Scots lead UK used car value hotspots 12 | 03 | 2019
STIRLING IS THE UK hotspot for the best value for used cars. And not only does it offer the best value to secondhand car buyers in the UK, but it’s joined by three other Scottish cities — Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow — in the top six locations for best deals.
The four Scottish locations were rated highly for secondhand cars offering a good balance of low average mileage, reasonable ages and attractive price tags, according to an analysis by AA Cars, the AA’s used car website.
In Stirling, the average used car sells for £11,320 and has an average mileage of 25,750, a decent way under the UK average of around 36,000 miles. Additionally, the age of used cars in Stirling is around four years which is a year younger than average used stock across the rest of the UK.
At the other end of the scale, cars in Lincoln and Coventry respectively fetch £12,445 and £13,078 but the mileages are typically higher than the UK average. If you’re happy to look past the fact that a car has been around the block a few times, you might want to consider heading to Birmingham where secondhand vehicles sell for little over £8000 on average, but tend to have driven around 55,000 miles.
The following table details the best places to buy used cars, calculated by looking at prices and mileage:
The most popular types of car by body tyle, drive type and fuel also vary from region to region. In London, half (48.7%) of all secondhand sales are for cars with automatic transmissions, double the UK average for sales of that drive type; likely due to the fact that driving on manual in the capital could prove to be a tiring experience.
Similarly with historic exemptions for low emitting cars in the capital, only a third (37.9%) of secondhand cars bought in the capital are diesel – compared to the national average of 47.4%.
Interestingly, proportionately the most popular city for secondhand SUVs in the country was Sheffield where a quarter (25.4%) of all used sales were Sports Utility Vehicles. In Bury, a fifth (21.1%) of all used sales were for luxury cars – compared to Nottingham, where only 6.3% of sales were for those types of cars.
“While the cost of used cars does tend to broadly tally with the mileage clocked and the age of the vehicle, there are clearly a number of places in the UK where discerning buyers can squeeze as much value out of their next purchase,” James Fairclough, CEO of AA Cars said.
“In fact, the car market is increasingly open to buyers who are willing to travel – it’s no longer simply a matter of heading down the road to your local dealership to see what’s on offer.
“The transparency offered by online buying portals, such as AA Cars, means that you can now scan the entire UK used car market to find a vehicle that fits your age, cost, style and body type requirements from the comfort of your living room.
“Although it is worth noting that travelling further afield for your next car does come with potential drawbacks; any cost saving you might be making in the purchase has to be weighed up against the fact that, if the car does develop a fault soon after you’ve bought it, you’ll probably have to take it back to the selling dealer for checks or repairs.
“It’s also interesting to see how this openness has acted as a spur to the top end of the used car market. Just under a fifth of used car sales are now for luxury, executive, sports and supercars, which is undoubtedly a result of buyers having a bird’s eye view of what they can pick up at dealerships across the UK, as well as the glut of nearly-new premium stock on offer on forecourts all over the country.
“If you are looking to spend a reasonable amount on your next car, it might be worth thinking about getting a pre-sale vehicle inspection to give you extra peace of mind when heading down to the forecourt.”
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Jim McGill