The 2016 Ford Ka (petrol manual) was, on average, the fastest-selling used car at dealerships in the UK last month according to Auto Trader, taking an average of 17 days to leave forecourts.
Hot on its heels were three SUVs, the 2015 Audi Q5 (diesel automatic) and the 2015 Vauxhall Antara (diesel manual) which both took an average of 19 days to sell in February, and the 2011 Audi Q5 diesel manual, which averaged 20 days between arriving on the forecourt and departing with a new owner.
Wintry conditions in February boosted the popularity of SUVs, with six of the ten fastest-selling vehicles on Auto Trader being 4x4s (or faux-by-fours). The Hyundai ix35, Volvo XC90 and Mazda CX-5 also made the top ten.
February was another solid month for used diesel cars, making up seven of the national top ten-selling models on its site. A diesel also took the top spot in three of the 13 regions and countries tracked: North West (2016 Hyundai Tucson – diesel manual – 19 days), Wales (2017 Nissan Qashqai – diesel manual – 24 days) and Northern Ireland (2017 Volkswagen Golf – diesel manual – 37 days).
Hatchbacks were outnumbered nationally, but at a regional/country level, they were the clear winners, recording the fastest turn of sale in all but one region. In fact, so popular was the hatchback in the West Midlands, the South West, Yorkshire and Northern Ireland last month, no other body type made it onto their respective top tens.
So, what does this mean for used car buyers? Well, if you’re looking for a two-year-old Ford Ka or one of the other popular models listed above, you need to move fairly quickly rather than dragging your heels. And you should probably not expect as much opportunity to haggle on price as you might get on less popular models.
