The cost of a used vehicle the year you turned 16

Eric Glenn // Shutterstock 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. 2021 Newsday LLC // Getty Images – Average used vehicle price: $26,500 2020 MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle // Getty Images – Average used vehicle price: $20,935 2019 MARK RALSTON // Getty Images – Average used vehicle price: $20,278 2018 Bob Riha Jr // Getty Images – Average used vehicle price: $20,313 2005 Scott McPartland // Getty Images – 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.