Used Cars Under $20,000 Are An Endangered Species

Lower than a 12 months ago, we reported that recent cars under $20,000 had gone extinct. In line with a study by iSeeCars that analyzed over 2.6 million three-year-old used cars, the few remaining used alternatives look like well on their option to joining them. While nearly half of all three-year-old cars cost lower than $20,000 in 2019, only 11.5% remain at that price point today.

Several popular used models priced under $20,000 in 2019 have now crossed that threshold. These include the Honda Civic, Toyota Camry, Nissan Rogue, Chevy Equinox, Kia Sportage, and Honda HR-V. Of the 20 hottest used models, the Chevy Trax, Toyota Corolla, and Nissan Sentra are the one ones that wholly remain under $20,000. Even which may not last long, as used Sentras increased from a mean price of $12,504 in 2019 to $18,224 in 2025. Its 45.7% change was essentially the most of any of those models, and will shoot above $20,000 soon if market trends proceed. Even the Corolla barely still qualifies, with a mean price of $19,792 for a three-year-old model in 2025. This forces buyers with low budgets to search for even older cars than before. It’s a very good thing getting a automotive to last 200,000 miles or more is less complicated than ever as of late.

Although SUVs and trucks are more popular than passenger cars, it’s passenger cars which have seen essentially the most significant price increase since 2019. Back then, 70.7% of three-year-old cars cost lower than $20,000. Today, just 28.1% fall into this bottom-tier price range. The typical price of a three-year-old automotive increased from $19,734 in 2019 to $29,343 in 2025, a rise of 48.7% in only six years. In contrast, the value of the typical used truck rose 28.8% in the identical time period, while used SUV prices went up 15.4%.

Perhaps passenger cars are appreciating way more rapidly than trucks and SUVs just because there are far fewer cars than there was once. Ford killed its cars some time back, except the Mustang, in fact. Chevy stopped constructing its last sedan, the Malibu, in November 2024. The Nissan Altima and Versa are on their way out, and the manual Versa, formerly the least expensive automotive within the U.S., has already been discontinued. Short supply means greater demand for those few which are left, which drives prices up. We like sedans, but they seem like going the best way of the dodo, together with the sub-$20,000 vehicle generally.