One of the factors you need to consider when you look to trade your car in and purchase another is whether or not your car is one that many want. The used car market is all about being able to turn a car from a trade in to a sale quickly and some cars sell faster than others. Right now the trend is for a specific group of cars, the hybrid or electric models. These cars are moving faster than any other, especially if they are only a few years old as many car shoppers are looking for a great deal in getting into an alternative fuel model.
As for the overall average, just to give us a place to begin, the number is 42.4 days on the market before being sold. With this industry average in mind there are some cars that seem to be whisked away faster than any others. The Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid is the fastest selling car on the used market at an average of only 19.7 days between the trade in and the resale to a new owner. Next on the list is the Nissan Leaf which was only on the market for 24.3 days before being sold.
We see a significant reason for the sales of the Prius as a used model in California where a large percentage of these cars were sold. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are able to carry a sticker that allows them to use the HOV carpool lane while there is only one person in the vehicle. There was a limit put on these vehicles and that limit has been reached which has pushed up the demand for vehicles that already have been given this privilege, making shoppers look to the used car market to enjoy this driving experience.
As for the Nissan Leaf the value of these cars has dropped significantly because the gas prices have fallen as well. This drop is more than $2,000 per vehicle in just one model year. This explains why the Leaf is moving more quickly than before as car shoppers are gobbling them up. The Tesla Model S has experience a similar phenomenon with the value dropping by nearly seventeen percent to turn these vehicles around much faster than before at a rate of 26.1 days on the market.
The Lexus CT 200h and Toyota Highlander Hybrid also both offer great turnaround times with 29.4 days and 29.6 days on the market respectively. The reason for these quick sales has to do with the fact the Lexus is similar to the Prius but offers a sporty handling and luxury features while the Highlander gives shoppers an upscale interior and a great SUV to give them more space to load up and go where they want to while enjoying the 27 city/28 hwy mpg fuel mileage numbers, which are at the top of the list for this segment.
The other models in the top ten include the Hyundai Veloster Turbo at 27.8 days, the Infiniti QX60 at 27.9 days on the market, the Infiniti QX56 at 29.0 days on the market, the Lexus RX 350 at 29.7 days and the Mazda 2 at 29.9 days on the market. As you can see none of these vehicles stays off the roads for more than a month and because they are selling so fast some dealers will offer you more for them than they would have in the past giving you more control over how much money you will receive at trade in time.
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