Dealers are out of new car stock across America. Buyers have flooded their locations because of pent-up demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This demand has been pushed higher by the normal replacement cycle. To make matters worse, there is a shortage of many models because of a low supply of semiconductors used in their electronics systems.
Americans have turned to used cars as an alternative. This, in turn, has pressed used car prices to record levels. In some cases, the prices of some used models have risen over 40%.
iSeeCars has put together an analysis of used car prices by model, based on June prices compared to June 2020. The car research firm pointed out that “In June, used car prices increased 32.7 percent, or $7,583, compared to the same period the previous year.” As part of the process, iSeeCars reviewed 1.1 million used car sales from model years 2016 to 2020 last month, and more than 800,000 used car sales from model years 2015 to 2019 in June 2020.
iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer considered whether the chip problem will continue to drive up used car prices. He commented, “While used car prices are expected to remain elevated for the foreseeable future, we are waiting to see if prices are going to keep rising or if they will start to decline towards pre-microchip shortage levels.”
The car with the largest increase on a percentage basis was the Nissan LEAF, with a year-over-year increase of 48.1% in June. That brought its used car price to $20,015, which is inexpensive for new and used cars. It may be that the price has risen so much because the LEAF is part of the electric car category, which becomes increasingly popular each year. That is triggered to some extent by the huge popularity of market leader Tesla. The LEAF also generally gets good ratings from car research firms and the car media. Edmunds recently awarded it a score of 7.9 out of a possible 10.
Interestingly, the next car on the list of those that have a run-up in price is among the most expensive models in America. The Mercedes-Benz G-Class price rose 46.3% year over year to $158,835. The G-Class is the luxury car maker’s hulking high-end sport utility vehicles.
These are the 10 used cars with the greatest year-over-year price increases:
| Vehicle | Average Price | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Nissan LEAF | $20,015 | 48.10% |
| Mercedes-Benz G-Class | $158,835 | 46.30% |
| Chevrolet Camaro | $36,163 | 45.10% |
| Lincoln Navigator L | $66,508 | 44.20% |
| Ram Pickup 1500 | $40,200 | 42.60% |
| Lincoln Navigator | $65,236 | 42.40% |
| Audi A5 | $44,376 | 41.80% |
| GMC Sierra 1500 | $47,791 | 41.30% |
| Ford Mustang | $36,476 | 41.30% |
| Chevrolet Spark | $13,892 | 40.60% |
Click here to see which are the fastest-selling cars in America.
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