The average used car in America was listed for $25,571 in April, an increase of just $31 from March. Prices remained 6% below year-ago levels.
The small increase mirrored what has happened in the new car market, where prices rose slightly last month.
Dealers face a long-term shortage of used cars, as automakers built about 8 million fewer cars during the COVID-19 pandemic than they otherwise would have. Those cars will never reach the used market, depressing supply slightly for years to come.
Prices fell throughout the first quarter of 2024 anyway, as consistently high interest rates kept some shoppers home. Every year sees a rush of used car sales as tax return season begins, but the spring bounce was muted in 2024.
Dealers measure their supply of used cars in a metric called “days of inventory.” It measures how long it would take them to sell out of cars at the current sales pace if they couldn’t acquire more. Dealers ended April with a 46-day supply — well under the traditional target of 60.
Used cars priced under $15,000 are in the shortest supply. The average dealer has just 36 days’ supply.
