• Australia’s most popular new car in 2018, the Toyota Hilux, has a private sale value equivalent to the original MSRP of $56,000 today.
• The global used car price index is up 37.1% in August 2021 compared to the same month in 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Surging used car valuations have been the result of global manufacturing shortages that are beginning to normalise amid the global recovery

When Jarrod Thalon drove his brand-new Toyota Hilux off the lot for $56,000 in 2018, he never expected to break even three years later during a global pandemic, and after clocking up 72,000km on the odometer.

Like Mr Thalon, many Australian drivers are cashing in their old bangers to fetch as much, if not more, than the original purchase price for the car.

It’s a global phenomenon. The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which measures the fair market values of used vehicles, rose by 37.1% in August 2021 compared to the same month in 2019 before the pandemic. 

This once in a lifetime paradox has been the result of the global pandemic which pulled the handbrake on new vehicle production as well as manufacturing for critical inputs like semiconductor microchips.