The odds of finding a deal on a used car in Southern California have slimmed dramatically in the last six years.
My trusty spreadsheet reviewed a study by iSeeCars that examined the sale prices of 3-year-old used cars in 50 U.S. markets and the nation overall. The car listing service compared sales patterns from the first six months of 2025 with the same period in 2019. The report considered bargains to be any vehicle selling for less than $20,000.
Across Southern California, these cheaper used cars accounted for just 13% of sales this year compared with 53% six years earlier, the study shows. That represents a 76% drop in the bargain cars’ market share.
Why? Prices of all 3-year-old used cars in Southern California have surged by $10,000 since 2019, reaching $33,200 – a 43% increase.
“This loss of new car production during the pandemic between 2020 and 2022 set up today’s used car market scarcity,” said Karl Brauer, iSeeCars’s executive analyst. “With prices substantially higher on popular high-volume models, used car shoppers are being forced to buy older models with more miles to stay within their budget.”
Budget buster
Let’s not forget that today’s car buyers also face pricier auto loan rates.
Ponder a 2025 buyer financing the typical $33,200 purchase of a 3-year-old used car at the current 7.4% rate, according to Statista. That would cost $660 a month, and over five years, assuming no down payment. So, a buyer would spend $39,600 for the vehicles plus interest.
Six years earlier, the same benchmark vehicle – with just a $23,200 price tag – at 2019’s 4.6% interest rates would cost a driver $430 a month or $25,800 over five years.
That’s a 53% bigger hit to the household budget.
For comparison, local wages have increased 32% since 2019, according to one yardstick of what is paid in Southern California’s private industries.
No local oddity
The only good news for local bargain hunters is that the evaporation of low-priced used cars isn’t just a Southern California quirk.
Nationwide, sub-$20,000 used cars accounted for just 11.5% of U.S. sales in 2025, compared with 49% six years earlier. That’s a 77% drop. American car shoppers have seen used-car prices increase by $9,400, or 41%, to $32,600 since 2019.
Plus, ponder the 50 U.S. markets tracked in this study. There were 33 that experienced a larger decline in the share of used cars sold at a bargain price than Southern California.
The largest drop was found in Boston, where the bargain car’s share of sales tumbled to 7% this year from 45% in 2019, or an 86% decline. Next was Minneapolis (7% from 45%, or an 85% decline) and Hartford, Connecticut (9% from 52% or an 83% decline).
The best spots for used-car shoppers, relatively speaking, were Miami (21% of the market under $20,000 from 55% six years ago, or a 62% decline), Las Vegas (17% from 54%, or a 69% decline), and Orlando (18% from 55%, or a 66% decline).
Not so golden
Or look at the car shopper’s headache elsewhere in California.
Sacramento: 12% of sales in 2025 vs. 51% in 2019, a 77% drop in share, the 26th largest drop among the 50 U.S. markets tracked.
San Francisco: 13% of sales vs. 45% in 2019, a 72% drop in share, No. 41.
San Diego: 14% of sales vs. 53% in 2019, a 74% drop in share, No. 39.
Fresno: 17% of sales vs. 57% in 2019, a 71% drop in share, No. 43.
Jonathan Lansner is the business columnist for the Southern California News Group. He can be reached at jlansner@scng.com