The speed at which used cars are selling is continuing to accelerate with vehicles taking an average of just 25 days to sell in March, according to the latest data from Auto Trader.
This follows the rapid pace observed in January (31 days) and February (28 days), making 2025 the fastest year on record for used car sales.
Among all used cars on sale, the Vauxhall Grandland is currently leading the pack in terms of speed of sale. Under one-year-old petrol-hybrid versions of the SUV are selling in 7.5 days on average in March.
Close behind is the one-year-old Mercedes-Benz GLC, another petrol-hybrid SUV, which is selling in just 8.5 days. Rounding out the top three is the one-year-old petrol Jeep Avenger, which takes an average of 11 days to sell.
The Grandland, GLC, and Avenger are among several ‘nearly new’ (aged up to one year) cars breaking through as fast sellers, with half of the top ten fastest-selling cars belonging to this category.
However, Auto Trader’s data also reveals that 80% of the slowest-selling used cars are in the ‘nearly new’ cohort, which on average takes 31 days to leave the forecourt. This contrast highlights varying levels of demand within this age group.
Conversely, older used cars aged 5-10 years are selling swiftly, taking just 23 days on average – two days faster than the overall pace of sale for March. This age group also enjoys the strongest market health of any category at 7.36%, with demand up 7.1% year-on-year.
Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s data and insights director, commented: “The accelerating speed at which cars are moving off forecourts is an encouraging sign for the used car market. However, this record speed of sale suggests that for many retailers, there’s room to optimise pricing to fully capitalise on the strong consumer demand.
“Retailers need to be confident in their pricing and, with the used market currently buoyant, price correctly to the retail market. Staying close to the market data will be essential for maximising profit while maintaining a rapid rate of stock turnover.”
