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Used Car Sales Statistics: U.S. Market, Dealerships and Spending

U.S. used car sales statistics on market volume, dealership channels, certified sales, prices, productivity and consumer spending.

November 12, 2026 9 min read americanautomags.com Editorial Team

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U.S. used-vehicle sales estimates describe a market measured in tens of millions of vehicles, but totals vary by year and by the scope of the measure. Cox reported 40 million U.S. used-vehicle sales in 2019 and estimated 36.7 million in 2020. Within that 2020 total, Cox estimated 19.5 million sales through the used retail channel. The distinction matters: the total-market estimate includes a broader set of transactions than the retail figure, so the two should not be read as interchangeable counts. Source: Cox Automotive, 2020 used-vehicle sales

For 2023, Cox estimated total U.S. used-vehicle market volume at 35.9 million units, with 19.0 million used retail sales. The following year’s estimate was higher: Cox reported approximately 37.4 million total sales in 2024, including 19.9 million retail sales. These are estimates, and the 2024 figures were reported in March 2025. The earlier Cox article from 2024 treated 2024 figures as forecasts; the later estimate is the relevant figure here. Source: Cox Automotive, 2023 sales · Source: Cox Automotive, 2024 sales

Calendar yearTotal U.S. used-vehicle salesUsed retail sales
201940 million—
202036.7 million19.5 million
202335.9 million19.0 million
2024Approximately 37.4 million19.9 million

Cox’s two 2020 estimates and its 2023–2024 estimates make clear why a single headline total cannot describe every part of the market. Retail sales are a defined channel measure, while total used-vehicle sales encompass broader market activity. The series also has gaps: the checked figures do not provide comparable totals for every intervening year, so the table presents only the years with supported observations rather than filling missing periods.

For 2025, NIADA estimated total U.S. used-vehicle sales at 38.6 million. This is a separate organization’s estimate from the Cox figures above. Its presence extends the timeline, but comparisons across estimates should retain the named source and scope rather than imply that the numbers come from one continuous measurement system. Source: NIADA, 2025 used sales

Used car sales statistics by dealership channel and vehicle sourcing

New-vehicle dealerships sold 14.7 million used vehicles in 2021, according to NADA’s annual chart. Their reported volume was 12.9 million in 2022, 12.7 million in 2023, 12.8 million in 2024 and 13.1 million in 2025. This series covers used vehicles sold by new-vehicle dealerships; it is not the same as total U.S. used-vehicle sales. The measures are useful together because they show both the broader market estimates and a specific dealership channel, but their populations differ. Source: NADA DATA 2025, p. 11

YearUsed vehicles sold by new-vehicle dealerships
202114.7 million
202212.9 million
202312.7 million
202412.8 million
202513.1 million

Independent used-vehicle dealers represent another channel. NIADA reported 9.7 million independent-dealer sales in 2024 and 9.8 million in 2025. These figures are NIADA’s reported independent-dealer totals, distinct from NADA’s new-vehicle dealership series. The categories should not be treated as exhaustive or combined into a new total here; the checked figures do not establish that their definitions and coverage align exactly with Cox’s market-wide estimates. Source: NIADA, independent-dealer sales

NADA also reported how new-vehicle dealerships sourced the used vehicles they retailed in 2025. Trade-ins on new vehicles made up 45.4% of sourcing, and trade-ins on used vehicles accounted for 23.6%. Auction purchases represented 21.9%, street purchases 9.1%, and other sources 1.9%. These percentages describe the mix of vehicles sourced by this dealership group, rather than the share of all U.S. used-car sales occurring through each channel. Source: NADA DATA 2025, p. 11

The sourcing breakdown shows that trade-ins were the largest reported source for new-vehicle dealerships in 2025. Auction and street purchases are separate sourcing routes in NADA’s chart, while “other” is listed as its own category. These are descriptive shares of the reported sourcing mix; they do not identify why a dealership selected a vehicle or what happened to vehicles outside the listed categories.

used car sales statistics: Certified pre-owned used-vehicle sales by year

Certified pre-owned, or CPO, sales form a narrower category within used-vehicle retailing. Cox reported 2,748,164 U.S. CPO sales in 2021 and 2.47 million in 2022. For 2023, Cox said CPO sales exceeded 2.6 million, giving a lower bound rather than an exact total. The next year, the reported full-year figure was 2.5 million. Cox reported 2.61 million CPO sales in 2025. Sources: Cox Automotive, 2021 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025

Calendar yearCox-reported U.S. CPO sales
20212,748,164
20222.47 million
2023Exceeded 2.6 million
20242.5 million
20252.61 million

The values use the precision given in each report. In particular, “exceeded 2.6 million” for 2023 is not an exact count and should not be converted into one. The series also does not provide a 2020 observation in the checked material. CPO figures can help describe one defined retail segment, but they are not a substitute for total used sales or all used retail sales.

