Cars and Drivers

This Car Costs More Used Than It Does New

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: February 4, 2022 9:45 am

The car industry’s sales have hit a wall. A lack of the semiconductors used in car auto systems has made new cars scarce. Some manufacturers have even had to shutter assembly lines and their earnings have been undermined. Some dealers have so few cars that their lots are nearly empty. People are even holding on to old cars longer. The average age of a car on the American road is 12.1 years, the longest duration in history.

A scarcity of goods or services generally causes prices to rise. Cars are no exception. Cost of living data from the U.S. government shows that car prices were up by double-digit percentages in 2021, compared to 2020. Used car prices were affected more than new car prices.

Some cars are in such high demand, and their new car inventory is so low, that certain models have higher used car prices than new car prices.

According to iSeeCars, a one-year-old, lightly used car has a price that 1.3% higher than the new version today. It analyzed asking prices for over 1.5 million new and used cars sold between January 1, 2021, and January 1, 2022. iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer commented, “While choosing a lightly-used car has traditionally been a cost-saving measure for car shoppers, that is no longer true in today’s market as the effects of plant shutdowns and resulting pent-up demand continue.”

The car with the largest premium of the used model over the new one is the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. That premium is 35.6%, which means a used model costs $62,705 more than a new one. It is among the most expensive cars sold in America, with a price that can be as high as almost $200,000.

These 15 cars cost the most used over new:

Click here to see the most expensive cars in America.