The average prices of used cars have gone up significantly, with an average increase of 47.7% since 2019. This has led to buyers facing the challenge of either spending more on older cars or those with higher mileage.

Those are the findings of a recent study by iSeeCars, a popular website that provides data and guidance on purchasing used vehicles. According to the results, popular cars like the Honda Civic or Toyota RAV4 are 41 to 46 percent more expensive today than in 2019. Full-size trucks like the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, and Ram 1500 increased 30 to 50 percent in the same period. In terms of dollars, this means the average used car price rose from $23,351 to $34,491 in four years.    

But it's not just prices that increased. The average used car's mileage also increased 45.7 percent, going from 43,541 to 63,457 miles in the same time period. Mileage on the full-size trucks listed above increased an average of 49 to 53 percent, while the Honda Civic and Toyota RAV 4 were up 81 and 139.6 percent, respectively. 

To produce the study, ISeeCars analyzed over 10.8 million one to five-year-old used vehicles. In addition to the increases in prices and mileage, it found that the days of the $20,000 car with less than 44,000 miles are numbered. While 20 percent of the used car market met those criteria in 2019, only 11 percent of the market is priced between $15,000 and $20,000 today, with the average vehicle having over 63K miles. 

 

Price Increases for Best-Selling Used Cars: 2019 vs. 2023
Rank Model Avg. Price 2019 Avg. Price 2023 % Change in Avg. Price 2019-2023
1 Ram 1500 $27,324 $42,881 56.9%
2 Toyota Corolla $14,220 $21,308 49.8%
3 Toyota Camry $17,107 $25,537 49.3%
4 Honda Civic $16,577 $24,301 46.6%
5 GMC Sierra 1500 $32,862 $47,364 44.1%
6 Honda Accord $18,627 $26,658 43.1%
7 Hyundai Elantra $13,200 $18,744 42.0%
8 Toyota RAV4 $20,640 $29,094 41.0%
9 Jeep Wrangler $25,936 $35,953 38.6%
10 Honda CR-V $20,714 $28,401 37.1%
11 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 $29,629 $40,359 36.2%
12 Nissan Rogue $18,015 $24,241 34.6%
13 Ford F-150 $31,520 $42,104 33.6%
14 Ford Explorer $26,502 $34,904 31.7%
15 Hyundai Tucson $18,270 $23,869 30.6%
16 Chevrolet Malibu $15,735 $20,372 29.5%
17 Toyota Tacoma $28,443 $36,675 28.9%
18 Subaru Crosstrek $20,763 $26,480 27.5%
19 Mazda CX-5 $20,580 $26,191 27.3%
20 Chevrolet Equinox $17,954 $22,685 26.3%
21 Subaru Outback $23,433 $29,413 25.5%
22 Jeep Grand Cherokee $27,454 $34,307 25.0%
23 Toyota Highlander $29,153 $36,311 24.6%
Average of all 1- to 5-year-old used cars $23,351 $34,491 47.7%

 

However, one bright spot is that used car prices dropped this year. In a separate study, iSeeCars determined that overall prices decreased 4.7 percent from September 2022 to March 2023 and 8.7 percent year-over-year. Among the models with the largest declines are the Tesla Model 3 and SUVs from Nissan, Infiniti, and Land Rover, all of which dropped around 20 percent.

Source: iSeeCars