'And Boomers Will Say…:' Woman Says Gen Z Is Priced Out of the Used Car Market. Then She Explains Why

A Gen Z woman says young people are being priced out of the used car market and shares her buying experience as proof.

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Mike Hayden

By: Mike Hayden

Oct 17, 2025 at 4:00pm ET

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It sure seems like the used car market is following the same pattern as the housing market: Brutal on young people.

A young woman going by @mads_ventures on TikTok laid it out in a bedroom-shot video, claiming she’s priced out of the used car market.

According to Edmunds, the average price for a three-year-old used car reached $30,522 in early 2025, marking a 2.3% increase from the previous year. CarEdge reports the average price of a used car in October 2025 at $25,512. Gen Z college graduates typically earn less than $70,000, according to Forbes. Some quick back-of-the-napkin math suggests @mads_ventures might have a point.

How Are Young People Priced Out of the Used Car Market?

@mads_ventures began, "OK, gonna try to make this short and sweet, but it’s probably gonna be a three-minute video.” (She was right.)

“Mind you,” she continued, “there are 50 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 25—so, add your 16 and 17-year-olds, add up to 30-year-olds—there are a lot of us, and we practically all need used cars to satiate the Boomers’ need to tell us we can't live large."

She highlighted just how inflated prices have become with a personal story.

"I’m gonna describe a car now: 2014 Jeep Liberty, 100,000 miles, crank windows, so not even a nice one—base level, like the [expletive] one you could have bought off the lot when it was new,” she said. “What do you think? Did you say $15,000? ‘Cause that’s what it’s worth. And if you wanna break that down, say $15[00] for a down payment and an affordable monthly car payment—around $300—that’s gonna take 72 months to pay off. That Jeep will not last 72 months. It already has 100,000 miles. If you know Jeeps, you know it’s not gonna last that long."

She went on to detail a different car with even more miles.

"Luckily, he had a Hyundai SUV with 230,000 miles that had been sitting in his parents’ garage just in case one of their other cars broke down. He could drive it to work for a bit—but it needs a new transmission, which is like $5,000," she explained.

They searched everywhere—Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, eBay.

"We were not above a Craigslist meetup for a vehicle, OK?” she said. “We were willing to take what we could get. There was really nothing drivable that didn’t need $5,000 of engine and transmission work—the exact situation we were already in."

Eventually, they found what they considered the best deal and drove across the state to get it.

"So, we drove from Atlanta to Orlando and back in one day to buy a 2006 Honda Ridgeline with 130,000 miles,” @mads_ventures said. “A 20-year-old vehicle with 130,000 miles already. Luckily, for a Honda, that’s only half its lifespan. Hopefully, we get close to 250[000], maybe more. After dealership fees, we paid $8,800. No engine or transmission work was needed at the time—knock on wood it stays that way."

Gallery: 2006 Honda Ridgeline Earns Best-Ever Rollover Rating for a Pickup

Even That 2006 Honda Ridgeline “Deal” Came With Extra Costs

She continued laying out the issues with the truck.

"But it’s a truck, so we immediately needed a new tire—$1,000 there,” @mads_ventures said. “Registration and insurance brought us to $10,000 for a 20-year-old vehicle with 130,000 miles. That was the cheapest one in the country we could find at the time.”

She used the slang “beater,” which refers to a car that’s heavily worn but still drivable—think visible wear and sky-high mileage.

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“You can go to [expletive] car lots, but a beater is no longer worth $5,000,” she said. “This car will need new struts, new suspension. A/C went out the month after we bought it. Already, we’re looking at $2,000–$3,000 more to make it drivable for a three-hour daily commute. So, yeah—beaters are no longer $5,000. Thank you."

Motor1 reached out to @mads_ventures via TikTok but did not immediately receive a response. Her story highlights a common struggle for young people trying to find affordable transportation in a market with few bargains. It turns out that even beaters can price young people out in 2025.