[The Epoch Times, November 4, 2023](Compiled and reported by Epoch Times reporter Xue Mingzhu) The automobile research company iSeeCars.com released a research report in August this year, stating that while the mileage of used cars has increased significantly in the past few years, the prices have also increased. sharp rise.
Compared with the pre-pandemic market, buyers are now facing a situation where some popular used car models have more than twice the mileage, but prices are 25% to 50% higher.
iSeeCars analyzed more than 10.8 million used cars between one and five years old and found that the average price of a used car in 2015 was $22,493; it rose slightly to $23,351 in 2019. But by 2023, the average used car price surged to $34,491, an increase of 47.7%, an average annual increase of more than 10%.
Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars, said: “Under the impact of the epidemic, economical used cars have almost disappeared from the used car market. In 2019, used car buyers with a budget of about $15,000, They can afford more than 20% of late-model models in the used car market. Today, this budget can only afford them 1.6% of used cars on the market.”
Although affordable used cars accounted for only 3% of the used car market in 2019, buyers were still able to purchase models with less than 75,000 miles for less than $10,000 in 2019. Today, there are no such cars on the used car market; only 1.5% of models are priced below $15,000, and about 11% are priced between $15,001 and $20,000.
In the price range under $20,000, the average mileage of a used car in 2019 was 43,541 miles. It’s now 63,457 miles, an increase of 45.7%. For more reference, in 2015, cars priced under $20,000 accounted for 52.7% of sales, and the average mileage of these cars was 44,777 miles.
Across all price points, more than half of the cars sold in 2023 have at least 20% more mileage than similarly priced cars in 2019.
“One of the few things people can still do during the lockdown is go for a drive, and obviously a lot of people are doing that,” Brower said. “This is driving higher mileage across the used car market, but supply of both new and used cars is very tight, so the increased mileage is not hurting used car prices and they are still rising.”
Popular cars with prices rising 25% to 57%
The best-selling cars in the U.S. in 2023 and their used car prices, compared to 2019. Nine of these cars were priced under $20,000 in 2019, with all but two having lower average prices. at US$30,000.
Today, only the Hyundai Elantra remains under $20,000, with eight other models priced over $30,000.
In the used car market, mainstream models with prices no longer below $20,000 include Honda Accord and Civic, Hyundai Tucson, Nissan X-Trail (Rogue), as well as Toyota Camry and Corolla.
“Over the past four years, prices for two popular compact SUVs, the Honda CR-V and the Toyota RAV4, have increased by 37.1% and 41%, respectively,” Brower said, “even as the average mileage of these used models has doubled. From less than 50,000 miles in 2019 to more than 100,000 miles in 2023, prices have still increased.”
“Compared to the pre-pandemic used car market, used car buyers are having to face the stark reality of paying more for cars with higher mileage,” Brauer said.
“No one wants to hear news like this, but numbers don’t lie. This means it’s more important than ever to understand the market value of a used car, and to conduct surveys to confirm its service history.”
In 2023, among the top 50 metropolitan areas by population, the market share of used cars priced under $20,000 will drop significantly by at least 65.9% compared to 2019 in all metropolitan areas.
The Boston-Manchester area had the largest decline, reaching 82.4%; followed by Austin, Texas, and the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose metropolitan area in California, with a decline of 79.9%. The smallest decrease was in the Oklahoma region of Oklahoma, with a decrease of 65.9%. ◇
Editor in charge: Song Jiayi
Tags: Study cars disappearing #U.S Automobile Epoch Times
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