Used petrol car prices hit highest level in over two years

January 2026 records highest petrol car values since October 2023.

Marketcheck, the UK’s most significant source of data on the used vehicle market, has today published its latest figures on used petrol car pricing, revealing that January 2026 recorded the highest average price in nearly three years.

According to Marketcheck’s analysis, the average last listed price of a used petrol car reached £15,950 in January 2026, the highest level recorded since October 2023 (£15,979). The latest figure represents a £528 increase compared with January 2025, when the average price stood at £15,422.

Alastair Campbell, Marketcheck UK, commented:

“After a prolonged period of falling and stabilising prices, used petrol vehicles have begun to regain value. January’s figure is the highest we’ve seen since October 2023.

This reflects continued demand for petrol vehicles among buyers who may not yet be ready to move to electric or hybrid options. As a result, petrol cars remain the biggest component of the used car market, and strong demand is helping to push values up again.

Marketcheck will continue to analyse the impact of world events on the used car market – including the recent strikes on Iran which have caused widespread fears of petrol cost increases.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

About Marketcheck:

https://marketcheck.uk/

We are the leading source of UK automotive data. We collate, enhance and manage more data on the UK used car sector than any other provider. For automotive businesses we bring unprecedented access to live data to power analysis, pricing, reporting and AI agents on the UK used car market.

We track over 650,000 cars and 11500 dealers across 16k locations daily.

Contact:

Alistair Harrison
[email protected]