#usedcars

Salvage Titles Aren't in the Cheap Listings. They're in the $15–25,000 Ones. (forcar.org)

Everyone assumes written-off cars sit at the bottom of the market where the bargains look too good. The data puts them somewhere far more awkward — right in the middle, where most people shop.

The Same 2001 F-250 Sells for $2,300 and for $38,000 (forcar.org)

Every valuation tool gives you one number for a model and year. I looked at what the listings for a single model year actually span, and the range makes the average almost meaningless.

Financing a used car? A $20 OBD2 scanner beats blind trust. Check: pending/stored codes, emissions readiness, freeze frame data, live sensor readings, and recently cleared code history (red flag). Cheap insurance before a multi-year loan.

A Seven-Year-Old Sprinter Costs More Than a Three-Year-Old Sedan (forcar.org)

Depreciation curves assume a car loses value as it ages. There's a corner of the used market where that barely happens, and the vehicles there are the least glamorous ones on the lot.

Two Thirds of Car Listings Don't Say What Condition the Car Is In (forcar.org)

I went through every field in 329,674 used car listings to see how much was actually filled in. The average listing is missing more than it contains — and the fields that vanish are not random.

Before you buy: read the MOT history and look at the mileage at each test. A clocked car tells on itself — the numbers stop climbing, or jump backwards. It's the cheapest fraud check there is. https://carinfoar.com (carinfoar.com)

Two 2025 Civics Can Differ by 18 MPG. Same Year, Same Name. (forcar.org)

You look up a car's fuel economy, get a number, and assume it applies. For thousands of model years it doesn't — the same badge covers engines that differ by more than half.