Derry Motoring with Jim McCauley: Five star ratings and used car prices today

The only car in this round to achieve four stars was the DS 9, as the large family car was penalised in the frontal offset test for ‘being an aggressive impact partner towards other vehicles’.

The other cars achieving five-star results included the Hyundai Ioniq 6, Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Cross, the Nissan Ariya, and Nissan X Trail. The large MPV Renault Austral, the Land Rover Range Rover and its sportier sister the Range Rover Sport also scored five-star ratings.

As well as the NIO ET7, two further Chinese cars achieved maximum scores in November’s test – the new small off-roader Smart #1, now jointly owned by Geely, and another small off-roader, the appealingly named WEY Coffee.

Also released were five-star results for the long-awaited electric Toyota BZ4X and its official twin Subaru Solterra.

For buyers focusing on the used car market, recent industry figures show used car sales fell in the third quarter of this year, due in large part to the ongoing shortage of available stock. However, the latest data from Auto Trader’s Retail Price Index reveals used car prices remain strong. In fact, the average price of a used car increased to £17,863 in November, marking an increase of around £300 on October’s average prices, and around £500 on September.

The data, which is based on daily pricing analysis of 900,000 vehicles across the market, shows that on a month-on-month basis, prices have been neutral or risen for five consecutive months. On a year-on-year and like-for-like basis, average prices this November are up over 5% on November 2021, during which prices were up a massive 29% on November 2020.

Although consumer demand is easing slightly against last year’s record highs, levels remain comparatively robust, which, coupled with the ongoing squeeze in both new and used car supply, is maintaining current prices. In addition, there are no signs of significantly higher levels of supply coming into the market to ease the situation.

The greatest price hike in the figures from November 2021 to November 2022 is the Fiat Punto, averaging £4,628 asking price this November, some 36% more expensive than this time last year. The Peugeot 107 and 207 follow close behind with price increases over the year of over 33%.

At the other end of the scale, models from Jaguar, BMW and Vauxhall all feature in the top ten of contracting prices. The Jaguar XK average asking price in November was £21,325, down 17.5% over the year, with the Vauxhall Grandland X and BMW 8 Series showing just over a 14% reduction in forecourt prices from November 2021.

Looking at buying trends in the Republic, statistics from the Irish vehicle history experts, Cartell.ie have come up with some shocking figures topped by the fact that one car, an Audi A6 has had 43 owners. Over 18,000 of the cars on the roads of the Republic have had ten owners or more over the course of their lifetime, with over 67,000 cars having six previous owners. While Dublin tops the bill of cars with ten or more owners, having 3,795 recorded, Donegal lies mid-way in the county list with 561 cars on the road with ten or more previous owners.

Commenting on the figures Ross Conlon, CEO of CarsIreland.ie, said, “A high number of owners can indicate one of several things including mechanical issues with the vehicle, where owners are off-loading a troublesome car, for instance, or, at the very least, a high number of owners points to various different driver-styles which increases the likelihood of wear and tear issues”.