A Used Car Buyer Is Baffled By Prices, Says There Are No More Affordable Safe And Reliable Starter Cars With Less Than 100K Miles

After totaling his car, a Reddit user jumped back into the used car market hoping to find a decent replacement. What he found instead was sticker shock.

Prices For High-Mileage Cars Are Up. Way Up.

In a post titled “This Market Is Ridiculous,” the buyer recalled buying a 2006 Cadillac CTS with 64,000 miles back in 2012 for just $6,000. Now, more than a decade later, he's seeing base-model 2016 Honda Civics with 80,000 miles listed for $15,000, barely less than their original manufacturer's suggested retail price.

“So you’re telling me that car only lost $3,000 to $4,000 over 10 years and 100K miles? Get out of here!” he wrote. “There are no more starter cars that are safe, reliable, with less than 100K [miles] that are affordable anymore.”

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He's not alone in that sentiment. Hundreds of commenters chimed in, sharing their own frustrations about a market where decade-old cars with over 150,000 miles are still commanding $10,000 or more.

One user said they saw a “stock good condition late ’90s Toyota just shy over 300k miles for $18k.” Another added, “Every time I save enough for an all-cash purchase, the prices go up and the quality of used cars in my price range goes down.”

COVID, Inflation And A Crushed Supply

Many in the thread blamed the inflated prices on the long-term effects of COVID-19. Factory shutdowns and chip shortages slashed new car production, which reduced future used car supply. Several commenters also pointed to the lingering impact of the 2009 “Cash for Clunkers” program, which removed hundreds of thousands of older vehicles from circulation.

“Covid was arguably worse because there was no replenishment supply due to supply chain issues,” one person explained. “Now the market for cars from the last decade are all 100K+ miles and largely still 5 figures.”

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Others mentioned inflation and the devaluation of the dollar as culprits. “The price of vehicles hasn’t gone up, the value of the dollar has gone down,” one commenter argued. Another quipped, “$5,000 is the new $10,000.”

On top of that, President Donald Trump‘s 25% auto tariffs are now shaking the market even more. The Manheim Index, a key measure of used vehicle prices, surged 1.6% in June from May and is up 6.3% year-over-year—the sharpest rise since 2022, according to Cox Automotive.

“Tariffs really impacted new sales and supply, which impacted the used marketplace as well,” said Jeremy Robb, Cox Automotive's senior director of economic and industry insights. With fewer off-lease vehicles returning to the market, prices are staying elevated.

When Used Costs Nearly As Much As New

Several buyers reported skipping the used market entirely. “I said I’d ‘never’ buy new,” one person wrote. “Maybe $7k less than new with 30-40K miles on it was all I could find a few years ago. Guess who bought new???”

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Financing was also a factor. As interest rates on used car loans hit double digits, many found that new vehicles offered better terms and warranties for a slightly higher sticker price. One buyer said they leased a new car for $20 more per month than a used one with 30,000 miles.

Deals Are Rare And Private Sales Are Competitive

A few commenters shared success stories, but they were often the result of aggressive searching, luck, or knowing the right people. One person scored a 2012 car for $800. Another found a 2006 Corolla in a small town 60 miles outside their metro area from a single-owner seller with full maintenance records.

Others gave up entirely. One parent said they paid $12,000 for a car with a $7,000-$8,000 value, only to have the engine blow within a year. The mechanic advised them to part it out. “It HURTS,” they wrote.

The original poster summed it up: “Honestly, can't justify spending my hard-earned money on purchasing a used car right now.”

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