In this period of high inflation, that’s good news: Used car prices have stopped rising. But if they no longer go up, they stay at very high levels.
In March, for the third consecutive month, the prices of used vehicles “hit their ceiling and stabilized”, indicates the latest price survey carried out on leboncoin, number one in France in sales between individuals and in which many are also present. professionals.
A top price?
After two years of strong growth, +30% since the beginning of 2021, the platform has registered a stable average price in recent months, of 11,260 euros for a car sold by an individual and 23,300 euros for a professional.
As for the prices shown in the ads posted online, there are strong variations depending on the engine. Hybrids, of all types, reach a maximum of 34,165 euros on average (+31% since the beginning of 2021), ahead of 100% electric of 32,046 euros (+61% in two years, but slightly below the start of 2023).
The bulk of the market, with more than 9 out of 10 transactions in France, remains at lower but historically high levels: 18,124 euros for gasoline models (+31% in two years), 13,786 euros for diesel.
“In a context of very strong demand for used vehicles, and an offer that is still 30% lower than in 2019, the limit of what the French are willing to pay for a used car seems to have been reached: this largely explains measure the fall in prices in the last 3 months”, explains Olivier Flavier, vice president of Mobility at leboncoin, quoted in the press release.
The platform also notes a stabilization of prices for all age brackets, which is found especially in recent vehicles less than two years old, at 29,756 euros in the first quarter of 2023. But these models are all the more rare in those of second hand as the new market has collapsed since 2020.
Market aging
The average price of ads for cars between 2 and 5 years old has increased by almost 2,000 euros compared to the last quarter of 2022, to stand at 27,388 euros. Inflation is even higher for models between 5 and 8 years old, +33% in two years at 21,636 euros.
Finally, vehicles over 8 years old are shown for their side at 8,876 euros, +26% in two years and, in any case, 9% more than the level at the end of 2021. But the category is still quite wide since it incorporates Crit’Air 1 gasoline (all models, including hybrids, sold since January 2011), Crit’Air 2 Diesel (all those also sold since January 2012)… and all the rest of the market.
In the last Autoscout24 barometer for February, the only category that advances in volume and market share is vehicles… 16 years and older. Vehicles that as a whole are classified in the best Crit’Air 3 in gasoline and Crit’Air 4 in Diesel.
In a second-hand market that has fallen 6.6% since the beginning of the year, this category of over-16s accounted for almost one in four transactions in February.
Source: BFM TV
