Carmigo is bringing you the best-selling used cars for July (or at least our prediction). We’ve analyzed trends on our marketplace as well as the general car market and compared those with U.S. economic trends to help you decide if this is the month to sell your car, or if you should consider waiting.
When the used car market is unstable, people want a car that will last long and will hold its value no matter what the future holds.
People want Camrys.
The market has been so unpredictable for a year now that dealerships and the general public alike are more comfortable with a safe bet.
So what’s the safest bed? A Camry.
In fact, used mid-sized cars in general are selling the best in the current kangaroo market.
You know the ones: Malibu, Altima, Accord, Avalon
According to the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, consumer sentiment around vehicle buying conditions hit the lowest level so far this year in May, but remains higher than this time last year.
And much like with the general car-buying public, car dealers have a similar sentiment. According to the monthly Cox Automotive industry survey, dealerships aren’t really expecting the market to go up or down. That doesn’t necessarily mean everyone expects the market to hold, we’re just not not sure which way it’s going to go and how fast.
When it comes to the economy-priced reliable mid-size cars in the used car market, we’re seeing a continued trend of higher sales, higher relative prices, lower inventory and, lower depreciation.
For the last five months, Camrys have ranked near the top of sales on the Carmigo marketplace. Month over month, we list more and sell more Camrys than nearly any other car.
The reason is simple: You can’t beat the Camry. They hold value well and are always in fairly high demand because of their year-over-year reliability, fuel economy, and safety standards.
When luxury cars and trucks start to decline in sales. When folks are opting for economy and fuel efficiency, that’s when the mid-size cars reign. The Camry fits into this category, but it’s its own thing. The Malibu led the way for mid-size, but we saw them all do well, including the Nisan Altima, Honda Accord, and Toyota Avalon.
Folks who drive CR-Vs love CR-Vs because they’re tough and reliable. In the rare event someone sells a used CR-V, it gets snatched up quickly because they’re a sure bet for dealerships to turn around and retail them.
The subcompact SUV has done a good job over the years incorporating the things we love about larger utility vehicles into an economic package.
With updated features and a longer track record, drivers are trying subcompact SUVs to combat gas prices soaring and car prices acting crazy.
The Hyundai Santa Fe always does well, it leads the among SUVs that middle-class families can afford. Alongside sub-compact SUVs, mid-tier, affordable SUVs are doing well.
Because of market volatility and rising gas prices, we saw the bottom fall out on trucks in June. As long as gas prices stay high, that trend should continue.
The Ford Maverick is the truck that leads the way among worst trucks to sell on the Carmigo Marketplace, mostly because new Mavericks are so affordable most people would rather buy one new than used.
Broncos have still not recovered from their massively inflated wait-list prices during the pandemic.
This, like the Tesla, had so much demand that manufacturers couldn’t keep up. But unlike the Tesla, this demand had been bubbling for decades — ever since Ford quit making the Bronco.
But once production caught up, everyone who wanted a Bronco had one, and almost all of those buyers overpaid for the cars in an inflated market. Now it’s not worth what the car loans cost to repay.
A Maserati, in this economy? I think this is just an overall reflection of how inflated spending became before the used market slowdown. Now, coming out of a pandemic with weird markets, the only kinds of people who can afford used luxury cars can buy them new.
These cars didn’t even sell last month. Not one. Most people are opting for a more affordable mid-sized crossover.
People can’t afford this kind of luxury vehicle right now, and they’re certainly not taking out high interest loans to buy them used.
Sellers listed multiple CX 9s and CX 5s on the Carmigo Marketplace in June, and only one out of the whole bunch sold.
It looks like the buyers are undervaluing these cars even compared to MMR estimated values. The highest offers are car coming in well below MMR.
Shameless Plug: A lot of these price trends are based on the Carmigo Marketplace data. Carmigo is a one-of-a-kind platform that lets private car owners sell their used cars to dealerships.
Note: These predictions are simply that: predictions. We cannot tell the future. They are based on trends we’ve seen in the marketplace but are not a guarantee of future market outcomes.
