Used car prices starting to fall for the first time in a year

Second-hand cars have finally become cheaper again after more than a year of price increases, said sales platform AutoScout24. According to the organization, this is probably due to the summer holidays.

In July, the platform sold second-hand cars for an average of 23,531 euros. That is 227 euros or 1.2 percent less than the month before. At the beginning of this year, the average price was still 22.158 euros. The last time this price fell was in the spring of 2021.

AutoScout24, which claims to be the online market leader in the Dutch car buying and selling market, said that now that people can finally enjoy summer without coronavirus restrictions again, it is obvious that they will spend more money on a holiday. In the years before the pandemic, the platform also noticed that prices fell slightly in the summer because people were somewhat less likely to go looking for a new or used car.

But the Netherlands now distinguishes itself from other European countries. For example, prices continued to rise last month in France, Austria, and Belgium. In Germany, the price fell slightly in July compared to a month earlier. But the decrease was only 0.2 percent. With an average price of 27,361 euros, Germany still has almost the highest used car price of the European countries AutoScout24 keeps track of.