If you're shopping for a used car, every ad gives you a price, a monthly figure and a list of features. But it's hard to know which of those really matter. So our team at Carplus looked at 41,298 UK used-car listings and turned what we found into a six-part study.
It covers how fast a car loses value and what a monthly payment buys. And it puts a price on the features, badges and histories that ads like to highlight.
Why we dug into used-car prices for you
We researched used-car prices because the monthly figure in an ad now does most of the selling. Yet on its own, it tells you very little about the car you're getting. And the selling points listed next to it rarely come with a price.
As a car finance broker, we'd rather you knew what you're paying for before you borrow, not after. That's what this research is for.
How we put 41,298 used cars side by side
We compared 41,298 used cars aged 1 to 10 years, covering 485 models, listed by two large UK online used-car retailers between June and October 2026. Every comparison is like for like. That means the same model, fuel, gearbox, body style and engine size at the same age and mileage, so a bigger engine or a pricier trim can't skew the result.
To price individual features, our team also read the wording of 24,860 ads. For ownership history, we used the 17,544 ads that state how many owners a car has had. Then we re-checked every headline figure on two random halves of the data – and each one held up.
What the numbers say about the price you pay
Our six-part study found that age, mileage, size and gearbox drive most of a used car's price. The details ads like to dwell on? Most of them barely move it.
- Part 1 – How fast do used cars lose value? A used car loses about 10% of its value a year. So buying at 3 years old, after the steepest early drop, is likely to lose you the least.
- Part 2 – Which used cars hold their value? Bigger cars lose value faster, from 8.6% a year for a city car to 11.8% for an executive car. The SEAT Arona does best of all, losing just 6.0% a year.
- Part 3 – What does £200, £300 or £400 a month buy? Moving from £200 to £300 a month takes the typical car from 8 years old to 4. But the next £100 takes off only about one more year.
- Part 4 – Which features make a used car more expensive? An automatic gearbox adds 13.5% to the price, about £2,020 on a £15,000 car. Leather, sat nav and heated seats? They add nothing measurable.
- Part 5 – Is a premium badge worth it on a used car? Only about a third of the extra you pay for a premium car goes on the badge itself. The rest buys a bigger engine, a bigger car and an automatic gearbox.
- Part 6 – How much does the number of owners affect price? A second owner takes just 0.6% off the price of the same car. That's about £90 – so a one-owner car is hardly worth paying extra for.
What this means when you’re choosing your next car
Our research means you can judge a used-car price on what really moves it – age, mileage, size and gearbox – rather than on what the ad chooses to highlight. So a "one owner" tag or leather seats shouldn't add much to what you pay. Neither one makes the car worth much more.
Before you agree a price, compare cars like for like and turn the monthly figure into a total cost. It only takes a few minutes. And if you want the detail, all six parts are free to read in our magazine.
Ready to see what you could borrow? Check your options – we use a soft search, so there's no impact on your credit score.
