The average value of used cars sold at auction fell by 0.4% in February, according to BCA.
The average of £7,564 was also nearly £1,000 down on February 2023, although BCA said it was up by 9.4% compared with the recent market low point of December 2023.
It said sold volumes had improved considerably, with sales conversion improving by several percentage points, and that performance against guide price had also improved compared with January.
BCA UK COO Stuart Pearson said: “February trading continued to deliver very good news to the used car sector with firm prices and a healthy churn of stock. The uplift in values seen in January was maintained into February and buyer engagement was particularly significant, with BCA attracting one of the highest monthly buyer audiences recorded.
“Once we’ve navigated the forthcoming Easter period and some potential pressure on prices, we should remind ourselves that new registrations over the past four years have been significantly lower than traditionally seen and that potentially means increased demand for the most desirable used cars.”
“With generally improving economic conditions on the horizon, there’s every expectation that retail demand for used vehicles will remain positive. Perhaps we should also start to be a little more optimistic about the potential for the used car market in the year ahead?”
