There are indicators that the automotive market is slowly shifting again to regular. Offers on electrical autos have gotten commonplace, and used luxurious vehicles are seeing the anticipated depreciation drops. However in the event you’re a used automotive purchaser on a funds, a current survey revealed how tough it’s to seek out one thing in that beneath $20,000 market.

There was a time not that way back when a purchaser may get one thing good like Mazda6 or maybe a Hyundai Tucson between $18,000 and $20,000; these vehicles would solely be just a few years outdated with cheap miles and sure nonetheless some guarantee steadiness left. Even buyers in that $10,000 to $15,000 vary may choose up Kia Soul or a rental Nissan Sentra with mileage beneath 50,000. Now, the used automotive costs of 2019 really feel impossibly far-off, and the marketplace for “low cost” vehicles has shrunk dramatically.

A research from iSeeCars.com analyzed used automotive gross sales from 2019 and 2023 to disclose an enormous market shift in what patrons can anticipate now versus what they had been in a position to purchase then. Right here is their methodology:

SeeCars analyzed over 10.8 million 1- to 5-year-old used vehicles offered between January and July of 2019 and 2023. Listing costs and common odometer readings had been tallied and aggregated to match the share of vehicles at numerous value factors throughout the 2 intervals, in addition to to match the typical mileage of vehicles earlier than and after the COVID-19 pandemic. A number of best-selling autos had been analyzed and ranked by the change in share of vehicles priced beneath $20,000 from 2019 to 2023.

The outcomes are staggering, although not terribly stunning, given the availability constraints and inflated costs of the previous two to 3 years.

In response to the info, in 2019, sub-$20,000 vehicles had been virtually 50 % of the market; now, lower than 13 % of the used automotive market are “inexpensive” rides. The largest drop is that $10,000 to $15,000 vary, the place about 20 % of used vehicles may very well be present in 2019, now that’s 1.5 %. Additionally, in the event you take a look at the typical mileage vary from the 2019 market within the $10,000 to $20,000 value level, it was potential to get one thing and have not less than some powertrain protection remaining. In case you are buying these vehicles in 2023, you’re looking at some increased mileage fashions.

A take a look at among the hottest used automotive fashions in 2019 and 2023 reveals some large value jumps for what was once very inexpensive fashions:

Used Camrys and Civics are as much as $8,000 dearer than they had been simply 4 years in the past. A used Elantra is as much as $5,000 dearer in comparison with 2019.

These massively inflated costs in contrast with the present excessive rates of interest make buying in these “inexpensive” segments tremendous tough for people who don’t have the luxurious of shopping for a brand new automotive. It additionally highlights as soon as once more how out of contact so-called “monetary specialists” are at giving recommendation.

If you happen to do end up on the lookout for an affordable trip, there is no such thing as a straightforward answer right here. Be as open-minded as potential, store your loans round, and ensure you get one thing inspected before you purchase it.

Tom McParland is a contributing author for Jalopnik and runs AutomatchConsulting.com. He takes the trouble out of shopping for or leasing a automotive. Acquired a automotive shopping for query? Ship it to Tom@AutomatchConsulting.com