Demand for cars over 10 years old and 100,000 miles resulted in a 0.3% rise in values, despite an overall used car market dip of 0.6% during January, according to automotive data experts Cap HPI.

The pricing experts found that prices had picked up in the middle of January to support values at the three years 60,000-mile mark but the only real gains made during the period were on older vehicles. 

James Dower (pictured), senior Black Book editor at Cap HPI, said: “The rise in values of 10-year-old vehicles was mainly driven by strong performances in the Lower Medium and Supermini sectors with healthy demand at the cheaper end of the market. 

“2016 had seen this age and mileage band struggle to perform price-wise as well as the younger counterparts. Maybe they now look value for money. It will be interesting to see if this develops into an ongoing trend.”

January saw diesel models perform slightly behind the average with a reduction in values of 0.9% at three years 60,000 miles with petrol variants performing a little stronger, reducing by only 0.3%. 

Dower said: “As petrol and diesel account for the significant driver towards the average, the gap is always likely to be minimal. 

“However, the movement into February saw perhaps the largest difference between the two fuel types performance. Diesel remains a desirable option for many customers with over 11 million diesel vehicles on the road.”

Cap HPI’s analysis of alternative fuel vehicles over the last nine months has shown more stability and consistency. 

January again saw strength within these fuel types with certain derivatives such as the Toyota Yaris (12- ) Hybrid performing particularly well with an increase in a value of 2.9% again at the three years 60,000 mark. 

Tesla Model S (13- ) saw an increase of 1.9% and Peugeot ION (11- ) increased in value by 1.7%. 

Commenting on the prospects for February, Dower said: “Wholesale performance through February reflects the buoyant retail marketplace, the beginnings of a slight tightening in stock availability and, on average, we have witnessed an increase in overall values of 0.4%. 

“While there is no reason to expect the month to be vastly dissimilar to previous years, much will depend on the levels of used vehicles coming back into the wholesale market over the coming weeks.”