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The used car market has made a steady but unspectacular start to 2022, according to auction company BCA.
It said external economic pressures and the general cost of living had affected consumer demand, meaning the usual strong performance seen in the early weeks of the year had not materialised.
The average used car value was £10,025 in February, down slightly on the £10,120 seen in January. Values remain strong year-on-year, up by 22%, although February 2021 was affected by Covid lockdown measures.
BCA UK COO Stuart Pearson said: "The market has experienced a range of conflicting economic signals in recent weeks, with the good news as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted being cancelled out by rising interest rates, a cost-of-living squeeze, energy and fuel price increases and now the uncertainty caused by the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine.
"Unsurprisingly, we haven't seen the usual seasonal market bounce during the first quarter and - while levels of demand remain steady - these macro-economic issues are definitely influencing consumer behaviour and retail demand."
Pearson said that BCA had seen some movements in different market segments which would not be reflected in overall headline stats, but that would be reported by price guides in March.
He continued: "We therefore run the risk of the market becoming frustrated in March if buyers are presented with stock that appears to be valued several percentage points above their expectations. This is not an unusual dynamic; however, it is unusual to experience this at this time of year.
"If the market was being flooded with stock, this would be a more difficult scenario to navigate. However, new car supply still remains challenging for a number of brands and whilst the order pipeline remains healthy, consumers continue to face lengthy waiting times for many new cars, so rebalancing shouldn't be too difficult to achieve."
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