The firm said average prices of used cars sold via its UK’s online remarketing portal fell slightly to £8,798 compared with £9,360 in Q4 2015. However, the average age and mileage of used cars both rose slightly in Q1 when compared with Q4 2015 from 32 to 33 months and from 20,771 to 21,969 miles.

“Q1 saw an increase in average age and mileage of used stock being sold on our portal which has impacted prices slightly. In quarter 4 2015 we saw an increase in sales of high value part exchanges which forced up average prices slightly, which in turn has put Q1 prices out of sync,” explained Jon Mitchell, Autorola UK’s sales director.

“Looking at the bigger picture average used prices in Q1 16 were very much in line with Q2 and Q3 2015 prices,” he added.

Autorola UK also announced the strongest sales quarter in its 10-year history as its 2,000 active buyers bid strongly on its 14,500 strong vehicle stock.

“It’s good to see more OEMs and dealers using online trade to trade remarketing as part of their overall used vehicle sales activity. OEMs and dealers are realising the speed and convenience of online remarketing,” Mitchell added.