After several months of soaring prices, the U.S. used car market is beginning to stabilize, according to CARFAX data released July 28. Nationally, used car prices rose by about $50 in July, marking the smallest monthly increase in several months.
A sharp cooldown from spring’s steep gains
“While prices remain high, the overall rise in costs was much lower than in the past few months. The CARFAX Used Car Index shows prices for July rose just 0.1%, or about $50, over the previous month. That’s down from a $350 increase last month and a $900 increase the month before,” said Patrick Olsen, Editor-in-Chief at CARFAX.
Used-vehicle listing prices on CARFAX rose 0.1% in July, an average of about $50 per vehicle, the smallest monthly increase in several months and an indication that the run-up in used-vehicle values that carried through the spring has largely stalled.
According to CARFAX, the rolling seven-day median average price for used cars is $25,800, with new car prices around $44,500. That gap of nearly $19,000 continues to push payment-conscious shoppers toward the pre-owned market, even as used prices remain well above pre-pandemic norms.
Trucks still climbing, vans and EVs pull back
Average prices for vans and minivans saw a slight decline in July, while hybrid and EV prices remained flat, signaling a more balanced market heading into the second half of the summer.
Pickup truck shoppers are an exception: prices for used trucks on CARFAX rose by nearly $400 last month.
Which categories are up or down depends heavily on geography. In the South and Southwest, pickup trucks saw the largest drop among the seven categories tracked, while in the Mid-Atlantic states, truck prices were climbing the fastest of all vehicles.
Used electric vehicles were essentially flat in July. That could be because about 300,000 EVs are returning from leases in 2026, adding supply to the segment.
A year of rapid gains before July’s pause
By mid-year, used car prices were running between $1,350 and $3,600 ahead of where they started 2026, according to CARFAX. The July Used Car Index noted a 1.3% jump in prices in June, down from May’s month-over-month gain of more than 3%, or nearly $900.
Hybrids and EVs led all segments for the first half of the year, rising 11.9%, or about $3,600, since January. The average price in that category reached $34,117 in June. Higher gas prices drove increased demand for used hybrids and EVs.
With new car prices already at record highs, demand pressure on the pre-owned market has been intense all year.
Off-lease volumes are projected to rise 25.7% in 2026, adding close to half a million units compared to last year, according to the Edmunds Q1 2026 report.
Affordability gap keeps buyers in the used lane
The subprime share of used-vehicle financing rose from 19.36% to 20.60% in recent months. Negative equity is climbing too: in Q2 2026, 29.6% of trade-ins on new-vehicle purchases were underwater, with an average amount owed above the car’s value of $6,884.
The average used auto loan rate stands at 11.43% with a monthly payment of $531, a loan balance of $27,070, and a term stretching to 67.73 months, according to Experian’s Q1 2026 automotive finance data.
The July plateau arrives just as dealers typically begin clearing older model-year inventory ahead of fall arrivals. With incentive spending rising sharply on new vehicles, some buyers who might have considered new models may find the value calculus shifting toward certified pre-owned options in the months ahead. CPO sales in June were up 5% year-over-year and accounted for 15.3% of all retail used sales.
