Chattanooga Used Car Prices Plummet Nearly 10% This Past Year

In a surprising turn of events, the city of Chattanooga witnessed a significant drop in the prices of used cars over the past year. According to a recent study, used car prices in the city dropped nearly 10% compared to the national average of 6.5%. This drop marks a shift from the hefty price increases observed during the pandemic.

Affordability On The Rise

Chattanooga, a year ago, reported an average cost of $33,000 for a 3-year-old used car, marking a leap from the $22,000, or 50%, recorded in 2019. These statistics were sourced from the auto research website iSeeCars.com and demonstrate how the pandemic after-effects had upended the used car market.

Supply And Demand Dictates Prices

According to Karl Brauer, the executive analyst of iSeeCars.com, the market’s pricing is significantly governed by supply and demand. With a surplus of vehicles over buyers in Chattanooga, the prices have understandably dropped. The study showcased that Chattanooga observed an average dip of $2,992 from May 2023 to the following month, outdoing the national average price drop of $2,184.

Smaller Cars See Bigger Reductions

The study indicated that among used vehicles experiencing the most significant reductions in Chattanooga, four of the five were small cars. The Nissan Kicks headed the list with a 20.2% drop in price down to $18,687. Further listing Toyota Corolla, Nissan Versa, Kia Forte, and the Ford Edge SUV as the vehicles with the next most significant price drops.

Electric Vehicles Remain Untouched

Of note, Brauer mentioned, none of the five vehicles were electric. According to him, this indicates that electric vehicles (EVs) were never immensely popular in Chattanooga. Interestingly, across much of the nation, nine of the top 10 new cars experiencing the biggest year-over-year price drops were EVs, as shown by the same study.

Promising Developments On Chattanooga’s EV Front

The Volkswagen ID.4 battery-powered SUV, manufactured in Chattanooga, did not make the list of vehicles recording significant price drops. This EV made waves by being the first international vehicle this year to score a $7,500 federal tax credit for a full-battery electric vehicle in 2024.

Pablo Di Si, president and chief executive of Volkswagen Group of America, emphasized that their ID.4 already held a competitive position as one of the lowest-priced electric SUVs on the market and that the tax credit made it even more accessible.

Di Si asserted their commitment to investing in the production of the ID.4 and further enhancements in battery production, components, and innovation at their 5,500-worker plant in Tennessee.

This latest car pricing study provides potential buyers in Chattanooga valuable insight into the used car market’s current landscape and its trends. Whether these developments will have a long-standing effect on the prices of used cars or not, is something only time will tell.

HERE News Network