ATLANTA–The average used car buyer paid $25,547 in April, up $367 from March’s total, according to new data from Kelly Blue Book. According to the company, the increase may be related to new tariffs driving up the prices of new cars, which in turn leads to higher prices on used vehicles.

The new data is being supplied by vAuto, a company that provides dealership management software. Kelley Blue Book and vAuto share an owner, Cox Automotive.

“The pace of sales slowed. Some of that is normal, and some is tariff-related. March is the typical peak of used car sales, as many Americans take their tax returns to the used car lot,” Kelly Blue Book stated. “But this year, March saw a higher pace than normal as some also sought to buy ahead of tariff-related price spikes.”

Used retail sales were 1.57 million vehicles in April, a decrease of nearly 4% from the 1.63 million reported in March, according to the report.

Well Below Normal

Kelly Blue Book noted dealers ended March with just 39 selling days’ worth of used cars in stock, well below normal inventory levels. 

“They sped up their own buying at auctions last month, even though wholesale prices increased, usually a sign that retail prices will soon increase,” the company said. “Between slowing sales and the effort to rebuild stocks, they ended April with 43 days’ worth of used cars in stock. That’s still low by normal standards, but more supply and lower demand should help blunt the impact of the inevitable price increases.

Pressure at the Low End

The analysis shows dealers have just 32 days’ worth of used cars priced under $15,000 — six days lower than the same time last year and 10 days below the overall industry average.

“The top five sellers of the month were listed at an average price of $23,926, more than 6% below the average listing price for all vehicles sold. Once again, Ford, Chevrolet, Toyota, Honda, and Nissan were the top-selling brands, accounting for 51% of all used vehicles sold,” Kelly Blue Book stated.