Used car prices up by more than 50%, according to DoneDeal

A report published today by the online car marketplace DoneDeal said used car prices in Ireland had risen by a whopping 56% in the last two years.

The site said both the pandemic and Brexit have had "a straggering effect" on the price of a used car in Ireland, with a 7.7% increase seen in the last three months alone.

"Used car prices are now 56% higher than they were just before the onset of the pandemic in January 2020," said DoneDeal in a statement today.

"In the US, the rate of used car inflation for the same period is 47%, in the UK it's 33%. In just three months since October 2021 used car prices have increased by 7.7%."

Remarkably, the report said it had seen some "unprecedented" cases of second-hand cars being listed for a higher price than a new model.

Dr Tom Gillespie, an environmental economist jointly associated with NUI Galway and Trinity College Dublin, said 2021 "was undoubtedly an anomalous year" in the Irish used car market.

"The supply chain disruption caused by the pandemic and the realisation of Brexit market consequences resulted in a perfect storm for used car price inflation," he commented.