A Used Car?

Looking for a used car? An affordable used car? The average listing price for a used vehicle stands at approximately $25,512.So where is the affordable part?

Going down market, sales of vehicles priced at $25,000 or less have plummeted by 78% in recent years, and cars under $20,000 are "phasing out" as inventory dwindles.

Below $15,000, most experts describe the market as "trash”. Here you’ll pay steep premiums for reliable brands like Toyota and Honda—often 20-30% higher than comparable models due to demand for durability.

Looking for something “cheap”, the sub-$5,000 segment is particularly strained, representing a shrinking portion of the market. There are a few factors working against you…

• Availability: Listings exist, but they're mostly limited to older, high-mileage vehicles (typically 10-20 years old with 100,000+ miles). National databases like Carfax show only about 7,000-ish used cars under $5,000 available nationwide.

• Challenges: These cars often lack modern features, have potential maintenance issues, and face scrutiny in a market where buyers prioritize reliability amid rising repair costs. It’s not uncommon to see 10-year-old cars with 130,000+ miles costing $15,000 or more. The scarcity stems from fewer trade-ins (due to owners keeping cars longer) and past supply shortages from 2021-2022, reducing the flow of "newer" used vehicles into lower price brackets.

Combined, these factors leave folks needing inexpensive transportation with few options.

What do you do if your car, worth $2,000, needs $2,500 worth of repairs? In times past, taking that $2,500 and buying another car in better condition than the one you have in the shop was an option. Today, that's all but impossible.

Solutions? Let’s work together to find them!