Prices for used diesel cars rose by £294 in Q4, totalling a £521 year-on-year increase.

Autorola saw the average used diesel price sold on its portal in the final quarter of 2017 reach £11,123 – up £294 on the third quarter despite cars being on average one month older at 31 months and having higher mileage (27,597 v 25,573).

Over the same three-month period, petrol values fell £163 to £8,495 from quarter three – reflecting higher mileage (20,729 v 17,961) and increased age (31 v 29 months).

“When you look at the figures both demand and prices for used diesels have been strong during 2017 and continue to outweigh that of petrols.

“Diesel prices are already moving back up to the highs of Q1 2017 and traders who are buying from our website are satisfying consumer demand which shows motorists haven’t been phased by unfavourable press coverage over recent months,” explained Jon Mitchell, Autorola UK’s group sales director.