Over the last three years, anyone who’s tried to buy a used truck has noticed that prices seem inordinately high. People have blamed the high prices on everything from supply issues for new trucks, the pandemic, high demand for trucks, sun spots, and tarot cards. While the reasons seem to be hard to pin down, it’s clear that trucks, even used, are now luxury-car priced. But finally, it looks like the price has dropped for a new-to-you truck, at least a little bit.
Used pickup prices are down at the end of 2022
Used pickup trucks a dealership | Photo by Anna Moneymaker, Getty Images
New-to-you pickup prices have dropped about 2.6% year over year, and 2.7% in the last 90 days. That’s great news for those of us who are looking for a new-to-you truck. Still, according to the used car price trends tracker at CarGurus, the average price of a used pickup will still set you back $36,8800 today. However, at the end of 2021, a new-to-you truck would have cost, on average, $37,913.
Earlier this year, consumers were paying a premium for a used car. However, for most of the categories listed by CarGurus, from sedans to crossovers to SUVs, most used vehicle prices are down. Convertibles, vans, and coupe prices are still on the rise, however.
What used pickup truck prices saw the biggest drop?
The 2006 Chevy Silverado | Chevrolet
For the top-selling trucks, used prices have all dropped, though not significantly year-over-year. The Ford F-150 saw prices drop 3.9% to an average of $34,072, while prices of the Chevy Silverado 1500 dropped 5.82% to an average of $34,113, led by the 2021 version that saw a whopping 16.0% drop in the last year. For the Chevys, though, that could be because of a recent refresh that made some trucks looks old right away. Ram 1500 trucks saw prices drop 16.58% to an average of $34,687, led by the 2022 Ram 1500 that lost 25.1% of its value in the last year.
Toyota’s Tacoma and Tundra trucks saw a drop of around 5% for the year. The average price for a used Tacoma is now $31,886, while the average price for a Tundra is now $36.062. Used Nissan truck prices for the Frontier and Titan dropped 2.7% and 13.7%, respectively.
An interesting side note, the super-trendy 1980s square headlight Chevy trucks, the C/K line, saw price increase by a staggering 14.65%. Maybe it’s time to invest in a C/K truck from the 1980s?
What brand is seeing the smallest used price drop?
A 2023 Jeep Gladiator Rubicon | Jeep
While it’s hard to tell from the chart which brand, overall, of used pickup truck prices have dropped the most, but there are some trends. Ram is the only all-truck and van brand, and overall Ram brand prices have dropped 3.5% over the last year. Ford is responsible for the F-150, the best-selling pickup truck, and used Ford prices have dropped 2.6%. However, that number factors in a lot of Escapes and Mustangs, not just trucks.
Used Chevy prices have dropped 7.11% over the last year, according to the site. But that factors in a lot of Camaros and Suburbans. However, Jeep, which makes the Gladiator truck but also Wranglers and Cherokees, saw used prices for all of its vehicles increase by 2.8%.
These numbers track with other recent reports
Among many things to watch in this morning’s CPI report is used car prices which, as measured by @Manheim_US , fell by -14.2% y/y in November (worst on record) pic.twitter.com/nZuhTHgyG8
— Liz Ann Sonders (@LizAnnSonders) December 13, 2022 Related
According to Consumer Reports and the Consumer Price Index, used vehicle prices are dropping. Those reports also saw about a 3% drop in used vehicle prices over the year. Regardless of which truck you’re looking at buying used, two-year-old models could be a bargain at your local dealer. But for all of us, the downward trend means two things; one, if you’re looking to sell a truck, now’s the best time, but if you’re buying, prices are easing, and that’s a relief.