Gen Z Buying 6.5 Times More Used Cars Than New

Shoppers age 18 to 24, or Generation Z, buy 6.5 times more used cars than new cars, according to an analysis of Polk vehicle registration data analyzed by Edmunds.com. While it’s not surprising that college-aged consumers are buying used cars, what they’re buying is.

by Staff

June 23, 2016

2 min to read

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Shoppers age 18 to 24, or Generation Z, buy 6.5 times more used cars than new cars, according to an analysis of Polk vehicle registration data analyzed by Edmunds.com. While it’s not surprising that college-aged consumers are buying used cars, the pre-owned vehicles they’re buying is.

Through April, Generation Z purchased 181,906 used cars, compared to just 27,670 new cars. And according to the firm’s analysis, the Top 3 vehicles purchased by Generation Z are the Daewoo Lanos, Eagle Talon and Nissan 240.

“Incredible, out of the Top 20 used vehicles with the highest shares of Gen Z buyers this year, only one — the Mitsubishi Lancer — is still slated for ongoing productions,” Edmunds noted.

As for the used-car sweet spot for Gen Z, Edmunds found the group is mostly attracted to 10- to 15-year-old vehicles. In fact, the demographic has purchased twice as many 2001 to 2006 model-year vehicles this year and they have 2016 models.

“For most young car buyers, it’s price first and then everything else is gravy,” said Jessica Caldwell, director of industry analysis for Edmunds.com. “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.

“It’s easy to look at this list and have a good laugh, but the kids buying these vehicles see them almost like a fashion statement,” Caldwell added. “If you drive a Daewoo while all your friends are driving newer Hondas and Toyotas, you kind of stand out from the crowd.”