- The average American used car was listed for $25,533 in January, down more than 2% from December.
- A drop in January is normal, and prices remain higher than a year ago.
The average used car was listed for $25,533 in January, down from a revised $26,120 in December.
A price drop at the beginning of the year is normal. Prices remain about 1% higher than a year ago. The numbers come from Kelley Blue Book parent Cox Automotive.
Affordability is a challenge for car shoppers. The average new car sold for over $49,000 last month as the $20,000 car essentially disappeared from sales lots.
Related: Is Now the Time to Buy, Sell, or Trade-In a Car?
Used car sales typically accelerate in February as tax refund season begins. Dealers enter this year with 3% more cars for sale than they had a year ago.
Inventory remains depressed by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Automakers built about 8.1 million fewer cars during the months of lockdown than they otherwise would have. That leaves dealers with fewer 3- to 4-year-old cars than they would ordinarily have.
They are also short on the older, higher-mileage cars they can sell for $15,000 or less. Dealers ended January with just a 37-day supply of those. They had a 48-day supply of all used cars.
The top five sellers of the month had an average price of $23,668, nearly 7% below the average listing price for all used vehicles sold. Once again, Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan were the top-selling brands, accounting for nearly 50% of all used vehicles sold.
