I’m surprised you aren’t finding bargains. I sold my car last week and got next to nothing for it, it ended up with webuyanycar. Chatting to the guy there he said they’ve never been busier, mostly with people selling cars because they’ve lost their job. Also people buying cars in the up to £2k category just don’t have spare cash to be buying right now. I would think there has never been a better time to pick up a cheap, well looked after workhorse. Long MOT and decent service history are a must, but shop around and don’t be shy in expecting a low price.
For context I went into selling mine hoping for £1500, after a couple of weeks I’d have been happy with £750, ended up getting £300.