Old-school used cars: where affordability meets ‘fashion statement’
This is not your father’s Daewoo.
In fact, if you’re a member of Generation Z, it’s quite likely to be yours.
According to an Edmunds.com analysis of vehicle registration data from Polk, U.S. drivers age 18-24 purchased 191,096 used cars (versus 27, 670 new) during the first four months of the year.
Of those used cars — and here’s the fun part — the three with the largest share of registrants ages 18-24 were the Daewoo Lanos, Eagle Talon and Nissan 240.
And of the top 20, only one — the Mitsubishi Lancer — is still in production.
“It’s easy to look at this list and have a good laugh, but the kids buying these vehicles see them as almost like a fashion statement,” Jessica Caldwell, Edmunds.com director of industry analysis, said in a news release. “If you can drive a Daewoo while all your friends are driving newer Hondas or Toyotas, you can kind of stand out from the crowd.
“For most young buyers, it’s price first and then everything else is gravy,” she continued. “There’s no doubt that you’re probably getting a good deal these days on an Eagle Talon or a Ford Aspire, both of which ceased production in the ’90s.”
Edmunds found that Gen Z buyers are attracted to cars that are 10-15 years old. And they have bought more than twice as many 2001-'06 model year vehicles this year than they have new 2016 vehicles.
When one considers that the average transaction price in the first quarter for a 1-year-old vehicle was just over $18,000, but only $5,246 for a 10-year-old vehicle and $2,838 for one that is 15 years old, things start to add up.
One may wonder if the gravitation toward older (read: less technology-laden) models seems incongruous for a cohort of tech-savvy buyers.
“Again, it all comes down to what they can afford,” Caldwell said via email. “If a Gen Z’er on a tight budget can get a good, reliable used car for $5,000, then everything else may be secondary. Sure, they might want to explore what sort of tech features they can get at such a low price point, but that search probably won’t last very long.”
Vehicles with the largest share of 18- 24-year-old registrants*:
Daewoo Lanos: 7 percent
Eagle Talon: 6.2 percent
Nissan 240: 5.5 percent
Acura Integra: 5.1 percent
Honda Prelude: 5 percent
Mitsubishi Lancer: 4.7 percent
Acura RSX: 4.7 percent
Kia Sephia: 4.7 percent
Ford Aspire: 4.7 percent
Daewoo Leganza: 4.6 percent
Saturn Aura: 4.6 percent
Pontiac G6: 4.3 percent
Scion TC: 4.3 percent
Dodge Dart: 4.3 percent
Suzuki Forenza: 4.3 percent
Mitsubishi Galant: 4.2 percent
Pontiac Aztek: 4.2 percent
Dodge Caliber: 4.1 percent
Suzuki Vitara: 4.1 percent
Dodge Neon: 4.1 percent
*Edmunds.com analysis of vehicle registration data from Polk; includes used car models with a minimum of 100 total sales Jan.-April 2016. Only model years from 1996 to 2016 were included in the data.