Used Car Prices Reach Lowest Level Since 2022

Not since March 2022 has there been a better time to buy a used car in Canada. That’s the last time average prices for second hand vehicles were lower than $36,713, according to AutoTrader’s newly released Price Index for the first three months of 2026.

Unfortunately, that’s still not as low as prices for used vehicles were before the pandemic, and only 0.3 per cent lower than they were in the first quarter of 2025. Unfortunately, our analysts say that prices for used vehicles are unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels due to the cost pressures of expensive new vehicles, and the addition of more and more expensive electric vehicles (EVs) to the pool of used vehicles.

Fortunately, while still high, the prices of new vehicles are slowly coming down. In Q1 of this year, the average new vehicle cost Canadians $62,830, down 2.7 per cent as compared to a year earlier. With that, monthly payments for new vehicles have fallen 1.7 per cent, to $915.

While concerns about trade remain — Canada, the U.S., and Mexico are set to renegotiate their trade agreement this summer — it is widely expected that the arrival of EVs from China will help offset some upward pressure on vehicle pricing, especially as more and more buyers are attracted to fossil fuel-free powertrains due to high gas prices and newly resumed government incentives.

However, just as with used vehicles, our analysts do not expect a return to pre-pandemic pricing for new vehicles. The good news, such as it is, is that our data shows that the vehicle market has slipped into something that looks like stability, so these prices may be the new normal.

If you’re focused on low prices you should be looking at passenger cars, as opposed to SUVs, trucks, or minivans. In the first quarter of 2026, they were the most affordable segment in the industry, with an average price of $56,419 for new cars, and $34,248 for used. New cars are also the segment whose average transaction price has fallen the most (-8.4 per cent) since the first quarter of 2025, while used car prices have risen modestly (+0.4 per cent) in the same period.

However, prices for SUVs have also fallen somewhat since 2025. The average cost of a new SUV is 2.6 per cent lower than it was a year ago, and it’s down 2.8 per cent for used SUVs. More impressive still, the average used SUV actually costs $7 less than the average used car, at $34,241. Meanwhile, the average price of a new SUV is only about $500 more (at $57,159) than that of a new car. It’s hardly a surprise, then, that the body style remains popular.

Prices for trucks are up (+3.8 per cent for new trucks, +4.4 per cent for used), while minivans prices remain more or less stable (+0.7 per cent for new, +0.8 per cent for used). Overall, Canadians paid an average of $81,831 for new trucks, and $51,719 for used trucks, while they paid $68,844 for new minivans, or $34,957 for used.

Despite the cost, the Ford F-150 remained the most searched for and the most sold used vehicle on AutoTrader’s marketplace in the first quarter of 2026. Interestingly, although the Toyota RAV4 was the second-most searched for vehicle on the marketplace, it was only the 10th most sold used vehicle. That may have to do with the recent arrival of the new, 2026 RAV4.

That appears to have left an opportunity for the Nissan Rogue, which, despite not appearing among the 10 most searched for vehicles on AutoTrader, was the second-best-selling used vehicle on our marketplace. Pickup trucks (the Ram 1500, GMC Sierra 1500, and Chevrolet Silverardo 1500, in order of most to least popular) round out the rest of the top five best-selling used vehicles on the marketplace. The Volkswagen Tiguan, Honda CR-V, Honda Civic Sedan, Honda CR-V Hybrid, and Toyota RAV4 were the sixth through 10th best selling used vehicles from January to March.

In terms of what vehicles users are searching for, there seem to be a number of either very affluent (or very aspirational) people who use the AutoTrader marketplace. The Porsche 911, Ford Mustang, and Chevrolet Corvette were the third, fourth, and fifth-most searched for vehicles in Q1.