If you're in the market for a used car under $20,000, we have some welcome news. They're getting a bit easier to find. iSeeCars says while used car prices remain well above pre-pandemic levels, used cars under $20K are making a comeback as affordability rebounds, with the sub-$20K used car share up 30 percent over last year. Today, you can find three popular used car models for slightly under $20K, versus just one last year.
iSeeCars says the trend of ever-increasing prices has reversed over the past year, with used car prices dropped 4.7 percent since 2023. While the average price for a 1- to 5-year-old used car is still 40.1 percent higher than 2019, researchers say this downward shift in pricing has been consistent for the first 8 months of 2024.
Not only are used cars getting cheaper, iSeeCars says their mileage is also down. iSeeCars says the average mileage of used cars is 39,109 miles, a 2.8 percent drop from last year. Researchers says this suggests buyers are now paying less money for used cars with fewer miles. This is a marked shift from what we saw between 2019-2023 when iSeeCars says the average mileage for used cars increased 5.6 percent. This meant buyers were forced to pay more for cars with higher miles.
As for vehicles under that $20,000 mark, the new research indicates that today, THREE popular USED models are available for under $20,000:
- Chevrolet Malibu (Average price 2024 -$19,123)
- Toyota Corolla (Average price 2024 - $19,793)
- Hyundai Elantra (Average price 2024- $18,022)
Last year just the Hyundai Elantra made the cut. In 2019, eight popular vehicles were on the under $20K list, including the Honda Civic, Honda Accord and Toyota Camry, none of which are on the list today.
iSeeCars says its analysis involved 17.9 million 1- to 5-year-old used cars sold between January and August of 2019, 2023, and 2024, using both pricing and mileage data to track changes over these five years.
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Used Cars By Price Range: 2019, 2023 and 2024 – iSeeCars Study |
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Price Range |
Share of Used Car Sales 2019 |
Share of Used Car Sales 2023 |
Share of Used Car Sales 2024 |
% Change in Share, 2019-2023 |
% Change in Share, 2023-2024 |
|
Up to $10k |
3.0% |
0.1% |
0.1% |
-97.7% |
100.0%* |
|
$10k - $15k |
19.9% |
1.5% |
2.5% |
-92.3% |
60.9% |
|
$15k - $20k |
26.5% |
11.1% |
13.9% |
-58.3% |
25.6% |
|
$20k - $25k |
17.8% |
19.6% |
20.3% |
10.5% |
3.2% |
|
$25k - $30k |
13.8% |
18.2% |
19.2% |
32.4% |
5.4% |
|
$30k - $35k |
7.6% |
14.1% |
13.7% |
84.4% |
-3.0% |
|
$35k - $40k |
4.6% |
11.8% |
10.3% |
158.5% |
-12.2% |
|
$40k - $45k |
2.5% |
7.2% |
6.3% |
188.8% |
-12.1% |
|
$45k - $50k |
1.7% |
5.3% |
4.2% |
217.7% |
-20.5% |
|
$50k - $55k |
0.9% |
3.0% |
2.4% |
241.3% |
-19.9% |
|
$55k - $60k |
0.6% |
2.3% |
2.0% |
256.0% |
-11.0% |
|
$60k - $65k |
0.3% |
1.5% |
1.3% |
333.2% |
-12.4% |
|
$65k - $70k |
0.2% |
1.3% |
1.1% |
479.3% |
-15.1% |
|
Over $70k |
0.6% |
3.1% |
2.6% |
429.8% |
-13.7% |
For the entire iSeeCars.com study, click here.
Photo Editorial Credit: Jonathan Weiss/Shutterstock.com.