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Pre-registered cars are effectively surplus stock, sold cheaply to dealers who then register them before selling them on as ‘ex-demo’ or ‘delivery mileage’. Usually, these car will have a handful of miles on the clock and be priced much lower than the official list price. 

If you’re looking for a good price on a used car, you need to make sure that you have an accurate and up-to-date valuation. This will give you the information that you need to make a decision as to whether you’re getting a good deal.

As soon as a new car leaves the showroom, it starts to lose money. This is called depreciation and is why it’s cheaper to buy a nearly-new six-month old car than it is a brand new car. Occasionally external factors - like a slump in consumer spending - can have an effect on car prices which can accelerate or slow the depreciation process.

The best months to buy a used car are generally April and October. These are the months immediately following plate changes and dealers have plenty of stock as a result of part exchanges. This influx of cars means that they’re more likely to offer competitive prices.

An average car will cover between 10,000 and 12,000 miles a year. Anything above this will be considered high mileage. But don’t consider mileage alone, ask how it has been driven. A car that’s covered 25,000 miles a year on the motorway will have had an easy life and, providing it has been well maintained, could be a better bet than an identical, but lower mileage, example that’s been driven in towns and on B-roads, as this is likely to cause more stress on things like the clutch, gearbox and suspension.