Used prices in November fell compared to the prior month for the first time in eight months, according to Auto Trader.

An average price of £12,589 was £50 less than the average price recorded in October, however on a like-for-like basis – stripping out the impact of changes in the mix of cars being sold – prices are 6% higher than the same point last year.

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The month-on-month diesel fall was slight above the market rate – down £143 to £14,412, though this number was 3% higher than the average price from November 2016.

While new diesel car sales continue to plummet, the fuel type is showing something of a fightback in the used market, at least according to Auto Trader. Since November 2016 to May 2017, the proportion of Auto Trader searches which were diesel fell from 71% to 54%. Since then this decline has started to reverse, with diesel searches gradually rising to 56% of all fuel related searches in September. This figure has since remained flat, accounting for 55% of all fuel searches in October and November respectively.

While petrol searches represented 41% of fuel searches in November, up slightly from 40% in October, it did record a £55 month-on-month increase to £10,342. This also equated to a year-on-year increase of 11%.

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Commenting on the findings, Karolina Edwards-Smajda, Auto Trader’s retailer and consumer product director, said: “The negative rhetoric surrounding diesel, which has been fuelled by the government’s recent announcements is undoubtedly contributing to the decline in new and used car sales and has impacted used car prices in November.

“Although used diesels have been showing much greater resilience, with their value continuing to increase year-on-year, as well as remaining the most searched for fuel type on our marketplace, the Index does show a small month-on-month decline for the first time in eight months. It’s too early to tell whether this is an emerging trend or not, so we will continue to monitor prices closely.”

The generate these figures, the Auto Trader Price Index combined and analysed data from approximately 500,000 trade used car listings every day, as well as additional dealer forecourt and website data.