Even as experts anticipate more supply in the used car market this year, consumers probably won't see much relief on pricing.
While dealer inventories continue to slowly improve, the higher-cost mix of vehicles hitting the used car market — and wholesale prices that ticked higher in January — could limit how much that added supply translates into cheaper cars.
Although the consumer price index shows that prices for used cars were down 1.8% in January from December and 2% from a year earlier, they're easing off record highs. The average price of a used car up to 8 years old was $30,202 in 2025, up 27.6% from $23,668 in 2020, according to J.D. Power.
"The affordable under-$20,000 vehicles are harder to find," said Jonathan Banks, a vice president with J.D. Power.
That's likely to remain the case even as inventory improves. "You'll see a richer mix of vehicles," Banks said. "That's just the reality of it."
