What an Average Car Cost in the Year You Were Born

If it seems like your parents and grandparents were buying cars for a steal back in their day, well you might be right, although it’s hard to compare historical prices without accounting for inflation.

Nonetheless, you could purchase a new Oldsmobile in 1966 for less than $3,000, and some 30 years later, you were paying more than five times that. While new car prices may seem to be the most expensive over time, some car brands retain their value so much that even used, they come at a high price. For example, a used Cadillac Eldorado in 1982 was nearly $11,000 and a used Oldsmobile Aurora was $23,495 in 1997.

What you’ll find here are the prices of one popular new car and one used for each year from 1950 to 2016, and then only new cars from 2017 to 2024. 

To find out what cars cost the year you were born, GOBankingRates analyzed car price averages by year from 1950 to 2024, sourcing the historical prices of used and new automobiles from 1950 to 2016 as sourced from Morris County Library. The prices were then converted to 2024 current dollars to be able to accurately compare the prices. Prices after 2016 were sourced from U.S. News & World Report’s Best Cars for Your Money to find the best valued cars of the year, then used Kelley Blue Book’s Car Price Lookup to find the average price for each car.

• 1950: New, Henry J, $1,299. Used, Oldsmobile 88, $1,995.
• 1951: New, Henry J, $1,362. Used, Dodge Coronet, $1,995.
• 1952: New, Jaguar XK 120. $5,065. Used: Chevrolet Bel Aire, $1,995.
• 1953: New, Packard, $2,679. Used, Chevrolet, $1,295.
• 1954: New, Oldsmobile 88, $2,362. Used, Chevy Convertible, $1,500.

• 1955: New, Buick, $2,395. Used, Ford Victoria, $598.
• 1956: New, Jeep Dispatcher, $1,367. Used, Chevrolet, $500.
• 1957: New, NA. Used, Pontiac Catalina, $2,095.
• 1958: New, Renault Dauphines, $1,695. Used, Ford Fairlane, $1,995.
• 1959: New, Ford Anglia, $1,561. Used, Dodge Sierra, $2,195.

• 1960: New, Austen Healy Spirit, $1,795. Used, Dodge V8, $1,595.
• 1961: New, Rambler Ambassador, $1,795. Used, Chevrolet Impala, $2,195.
• 1962: New, Ford Galaxy, $2,645. Used, Chevrolet Bel Air, $1,750.
• 1963: New, Cadillac Executive, $4,895. Used Volkswagen, $1,376.
• 1964: New, Ford, $1,764. Used, Chevrolet Bel Air, $1,095.

• 1965: New, Volkswagen Bug, $1,595. Used, Pontiac Catalina, $695.
• 1966: New, Oldsmobile 98, $3,399. Used, Buick Skylar, $2,495.
• 1967: New, Ford Sedan, $2,199. Used, Comet Caliente, $1,495.
• 1968: New, BMW, $2,597. Used, Ford Mustang, $2,085.
• 1969: New, Ford Mustang, $3,175. Used, Plymouth Fury, $2,195.

• 1970: New, Dodge Demon, $2,652. Used, Camaro, $2,295.
• 1971: New, Ford Torino, $3,895. Used, Pontiac Firebird, $1,195.
• 1972: New, Ford Maverick, $2,140. Used, Chevrolet Malibu, $2,995.
• 1973: New, Mercury Montego, $4,281. Used, Toyota wagon, $4,595.
• 1974: New, AMC Gremlin, $2,408. Used, Dodge Dart, $1,195.

• 1975: New, Maverick, $3,625. Used, Mustang Fastback, $2,749.
• 1976: New, Chrysler Cordoba, $4,895. Used, Dodge Colt, $2,295.
• 1977: New, Mercury Bobcat, $3,588. Used, Lincoln Continental, $5,400.
• 1978: New, Honda Civic, $4,299. Used, Buick Regal, $1,300.
• 1979: New, Datsun 280ZX, $10,654. Used, Jeep CJ5, $4,995.

