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The cost of a used vehicle the year you turned 16


Eric Glenn // Shutterstock

The cost of a used vehicle the year you turned 16

Pre-owned Lexus cars in Columbus, Ohio.

The first car is almost never the dream car. It’s probably not the color you preferred, nor did it feature the sexiest trim. But it was appropriately priced, and it was going to get you from point A to point B.

That’s the beauty of the first car. It never needed to be much more than four wheels and a gas pedal that can be pressed any time our teenaged selves wanted a small taste of freedom: the freedom to visit the shop down the road, run errands for the parents, or meet with friends for milkshakes after class.

Stacker analyzed price index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and used vehicle price data from Edmunds to compile this timeline of used vehicle prices from the year you first got behind the wheel. The BLS Consumer Price Index measures the price of goods and services relative to a point in time. The BLS index for used car and truck prices is indexed to the years 1982-1984.

Used vehicle prices made a record jump in price in 2021, driven by a shortage of inventory. U.S. auto manufacturers have experienced difficulties in recent years getting enough computer chips to complete the latest and greatest new vehicles. That shortage of new vehicles pushed more buyers into the used car market, seeking the best bang for their buck in a world where new vehicles were seeing unheard-of markups over manufacturers’ pricing. And more demand for used vehicles has meant higher prices—for now.

Used car prices have stopped growing as fast as they did in 2021, but the price of the average used car was just over $28,000 in the first quarter of 2023. Edmunds analysts also reported that by May 2023 used vehicles for $20,000 or less had become hard to find for buyers.

It’s not unheard of for used vehicle prices to fall in real dollars. The last time new drivers saw the average cost of used vehicles decline year over year was from 2012 to 2016—during the aftermath of the Great Recession.

Whether you’re in the market now and gawking at used car prices today, or reminiscing on the times when a solid used ride went for $4,000, take a spin through this look at the average price of a used vehicle from the year you got your license.



Newsday LLC // Getty Images

2021

Long Island traffic in 2021.

– Average used vehicle price: $26,500



MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle // Getty Images

2020

Cars on the 300 block of Penn Street looking West towards the Penn Street Bridge on Thursday, December 10, 2020, at dusk.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,935



MARK RALSTON // Getty Images

2019

Cars driving past an eight-story Carvana car vending machine.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,278



Portland Press Herald // Getty Images

2018

Ron’s Auto Sales, a used car dealership in Windham.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,077



Mark Wilson // Getty Images

2017

A dealership storing new cars in the parking lot at the Landmark Mall in Virginia.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,004



The Washington Post // Getty Images

2016

Vehicles in the lot on August 9, 2016, at Dave Arbogast Buick GMC in Troy, Ohio.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,815



Scott Olson // Getty Images

2015

A Volkswagen dealership on September 22, 2015, in Evanston, Illinois.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,365



Education Images // Getty Images

2014

South Boston townhouses with cars parked outside.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,640



San Francisco Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers // Getty Images

2013

Westbound California traffic in 2013.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,751



Al Seib // Getty Images

2012

Cars parked in California in 2012.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,809



Houston Chronicle/Hearst Newspapers // Getty Images

2011

Houston traffic in 2011.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,618



VW Pics // Getty Images

2010

Traffic passing a wind farm in the San Gorgonio Pass near Palm Springs.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,767



NurPhoto // Getty Images

2009

A NYC car park in 2009.

– Average used vehicle price: $18,426



Scott Olson // Getty Images

2008

A person shopping for a used car at Hamilton Avenue Auto Sales, a used car dealership in Brooklyn.

– Average used vehicle price: $19,436



Construction Photography/Avalon // Getty Images

2007

Traffic on Las Vegas Boulevard in 2007.

– Average used vehicle price: $19,698



Bob Riha Jr // Getty Images

2006

Cars driving down California’s Interstate 5 in 2006.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,313



Gregory Bojorquez // Getty Images

2005

American racer Cary Hart’s collection of cars in June 2005.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,225



Joe Sohm/Visions of America // Getty Images

2004

Rush hour traffic in Los Angeles.

– Average used vehicle price: $19,343



Bob Riha Jr // Getty Images

2003

A car driving down a remote road in 2003.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,735



Ken Hively // Getty Images

2002

Cars parked at a dealership in 2002.

– Average used vehicle price: $22,049



BRUCE WEAVER // Getty Images

2001

An automobile passing the gated community of Admira.

– Average used vehicle price: $23,025



Ricardo DeAratanha // Getty Images

2000

Highway traffic in March 2000.

– Average used vehicle price: $22,598



Jean-Erick PASQUIER // Getty Images

1999

A car driving down Rue de Santa Barbara in 1999.

– Average used vehicle price: $22,058



Wally Skalij // Getty Images

1998

Traffic into Los Angeles International Airport in 1998.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,842



Star Tribune // Getty Images

1997

Cars stuck in traffic in 1977.

