By Mary Prenon
The days of buying a later model pre-owned vehicle for less than $20,000 may soon become history, according to a new report.
Used cars listed for under $20,000 comprise 11.5 percent of today’s three-year-old market, down from 49.3 percent in 2019, according to the report from iSeeCars.com, an online car search and research firm.
The company analyzed more than 2.6 million three-year-old used cars and found that average prices have risen almost 41 percent since the COVID pandemic.
This translates to a hike from an average of $23,159 in 2019 to $32,635 in 2025. The largest price growth has been for passenger cars—up by 48.7 percent, while truck prices advanced by 28.8 percent, and SUVs by 15.4 percent.
The Chevrolet Equinox, Honda Civic, Kia Sportage, Nissan Rogue, Toyota Camry, and Toyota Corolla are among the best-selling three-year-old used cars no longer available for less than $20,000.
More than 70 percent of passenger cars similar to these models were priced below $20,000 in 2019, but today, just more than 28 percent of three-year old passenger cars are in that price range, representing a 60.2 percent decline. SUVs suffered as well, with a 79.3 percent decline in affordability.
“The pandemic may be a fading memory, but the lack of new car production five years ago has created a ‘pandemic hangover’ effect for today’s used car market,” iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer stated in the report.
“Many car buyers are now priced out of late-model used cars, forcing them to consider older models with more miles to fit within their budget.”
Today’s consumers are paying close to $10,000 more for a three-year-old pre-owned car, and Brauer noted there’s no indication that costs will be coming down anytime soon.
“While these buyers had access to half of the three-year-old used cars for sale in 2019, that same $20,000 will only buy them 11.5 percent of three-year-old used cars today,” he said.
Many used car models have experienced a 25 percent or higher price increase with the Nissan Sentra, Honda Civic and Toyota Camry seeing the largest price hikes of up to 45.7 percent.
Analyzing the used car market in America’s 50 largest metropolitan areas, the Boston–Manchester, Massachusetts, region showed the largest drop in share of lower-priced vehicles, while the Miami–Fort Lauderdale, Florida, area saw the smallest drop.
Minneapolis–St. Paul Minnesota; Hartford–New Haven, Connecticut; Austin, Texas; and Philadelphia, also ranked high for loss of used cars under $20,000. Las Vegas, as well as three other Florida locations—West Palm Beach–Ft. Pierce, Orlando–Daytona Beach, and Tampa–St. Petersburg—all experienced a lower decline in affordable used vehicles.
