The average age of a used car at purchase is over 6 years, with wide variation among states and metros

Rising inflation has rocked the used car industry. The price of used cars and trucks is up 6.6 percent over last year, according to the latest consumer price index. Buying used is more affordable for many consumers, especially with the cost of new vehicles up 10.4 percent year over year.

According to the newest Kelley Blue Book data, average new car prices hit a record high in July 2022 at $48,182 while used cars sold for an average of $28,219 that same month — a nearly $20,000 difference.

The latest ValuePenguin study analyzes anonymized LendingTree inquiries at the national, state, and metro levels to gain insight into used car purchases. Overall, researchers find that the average age of used cars people are seeking is 6.47 years old.

Key findings

• The 10 states where people look to buy the oldest used cars are evenly split among the Midwest and West. Idaho and South Dakota residents seek the oldest used cars at an average of 7.98 years each. Wyoming follows at 7.71.
• Northeast states make up half of the 10 states where people seek the youngest used vehicles. Residents of New Jersey look to buy the youngest used cars at an average of 5.70 years. Florida and the District of Columbia follow at 5.76 and 5.80 years respectively.
• The metro where residents look to buy the oldest used cars — Spokane, Wash. — isn’t in a top-10 state. There, the average age of used cars at purchase is 8.04 years — the highest among any metro or state. Boise, Idaho (7.74), and Wichita, Kan. (7.71), are next.
• The only metro where people seek cars less than 5 years old, on average, is in Florida. Miami residents look for the youngest cars, at an average of 4.91 years. Consumers in Orlando, Fla., look to buy the second youngest cars at 5.30 years, followed by New York at 5.34.
• Nearly one in five inquiries for used vehicles are for those with a 2020 model year. The most sought-after model years are 2020 (19.8 percent) and 2021 (8.4 percent), indicating that newer used cars are the most desirable. The next most popular year is 2015 (7.7 percent).

States where residents look to buy the oldest used cars

To determine which U.S. regions, states and metros are buying the oldest used cars, ValuePenguin examined more than 240,000 auto loan inquiries for used vehicles on the LendingTree platform between January and July 2022.

Though individual factors stand out, it can be hard to explain why residents in specific states seek older used cars. For example, Wyoming (No. 2) and Idaho (No. 5) are the states where residents pay the highest average used car prices, according to a 2021 study from car search engine iSeeCars.com. (South Dakota is at No. 16.)

While Wyoming has the smallest population of any state, two states that’ll appear in the youngest used cars portion of our study — Vermont and the District of Columbia — are just ahead population-wise, so there’s no solid correlation there.

Of note, five states among the 10 where residents look to buy the oldest used cars are in the bottom 20 in median household income:

• New Mexico ($51,243)
• Montana ($56,539)
• Indiana ($58,235)
• Idaho ($58,915)
• South Dakota ($59,896)

That can contribute to residents keeping their cars longer.

Average age of vehicles continues rise

"Independent of individual state factors, cars continue to get older," Divya Sangameshwar, ValuePenguin auto insurance expert, said. "The average age of cars and light trucks has increased steadily for 20 years. New vehicles have become more expensive, and more durably built vehicles allow people to travel more miles before they get scrapped."

Another factor could be that Americans are keeping their cars longer and maintaining them better, Sangameshwar says.

"Many took on very long financing periods of up to eight years to afford their cars," she said.

Because there are more marketplaces and platforms for people to buy used vehicles from private sellers, car owners have more options when they’re ready to sell their older cars.

States where residents look to buy the youngest used cars

On the other side of the list, half the states in which auto shoppers seek younger used cars come from the Northeast.

The leaders are New Jersey (5.70 years), Florida (5.76) and the District of Columbia (5.80), where people seek cars that are less than six years old on average. That may be in part because of the different driving patterns in these areas.

"How long a car lasts also depends on stop-and-start traffic that wears on a vehicle," Sangameshwar said. "Salt on the road during the winter can lead to undercarriage rust, and flooding can destroy cars."

Looking at the earnings equation, five of the states where residents look to buy the youngest used cars are among the six states with the highest median household incomes:

• District of Columbia ($90,842)
• New Jersey ($85,245)
• Massachusetts ($84,385)
• Hawaii ($83,173)
• Connecticut ($79,855)

That speaks to the opposite of earlier — consumers with high incomes will likely be better positioned to swap out vehicles as needed.

Metros where residents look to buy the oldest used cars

ValuePenguin researchers also took a metro-specific look at the topic. The top metro — Spokane, Wash. — is an outlier since its home state doesn’t break the top 10 (it ranks 11th) among states where people look to buy the oldest used cars. In Spokane, the average age of used vehicles is 8.04 — the only metro or state above 8-years-old.

Rounding out the top three are Boise, Idaho (7.74) and Wichita, Kan. (7.71), which are in the six states where older cars are most desired. One explanation for the top 10 could be that these are generally less affluent and more rural metros where people need to find more affordable price points.

"An older vehicle is generally cheaper to insure, mainly because older cars are less valuable, so an insurer won’t have to pay out as much in the event of a total loss," Sangameshwar says.

Metros where residents look to buy the youngest used cars

Miami, Orlando, Fla., and New York residents are seeking the newest used cars in the U.S. Miami has the distinction of being the only metro in which the average age of sought-after used vehicles was less than 5 years old (4.91).

As for metros with drivers looking for the newest used vehicles, a good portion of the top 10 are in or near larger cities notorious for heavy traffic and long commutes. In fact, five of these 10 metros are in the top 15 in population.

Nearly 1 in 5 inquiries for used vehicles are for those with 2020 model year

The most popular model years that people inquired about were 2020 (19.8 percent) and 2021 (8.4 percent). This could be because many people shop for almost-new, certified pre-owned models that are former lease vehicles or trade-ins. Newer cars tend to have less wear and tear and mileage, while still being less pricey than brand new cars.

The next most popular model years were 2015 (7.7 percent), 2018 (7.6 percent) and 2011 (6.9 percent).

To see the full rankings, read the original article from ValuePenquin here.