– Average used vehicle price: $21,918



Steve Osman // Getty Images

1996

A truck on Ventura freeway in 1996.

– Average used vehicle price: $22,787



Jim Heimann Collection // Getty Images

1995

Cars parked outside El Pueblo bakery in 1995.

– Average used vehicle price: $22,698



Heritage Images // Getty Images

1994

Cars driving through New York in 1994.

– Average used vehicle price: $20,552



Joe Sohm/Visions of America // Getty Images

1993

A 1956 Chevrolet for sale in 1993.

– Average used vehicle price: $19,424



Rick Maiman // Getty Images

1992

American Pontiac cars ready for export at Port Newton.

– Average used vehicle price: $17,865



Joe Sohm/Visions of America // Getty Images

1991

A parking lot on the outskirts of Providence, Rhode Island.

– Average used vehicle price: $17,128



Jim Heimann Collection // Getty Images

1990

A car parked outside El Rinconcito Bar in 1990.

– Average used vehicle price: $17,046



Bob Riha Jr // Getty Images

1989

Los Angeles freeway traffic in 1989.

– Average used vehicle price: $17,475



William Nation // Getty Images

1988

Southern California freeway traffic in 1988.

– Average used vehicle price: $17,107



Steve Liss // Getty Images

1987

An aerial view of Boston highway traffic in 1987.

– Average used vehicle price: $16,402



Steve Liss // Getty Images

1986

An aerial view of a traffic jam in 1986.

– Average used vehicle price: $15,785



Jeffrey Markowitz // Getty Images

1985

Cars parked outside a suburban home in 1985.

– Average used vehicle price: $16,504



Universal History Archive // Getty Images

1984

Cars parked outside Days Cottages in 1984.

– Average used vehicle price: $16,324



William Nation // Getty Images

1983

Cars and shuttle buses driving through the green light as they go around the Los Angeles International Airport circa August 1983.

– Average used vehicle price: $14,328



Harold M. Lambert // Getty Images

1982

Cars driving down a highway in 1982.

– Average used vehicle price: $12,881



Andia // Getty Images

1981

Cars in a Manhattan street in 1981.

– Average used vehicle price: $11,151



Harold M. Lambert // Getty Images

1980

Pennsylvania highway traffic in 1980.

– Average used vehicle price: $9,033



H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images

1979

Traffic in 1979.

– Average used vehicle price: $8,734



H. Armstrong Roberts/ClassicStock // Getty Images

1978

A 1978 train car loaded with different car models.

– Average used vehicle price: $8,100



Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images

1977

A Cadillac Eldorado (left) alongside a Cadillac DeVille (second left), among a line of various models of Cadillac car, all black, in a parked lot in May 1977.

– Average used vehicle price: $7,955



Universal History Archive // Getty Images

1976

A drive-in restaurant with cars parked outside in 1976.

– Average used vehicle price: $7,293



ClassicStock // Getty Images

1975

A couple looking at a mesa formation next to their station wagon.

– Average used vehicle price: $6,366



Jim Steinfeldt // Getty Images

1974

Country Store in Baker, California featuring 1974 Cadillac Eldorado convertible.

– Average used vehicle price: $5,317



Bettmann // Getty Images

1973

Traffic on a Santa Monica highway in 1973.

– Average used vehicle price: $5,106



ClassicStock // Getty Images

1972

Freeway traffic in 1972.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,793



Jim Heimann Collection // Getty Images

1971

Cars parked outside Big Wheel Restaurant in 1971.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,784



Nik Wheeler // Getty Images

1970

Traffic jams on a Los Angeles freeway in 1970.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,525



ClassicStock // Getty Images

1969

The parking lot of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in 1969.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,478



Scott McPartland // Getty Images

1968

A car parked outside the Cafe Baba of Israel in 1968.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,501



Harold M. Lambert // Getty Images

1967

An aerial view of traffic in 1967.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,345



Heritage Images // Getty Images

1966

A 1966 Dodge Monaco.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,213



Smith Collection/Gado // Contributor / Getty Images

1965

A car parked outside a family home in 1965.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,323



Scott McPartland // Getty Images

1964

Traffic on the Horace Harding Expressway in March 1964.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,346



Scott McPartland // Getty Images

1963

Cars parked outside White Front Department Store in 1963 in Los Angeles.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,170



Universal History Archive // Getty Images

1962

Cars parked outside Washington National Airport in July 1962.

– Average used vehicle price: $4,117



Universal History Archive // Getty Images

1961

Cars driving in Times Square in 1961.

– Average used vehicle price: $3,773



Scott McPartland // Getty Images

1960

Junction Boulevard motorists driving northbound in Queens’ Corona neighborhood.

– Average used vehicle price: $3,638

Data reporting by Dom DiFurio. Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Tim Bruns. Photo selection by Abigail Renaud.


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