Used EVs come into auction in volume and the room stays cautious — that caution holds the price down.
- Car: Tesla Model 3, 2020, electric, automatic
- Mileage: ~51,000
- Sold at auction: £10,350
- Typical retail price, same spec: ~£16,850
- Gap: ~£6,500
That retail figure is the typical asking price for the same car right now — same model, year, fuel and similar mileage, taken across the live adverts. Not one cherry-picked listing; the middle of the market.
Why the difference?
It's the same reason every car has two prices: one the trade pays, one the public pays. The £10,350 is the wholesale number — what the car sells for at auction. The ~£16,850 is what the same car sits at on a forecourt, retail-ready in front of a buyer.
£10,350 at the hammer. ~£16,850 on a forecourt. The same Tesla Model 3, two completely different prices.
The point
One car on one day, but it isn't unusual — it's the everyday shape of the auction market. The whole job is finding the examples where that gap is wide enough, and the car honest enough, to be worth buying.