Some cars, including the Toyota Corolla and Ford Bronco, are worth up to $8,000 more used than if they were new
The car-buying market remains volatile, though used car prices are falling.
But there are 14 used cars that cost more than their new versions, per a new iSeeCars analysis.
A lightly used Toyota Sienna or Kia Carnival could cost thousands more than they do new.
Even as the car-buying market normalizes somewhat, prices are still a concern for consumers, especially with used vehicles.
The average transaction price for new vehicles has seen some improvement, but because of low supply and high demand, the pricing dynamics of secondhand cars have been less predictable.
One glaring sign of how strange the car market still is: 14 used vehicles are on average more expensive today than their new equivalents, according to car search engine iSeeCars.
iSeeCars did an analysis of nearly 9 million new (from model years 2022 and 2023) and lightly used cars (model years 2021 and 2022) listed for sale from February to March this year.
For example, the popular Toyota RAV4 Hybrid is going for $40,045 used, or $953 over its new price. Sellers are asking $196,228 on average for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class, $8,633 more than the asking price for a new version of the SUV.
Vehicle availability is still being pinched by supply-chain issues that hit auto manufacturing during the pandemic, inflating prices for some of the most popular, high-value, or fuel-efficient models, Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars told Insider.
Before the pandemic threw a wrench into car manufacturing and buying, a few special and hard-to-find models — like a next-generation Chevy Corvette — might have sold for above their new retail price even slightly used, Brauer said. Now that's true of everyday vehicles like Toyota Corollas. His advice to shoppers: Since prices can vary greatly at dealerships across the country, don't be afraid to broaden your search radius and travel to secure the best deal.
But there's good news: This year, lightly used cars are, on average, more than 8% cheaper than their new equivalent. That's a huge improvement over 2022, when the average lightly used car was 8.5% above the average new car price, according to iSeeCars' data. Even better is that the number of used cars priced above their new car equivalent dropped from 15 last year to this year's 14.
Below are price differentials for the other 12 vehicles analyzed:
Ford Maverick
Used price: $36,777
Difference used over new: $4,038
Toyota Corolla Hybrid
Used price: $27,809
Difference used over new: $2,038
Toyota Sienna
Used price: $50,978
Difference used over new: $1,806
Toyota RAV4 Prime
Used price: $51,298
Difference used over new: $1,726
Toyota Corolla Cross
Used price: $30,636
Difference used over new: $853
Kia Carnival
Used price: $42,025
Difference used over new: $916
Ford Bronco
Used price: $55,372
Difference used over new: $901
Honda Civic (hatchback)
Used price: $29,683
Difference used over new: $297
Honda Accord Hybrid
Used price: $34,704
Difference used over new: $152
Chevrolet Corvette
Used price: $84,827
Difference used over new: $324
Kia Rio
Used price: $20,135
Difference used over new: $27
Honda Accord
Used price: $30,404
Difference used over new: $16
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