seven-seat hybrid model, using the hugely popular Prius as the platform for a uber-practical MPV.
Owners rate them highly, especially thanks to their around-town frugality that make it such a cheap school-run wagon.
Sold only with Toyota's tried and tested 1.8-litre hybrid drivetrains, plenty of second-hand buyers still want these cars, despite the fact they disappeared from showrooms three years ago.
Values of three-year-old examples are up 17.2 per cent in 12 months.
Dec23 price: £10,950
Dec24 price: £12,893
Price increase: £1,943
Renault's supermini-sized crossover has enjoyed the most significant used price inflation in the last 12 months with three-year-old cars selling for 17.7% more than they were in Dec 2023
The Captur is Renault's answer to the Nissan Juke, Peugeot 2008 and VW T-Cross in the compact crossover segment. Based on the Clio, it's small enough for easily getting around busy town centres while still offering a slightly raised ride height over a conventional hatchback.
Values across all fuel types - petrol, diesel and hybrid - have inflated in the 2024. If you wanted a three-year-old example in December 2023, the average price was just shy of £11,000. In December 2024, a three-year-old Captur is priced at £12,900.
BIGGEST USED CAR PRICE FALLERS OF 2024
SsangYong's Korando was the biggest used price deflator over the last 12 months. Three-year-old cars lost 26.6% of their price year-on-year
Kia's Stonic with diesel engines was another second-hand model that appears to have fallen out of favour in 2024
Cap hpi says the Maserati Levante's deflation in used value for average three-year-old examples of 21,8% is equivalent to a loss of £8,706
A number of electric people carriers made the list of top 10 used price deflators, including the Peugeot e-Rifter (pictured)
The top 10 biggest used price deflators also included a number of hybrids, including Renault's Megane PHEV
The biggest price fallers includes plenty of electric models, with battery people carriers including Vauxhall's Vivaro (down 17.8 per cent), Nissan e-NV200 (down 17.9 per cent) and Peugeot's e-Rifter (down 20.9 per cent) among the ten most significant price deflators across three-year-old models.
Hyundai's Ioniq Electric, down 18.3 per cent also features in the list.
Hybrid variants of the Vauxhall Astra (down 18.1 per cent), Range Rover Velar (down 19.7 per cent) and plug-in hybrid Renault Megane (down 19.6 per cent) have all suffered losses over the last 12 months too.
However, the biggest deflations of all are for the SsangYong Korando diesel, Kia Stonic diesel and Maserati Levante SUV.
All posted deflation in the region of 21.8 per cent and 26.6 per cent. For the Levante, this represents a like-for-like fall in value of mote than £8,700 in 12 months, while for the biggest faller - the Korando - it has shed almost £3,000 of last year's price.
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