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UK Used-Car Prices Ease After Covid Surge as Fuel Costs Spike

  • Prices have fallen for five straight months in the UK
  • Britons asking whether they really need a car, dealer says
Second hand cars on the forecourt of an automobile dealership in Lincoln, UK.

Second hand cars on the forecourt of an automobile dealership in Lincoln, UK.

Photographer: Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg
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Used cars, which pushed up UK inflation during the pandemic, are now getting cheaper as Britons offload their vehicles in response to soaring fuel costs and a broader squeeze on household budgets.

Inflation hit a 40-year high in June, driven by products ranging from motor fuel to eggs, but prices for second-hand cars fell 2.5%, according to Office of National Statistics data. That marked a fifth consecutive monthly drop and the longest losing streak since 2017.