Arizonans keep buying used vehicles despite price increases

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — Here in Arizona, the average age of a vehicle is about 13 years old. But the number of used cars being sold right now, along with their prices, is spiking.

“New Carfax data finds that both car sales and prices are surging well beyond those typical seasonal patterns,” Em Nguyen told On Your Side.

Nguyen is with Carfax, a company that tracks vehicle data, and tells On Your Side that there are a couple of reasons for the increase. First, inventory for some new cars has decreased, causing consumers to pivot and shop for used cars.

“What we’re seeing here is there is a significant and unusual uptick in that consumer demand, meaning that there are more car buyers that are actively looking for a car,” Nguyen said.

Nguyen says there’s another big reason behind the increase in used car sales and their prices. And that’s regarding new cars that should have been manufactured during COVID but never were.

“That’s trickling down three to four years later when those new cars that would have turned into used cars are not there,” she said.

Here in Arizona, Carfax is noticing a spike in the number of sales and prices when it comes to luxury vehicles, SUVs and even minivans.

“Those are really surging in prices right now,” she said. “That does tell us that those large family haulers are being bought. So we know that many families are out there actively looking for those bigger cars. Maybe they feel a little bit safer, and then maybe they feel that they’re a little bit higher up. And those are getting a lot more popular across the nation, but certainly in Arizona.”

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