A 3 year old electric car is a good deal right now, and prices rose 7.4% in a year

A 3 year old electric car is a good deal right now

A 3 year old electric car is a good deal right now, because used electric prices are climbing while almost every other used car price is falling. The average price of a 1 to 5 year old used electric vehicle reached 33,305 dollars at retail in June 2026, up 7.4% over the year, iSeeCars found. The average price of every other used vehicle fell 1.3% over the same year, the same study found.

Why the 3 year mark matters

No source measures the price of 3 year old electric vehicles alone. But at least 70% of the electric vehicles on the road are 2023 to 2025 model year cars, close to 3 years old, Recurrent Auto found. Combined with the price data above, that means the climbing prices iSeeCars measured are mostly a climb in cars right around 3 years old, a connection this site draws from 2 sources rather than 1. Most of those cars are also 3 to 5 years short of running out the battery and powertrain warranty from their manufacturer, which typically covers 8 years or 100,000 miles.

The wholesale market backs the same trend

Dealers see the same pattern at wholesale, where they buy vehicles from each other at auction before a car reaches a lot. The Manheim index, Cox Automotive own measure of wholesale prices, shows electric vehicle values up 2.3% over the year in mid September 2026, while every other vehicle fell 1.3% over the same year at wholesale. Cox Automotive also tracks how well a vehicle holds its value 3 years after purchase, across every kind of vehicle, not electric specific. That retention index reached 99.6% in the first half of September 2026, the average 3 year old vehicle holding onto 99.6% of its original appraisal value, the strongest showing in over a year.

A dealer explains the discount, and the tax credit that just ended

Joel Bassam, president of Easterns Automotive Group, buys used electric vehicles below book value and resells them as the best stock on his lot. In an on the record interview with Recurrent Auto he described buying one for 15,000 dollars against a book value of 20,000 dollars, a 5,000 dollar gap he says is common right now. Bassam said this.

They're the best value in the market right now.

Joel Bassam, president of Easterns Automotive Group. Source 3.

Bassam also says his dealership redeemed more than 12 million dollars in the federal Previously Owned Clean Vehicle Credit for about 3,000 customers before it lapsed. That credit cut up to 4,000 dollars, 30% of the sale price, off a qualifying used electric vehicle bought for 25,000 dollars or less, the Internal Revenue Service states, but it stopped applying to any vehicle bought after September 30, 2025. A buyer today gets none of that money, so the price gains above have to carry the case for buying used and electric on their own.

Tesla models lead the retail gains

Prices for used Tesla models climbed fastest at retail in June 2026, iSeeCars found, every model gaining at least 12% over the year.