Buying a used Toyota may not be the bargain you think it is anymore

If you’re shopping for a used car, get ready to pay more for less. Online car resource Edmunds found that the average price of a 3-year-old used car soared to $32,461 in the second quarter of the year, a record high for that time period. In a recent report, Edmunds explored how the used car market has “fundamentally repriced itself,” and how anyone shopping on the cheapest end of the pricing spectrum will feel that change the most. Back in 2019, cars priced under $20,000 made up 55% of all used car sales. In the second quarter of 2026, they only accounted for a 32% chunk of the used car market – a dramatic drop-off. The share of cars priced under $15,000 dropped from 32% to 18% during the same time period. Meanwhile, the high end of the used market boomed, with the share of sold vehicles priced above $50,000 rocketing from just 2% of used car sales to 8%. Used cars aren’t the deal they once were. Used car shoppers will pay 4% more this year on average compared to the same time period last year and 15% more than in 2021, when prices in the used market began creeping up. In the report, Edmunds found that a used car shopper with a budget between $10,000 and $15,000 could expect to bu…