iStock While the COVID-era inflation in the used car market finally started to ease in late 2022, this dip abruptly reversed course in the first half of 2023, as new car inventory continued to struggle with supply shortages and consumer spending remained surprisingly resilient. Between January and May 2023, used car prices jumped by 5%, before falling again in the summer as new car supply rebounded at last and consumers became increasingly bogged down by multiple interest rate hikes driving up the cost of cars in real terms.

iStock Strong sales numbers in the new car market are finally slowing down consumer demand for used cars. As vehicle manufacturers responded to new and used car inventory shortage by accelerating production in the first half of 2023, many consumers who had been holding off capitalized on the opportunity to finally buy a new car. This surging demand for new cars consequently cooled demand in the used car market, as inventory rose, sales slowed, and prices fell for the first time this year.

Martyn Lucy // Getty Images Top basketball players and former players have impressive car collections, such as a classic Chevy Impala from 1959, a fast Ferrari 488 Spider, and a workhorse like a Range Rover. At the top of this list of luxury rides is a Lamborghini Aventador, customized to match the floral patterns of—what else—a sneaker. Shaquille O’Neal bought one teammate a Rolls-Royce. The highest-paid NBA players in the league own the majority of vehicles on the list, those making about $40 million in compensation, according to ESPN salary data.

Sales volume and prices in the used car market have surged since the start of the year, and show no signs of a slowdown. Driven by the higher end of the market, newer vehicles and more expensive makes and models like SUVs, used car sales and prices will likely remain strong through the traditionally busy summer buying season. Using its PricePulse data set, CoPilot measures the difference between what any used car price would have been today, if not for the extraordinary dynamics of the past two years, versus how much it is actually worth now, at retail.

LMPark Photos // Shutterstock Car buyers visiting used car lots a year ago may have been in shock as prices reached a fever pitch, driven by low inventories nationwide. Those prices are coming down this year, but some types of vehicles are going to command higher prices than others based on how many are floating around in the used car market. CoPilot ranked the five most expensive used car body types in April 2023, using its own proprietary data.

Photo by Obi - @pixel7propix on Unsplash Chaos is back in the used car market. While prices had finally started to drop towards normal late last year, this trend has abruptly reversed course. Inflationary pressure from new and used cars is back in early 2023, with new car prices setting records every month this year. With consumer confidence still high, more affluent consumers remain willing to pay near record-high prices for some of the priciest vehicles on the market.

canadianPhotographer56 // Shutterstock While the automotive industry sharpens its turn towards manufacturing eco-friendly electric models designed to offer a small-to-no direct carbon footprint, drivers steadily follow the trend as their trust in these new cars grows. A tangible result of the increasing demand for electric vehicles both in the U.S. and around the world is the progressively declining cost of buying and owning one. An incentive for potential EV buyers was announced by the Biden administration in 2022 as part of the Inflation Reduction Act.

Canva Owning a vehicle comes with a whole host of costs—from insurance and maintenance to parking and tolls. And if the past year has proven anything, it’s that another cost associated with vehicle use—namely fuel—can fluctuate wildly, putting further strain on your bank account for an already costly necessity. CoPilot looked into the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Consumer Expenditure Surveys to see how much Americans spend on fuel for their vehicles and used sources from insurance companies, transportation fleet managers, and government agencies to determine some ways to lower that expenditure.

Photo Credit: ddisq / Shutterstock The COVID-19 pandemic brought about a huge shift in people’s daily lives, including their commutes. Suddenly, millions of people who used to commute to an office were working from home. While many companies are now requiring that their employees return to the office, there has been a lasting impact on daily commutes. Overall, commute times are less than before the pandemic, but bad traffic in some cities can cause commuters to lose days’ worth of time annually.

Jason LaVeris // Getty Images Cars aren’t just a means of getting around town—they’re a status symbol. The most expensive car in the world as of 2019 was the Bugatti La Voiture Noire, ringing in at about $19 million. Soccer player and car collector Cristiano Ronaldo is the car’s suspected owner. That astounding price tag was bested in May 2022 when a 1955 Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR Gullwing Uhlenhaut sold for $142.