The prices of used sedans and coupes rose 1% during August, reaching $19,986, still the only segment of used vehicles priced under $20,000, according to the CARFAX Used Car Index. The move signals that buyer demand for the used market’s last genuinely affordable segment is pushing prices up, not down.
Affordability pushing prices higher, not lower
The two used-vehicle segments whose prices increased notably from July were luxury cars and the car segment, sedans, coupes, wagons, convertibles, and similar body styles, and both climbed for an ironic reason: they are affordable. Car segment prices were up 1.0% and luxury car prices were up 0.9% for the month.
CARFAX Editor-in-Chief Patrick Olsen wrote in the report that shoppers are looking for affordability in a pricey market.
Olsen also noted that demand for affordable options, which are harder to find with many automakers having cut sedans in recent years, is helping to drive up the price of used cars.
The sedan segment still represents the best value in the used market, with no other category priced within $4,000 of it.
Mixed moves across the rest of the market
Across other segments, the full August picture was uneven. Used SUV prices slipped 0.2% month over month but were up 3.6% year over year. Luxury SUVs were flat with July yet up 4.7% from a year ago. Luxury cars gained 0.9% for the month and are now 10.1% above year-ago levels. Hybrid and EV prices fell 0.4% from July, though they remain 7.2% above year-ago levels. Vans were up 0.2% from July and 10.4% from a year ago.
The 1% gain in the sedan segment was not uniform across the country, with prices up $120 in the Mid-Atlantic and down $250 in the Northeast.
The August report follows a pronounced slowdown from the spring. Nationally, used-car prices rose by about $50 in July, marking the smallest monthly increase in several months, with vans and minivans seeing a slight decline and hybrid and EV prices remaining flat.
The overall CARFAX index rose just 0.1% in July. “That’s down from a $350 increase last month and a $900 increase the month before,” said Olsen.
Off-lease EVs add supply, but budget stock stays scarce
Around 300,000 EVs are expected to return from leases in 2026, dwarfing the roughly 123,000 that came back to the market in 2025. That wave of supply should help stabilize used EV prices even as fuel costs remain elevated.
The average price for used hybrids and EVs fell 0.4% in August to $33,983, though prices in the category remain up 7.2% year over year.
That rising used-EV demand is happening alongside a broader affordability squeeze in the entry-level segment.
Longer view shows how far prices have moved
The average three-year-old used vehicle now costs $32,651, up from $23,624 in 2019, a jump of $9,027 or 38.2%, according to an iSeeCars analysis of more than 11.4 million used vehicles.
The Hyundai Elantra recorded the largest gain among the 21 best-selling models studied, rising 56% from $12,295 in 2019 to $19,178 in 2026. The Kia Sportage climbed 50.5% and the Toyota Camry rose 49.9% to $24,829.
For buyers weighing whether to go used or new, the total cost of ownership calculus continues to include factors well beyond the sticker price, from financing rates to resale value once the vehicle eventually changes hands again.
