According to the latest data from Auto Trader, the UK’s largest automotive marketplace, the speed at which used cars are selling is continuing to accelerate with used cars taking an average of just 25 days to sell in March.
This follows the rapid pace we saw in January (31 days) and February (28 days) with used cars selling faster in 2025 than any other year on record, indicating that consumer demand remains robust. This is further supported by strong levels of consumer engagement on Auto Trader, with over 80 million consumers visiting the platform every month.
Of all the used cars on sale, the Vauxhall Grandland is currently leading the pack when it comes to speed of sale. Under one-year-old petrol-hybrid versions of the venerable SUV are currently selling in just seven and a half days on average in March. This is closely followed by another petrol-hybrid SUV with the one-year-old Mercedes-Benz GLC shifting off retailers' forecourts just in eight and a half days. The top three is rounded off by the one-year-old petrol version of the Jeep Avenger which took on average eleven days to exchange hands between retailers and buyers.
The Grandland, GLC and Avenger are not the only 'nearly new' (aged up to one year) cars in the top ten list, with half of the top ten fastest-selling cars being nearly new. Whilst this highlights a keen appetite for certain newer models, Auto Trader’s data reveals nuance in the used car market, with 80% of the slowest-selling used cars also in the ‘nearly new’ cohort. Indeed, cars up to one year old are shown to be the slowest-selling age group, taking 31 days to leave the forecourt. These ‘nearly new’ used cars breaking through to the top then are cutting through this trend.
Conversely, older used cars aged 5-10 years are selling swiftly in just 23 days on average, two days faster than the overall pace of sale for March. This age cohort is also currently enjoying the strongest Market Health of any age bracket at 7.36%, with demand equally strong, up 7.1% year-on-year.
Richard Walker, Auto Trader’s Data and Insight’s Director, commented: “The accelerating speed at which cars are moving off forecourts faster is an encouraging sign for the used car market. However, this record speed of sale does suggest that for many retailers there’s room to optimise pricing to fully capitalise on the robust levels of 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 prove essential to ensuring retailers are maximising profit whilst still achieving a rapid rate of stock turn.”