A new study has shown that transporting pets can reduce a used car’s value by up to 10%.

And the survey of almost 2,700 motorists by What Car? found 47.5% would avoid models that had had pets in them.

More than 64% expected to pay less for a car that had been used to carry animals.

When asked how much less they would expect to pay for a vehicle that had transported pets, 37.5% of buyers said they would expect a cut of between 5% and 10%. A further 26..3% expected to pay between 0 and 5% less.

Steve Huntingford, editor at What Car?, said: “Mileage, service history and overall condition are usually the big factors that determine a used car’s price, but as our research shows, habits of previous owners can have a significant impact on the perceived value of a used car.”