If you’ve been hunting for a used car lately, you probably felt a little sticker shock. What used to feel like a good deal now looks more like a luxury purchase, and suddenly that mid-range sedan you had your eye on costs as much as a brand-new small SUV. Everyone expected prices to come down after the frenzy of the pandemic, yet here we are, with wallets tightening and patience running thin.
The truth is, there’s a complex tangle of forces keeping used car prices sky-high. And some of them might surprise you.
