Published September 28, 2018|3 min read
Buying a car is a major purchase, especially if it’s your first time. If you are on a tight budget, buying a used car may be for you.
The average time it takes for a late-model (model year from 2015 to 2017) used car to sell is 46.4 days — but not every car sells that quickly (or slowly), according to a report by ISeeCars.com.
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The automotive research firm ranked the fastest- and slowest-selling used cars in the first half of 2018. At the top of the slowest list was the Porsche Cayenne, a luxury SUV priced at more than $60,000, while the fastest-selling car was the Toyota Prius C, selling for $15,000. The 10 slowest-selling cars stayed on market for an average of 65.3 days, while the 10 fastest-selling cars changed hands in an average of 33.9 days.
Julie Blackley, communications manager of ISeeCars.com, said most of the cars on the slowest-selling list are luxury vehicles or cars branded to a specific audience.
She gave the example of Buick, which holds the number two and three spots on the slowest-selling list.
“Buick has a reputation of having only older customers,” she said. “Branding has an impact on who is going to be purchasing a car.”
Blackley also said luxury vehicles tend to be leased initially, so after the lease ends, “there’s a glut of them in the used marketplace.”
Where the car is made also matters. Blackley said American-made cars sell much more slowly than foreign-made cars, because they're perceived as less reliable. The fastest-selling list had a mix of foreign-made cars, specifically from Japan and Germany, and lower-cost popular models. Blackley also said some luxury cars, like the BMW i3, have such a high depreciation rate that by the time they're presented as a late-model used car, they're much more affordable and will sell quickly.
Blackley said she expects the same selling trends to continue going into 2019, but customer tastes can change. Blackley also believes rising gas prices and the effects of tariffs will lead to a surge of customers buying used cars instead of leasing.
Before you buy, think about the additional costs — like auto insurance, which is required in almost every state.
Here is a list of the fastest- and slowest-selling late-model used vehicles in 2018, based on data analyzed by ISeeCars.
Days on market: 36 Price: $16,127
Days on market: 35.5 Price: $18,918
Days on market: 34.9 Price: $14,406
Days on market: 34.7 Price: $16,261
Days on market: 34.4 Price: $32,392
Days on market: 34.3 Price: $19,481
Days on market: 33.4 Price: $18,565
Days on market: 33.4 Price: $23,964
Days on market: 32.4 Price: $70,861
Days on market: 29.6 Price: $15,003
Days on market: 62.2 Price: $32,827
Days on market: 62.6 Price: $19,881
Days on market: 62.9 Price: $27,513
Days on market: 64.2 Price: $39,778
Days on market: 64.3 Price: $26,109
Days on market: 66.1 Price: $36,827
Days on market: 67.5 Price: $122,124
Days on market: 67.5 Price: $23,753
Days on market: 67.6 Price: $18,906
Days on market: 67.8 Price: $61,136
Ready to purchase? Read our easy guide to buying a car.
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