Used car sales statistics: dealership prices and sales productivity

NADA’s chart of average retail selling prices for used vehicles sold by new-vehicle dealerships reports a long series from 2018 through 2025. The listed value was $20,586 in 2018, $21,094 in 2019 and $22,027 in 2020. It then shows $26,709 in 2021 and $30,736 in 2022, followed by $29,308 in 2023, $28,431 in 2024 and $28,680 in 2025. The chart title says “In thousands” while printing dollar values such as $28,680; the figures below preserve the chart’s printed values without conversion. Source: NADA DATA 2025, p. 11

YearNADA average retail selling price, as printed
2018$20,586
2019$21,094
2020$22,027
2021$26,709
2022$30,736
2023$29,308
2024$28,431
2025$28,680

This measure is the average retail selling price for used vehicles sold by U.S. new-vehicle dealerships. It is not a market-wide transaction average across every seller or a measure of household expenditure. The values rise across the earlier observations, reach the series’ highest printed figure in 2022, then are lower in 2023 and 2024, with a higher printed value in 2025 than in 2024. Those are patterns in the reported series, not explanations of the price movements.

Cox reported a different price measure for 2024: the average retail used-vehicle listing price in the market was approximately $25,467 throughout the year. A listing price is an advertised-market measure, while NADA’s figure is an average retail selling price at new-vehicle dealerships. Their different scopes help explain why they should be presented separately rather than treated as competing estimates of precisely the same quantity. Source: Cox Automotive, 2024 listing prices

NADA also reported dealership used-vehicle retail sales per used-vehicle salesperson. The average was 138 in 2018, 143 in 2019 and 148 in 2020. It stood at 146 in 2021 and 137 in 2022, then was 138 in 2023, 137 in 2024 and 139 in 2025. This is a productivity indicator expressed as sales per salesperson, not total dealership sales or the number of vehicles sold by each individual in every store. Source: NADA DATA 2025, p. 11

Taken together, these price and productivity measures give two views of dealership operations: the average selling price and average retail sales per used-vehicle salesperson. They do not establish a relationship between the measures. The statistics identify what the NADA series reports over time, without specifying the causes of annual changes.

Used car sales statistics: household used-car expenditures in 2024

BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey figures measure average annual spending per consumer unit, not the price of an individual vehicle or a count of purchases. In 2024, the mean expenditure for “Cars and trucks, used” was $2,818 per consumer unit for all consumer units. The category combines cars and trucks, and the mean is an annual expenditure measure. Source: BLS, 2024 expenditure means by military status

The same BLS table reports means by military-status group. For all veteran and/or active duty consumer units, the mean was $3,400 per consumer unit. For veteran-only consumer units, it was $2,766. For active-duty-only consumer units, it was $6,325; the table marks this estimate “d/.” Nonmilitary consumer units had a mean of $2,730. These are the table’s group definitions and reported means, not individual buyer budgets or purchase prices. Source: BLS, 2024 expenditure means by military status

2024 consumer-unit groupMean annual expenditure on used cars and trucks
All consumer units$2,818
All veteran and/or active duty consumer units$3,400
Veteran-only consumer units$2,766
Active-duty-only consumer units$6,325 (d/)
Nonmilitary consumer units$2,730

A consumer unit is the survey’s reporting unit, so these amounts should be read as group means per unit over the year. They do not reveal how many used vehicles each unit purchased, whether the spending was concentrated among a smaller subset, or the price paid for a particular vehicle. The active-duty-only estimate carries the source’s “d/” mark, which should remain visible when the value is cited.

used car sales: Regional used-car purchase spending by U.S. region

The BLS regional table covers the 2-year period 2021–2022 and reports average annual expenditure per consumer unit for “Cars and trucks, used.” The U.S. mean was $2,397. Regional means were $2,322 in the Midwest, $2,558 in the South and $2,516 in the West. These figures refer to annual average expenditures over the table’s 2-year period, not to spending in 2024 or a single year. Source: BLS, Consumer Expenditure Surveys 2021–2022, Table 1800

GeographyMean annual expenditure per consumer unit, 2021–2022
United States$2,397
Midwest$2,322
South$2,558
West$2,516

Among the listed regional means, the South is highest and the Midwest is lowest. The table’s measure is spending on used cars and trucks per consumer unit; it does not indicate vehicle-sale counts, the average selling price, or the number of households that bought a vehicle. The 2021–2022 regional averages and the 2024 military-status figures answer different questions and should remain separate in comparisons.

Sources

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