It Begins: Used Car Prices Are Going Up

It's the first increase in over two years, and it could get much worse.

Used Car Prices Lead

Photo by: Motor1.com

Christopher Smith

By: Christopher Smith

Apr 9, 2025 at 3:00pm ET

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You probably remember the insanity that occurred in the automotive market during the COVID panic and supply chain shortage from a few years ago. As new car supplies dwindled, used car prices went through the roof. Once markets stabilized, those costs came down. For the last two and a half years, that's exactly what's happened.

Now, with US President Trump's on-again-off-again tariffs bringing instability back to the new-vehicle segment, used car prices are reversing course. A new iSeeCars study shows a slight uptick in used vehicles less than five years old. It's just one percent for now—equating to an average increase of $317. But this change is coming before the full effect of automotive tariffs come into play, and iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer believes prices will go higher.

“During the pandemic, new car prices spiked when automotive factories closed and production fell short of demand,” said Brauer. “With tariffs, prices will likely increase regardless of demand, setting up a similar new car price spike that could pull used car prices up.”

Diving into the numbers, the report shows an average used car price of $31,624 for March 2025. That's an overall average for vehicles one to five years old. Here's a breakdown of used vehicle prices by segment, which shows SUVs leading the increase. Trucks and hybrids are up just a tad, but cars, minivans, and EVs are still falling. The information is pulled from an analysis of over 1.4 million vehicles.

Vehicle Segment Average Price - March 2025 Year-Over-Year Difference (USD) Year-Over-Year Difference (Percent) SUVs $32,258 +$1,098 +3.5% Trucks $38,443 +$337 +0.9% Hybrids $30,499 +$225 +0.7% Cars / Minivans $26,400 -$865 -3.2% EVs $32,107 -$3,602 -10.1%

The big question at this point is how tariffs and market instability will ultimately affect used car prices. That's largely due to the uncertainty of tariffs, which, as of this article going live, are still in effect at 25 percent for all vehicles imported into the United States. Some automakers have already paused new vehicle shipments to America, banking on the Trump Administration to reverse course before new car supplies run out. Should that not happen, iSeeCars estimates the average used car price could increase by nearly $3,200, or 10 percent.

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“A price bump between $1,300 and $3,800, depending on vehicle segment, is probably not what the average used car shopper wants to face over the next 6 to 12 months, but it's a definite possibility if new car pricing rises,” said Brauer.

Buckle up. This whole situation will probably get crazier in the weeks and months to come.