Average used car prices increased by 5.3% in the first quarter of 2018, according to online remarketing firm Autorola.
The company said the average price was £10,008, up from £9,504 in the last quarter of 2017.
This included a massive 41% rise in electric vehicle prices from £13,981 to £19,789. However, this was boosted by the average age of the vehicles on sale falling from 15 months to nine months, and the average mileage almost halving from 6,086 to 3,662.
Petrol car prices rose by 5.6% from £8,495 to £8, 978 – an all time high – helped by a fall in average mileage from 20,749 to 18,444.
There was a big surge in the number of diesel cars being sold – 48% more than in the final quarter of 2017 – with a 0.3% increase in average prices to £11,158, even though the cars were on average three months older and had done 2,700 more miles.
Autorola’s UK group sales director Jon Mitchell said: “Demand for used stock has been very strong during quarter one, reinforcing that franchised dealers are turning their attention to selling more used cars as new car sales continue to fall, while independent dealers are simply selling more used cars.
“Diesel prices remain strong despite the higher volumes we saw coming onto our online portal, while used petrol prices have reached an all-time high. The used market has had a very positive quarter one.”