• 1980: New, Buick Regal, $8,085. Used, Ford Pinto Squire, $1,995.
• 1981: New, Datsun Stanza, $6,680. Used, Pontiac Trans Am, $7,999.
• 1982: New, Lincoln, $13,491. Used, Cadillac Eldorado, $10,999.
• 1983: New, Chevrolet Chevette, $7,287. Used, BMW 3201, $11,700.
• 1984: New, Chevrolet Chevette, $5,289. Used, Buick Regal, $2,790.

• 1985: New Buick Skyhawk, $8,999. Used, Mustang II, $995.
• 1986: New, Dodge D-50, $5,595. Used, Buick Riviera, $9,400.
• 1987: New, Chevrolet Sprint, $6,995. Used,Toyota MR2, $12,977.
• 1988: New, Buick Skylark, $11,306. Used, Dodge Daytona, $7,500.
• 1989: New, Chevrolet S10 Blazer, $15,750. Used, Ford Mustang GT, $11,749.

• 1990: New, Chrysler New Yorker, $15,586. Used, Dodge Caravan, $9,500.
• 1991: New, Chevrolet Astro Van, $19,811. Used, Ford Escort, $5,850.
• 1992: New, Oldsmobile Supreme, $15,895. Used, Dodge Dynasty LE, $12,591.
• 1993: New, Chevrolet Lumina, $12,599. Used, Ford Mercury, $5,990.
• 1994: New, Dodge Intrepid, $17,477. Used, Chrysler New Yorker, $15,777.

• 1995: New, Oldsmobile Cutlass, $16,596. Used, Acura Integra, $9,675.
• 1996: New BMW 3281s, $29,780. Used, Chrysler LeBaron, $13,500.
• 1997: New, Chrysler Concorde, $17,495. Used, Oldsmobile Aurora, $23,495.
• 1998: New, Ford Taurus, $15,988. Used, Honda Accord, $17,400.
• 1999: New, Chevrolet Tracker, $16,390. Used, Mazda Protege CX, $10,990.

• 2000: New, Buick Regal, $19,999. Used, Volkswagen Golf, $12,477.
• 2001: New, Jeep Wrangler, $14,995. Used, Toyota Camry, $11,995.
• 2002: New, Mazda MPL LX, $22,995. Used, Chrysler Voyager LX, $17,771.
• 2003: New, Ford Ranger, $8,995. Used, Chevrolet Cavalier, $9,990.
• 2004: New, Ford Taurus, $16,533. Used, Honda Accord, $995.

• 2005: New, Lincoln LX V6, $26,590. Used, Honda Civic LX, $11,995.
• 2006: New, Chevrolet Impala, $19,901. Used, Nissan Pathfinder, $17,990.
• 2007: New, Chrysler Sebring, $18,995. Used, Mercury Grand Marquis, $11,495.
• 2008: New, Chevrolet Trailblazer, $25,705. Used, Ford Explorer, $19,995.
• 2009: New, Chevrolet, Malibu. Used, Honda Accord EX, $12,900.

• 2010: New, Buick Regal, $25,245. Used, Dodge Grand Caravan, $14,995.
• 2011: New, Chevrolet Camaro, $37,377. Used, Honda Civic, $12,995.
• 2012: New, Kia Sportage, $23,445. Used, Honda Accord EX, $8,995.
• 2013: New, Chrysler Town & Country, $30,620. Used, $11,998.
• 2014: New, Honda Civic, $24,635. Used, Honda Fit. $12,999

• 2015: New Honda Civic, $18,490. Used Hyundai Sonata GLS, $9,995
• 2016: New, Volkswagen Passat, $22,440. Used, Honda Fit LX, $9,995.
• 2017: New, Kia Sorento, $14,991.
• 2018: New, Kia Soul, $11,100.
• 2019: New, Lexus ES, $29,967.

• 2020: New, Kia Forte, $16,678.
• 2021: New, Toyota Corolla Hybrid, $21,790.
• 2022: New, Nissan Versa, $18,262.
• 2023: New, Hyundai Elantra, $24,204.
• 2024: New, Honda Civic, $24,635. 

Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed car price averages by year from 1950 to 2024. GOBankingRates first started by getting the historical prices of used and new automobiles from 1950 to 2016 as sourced from Morris County Library. The prices were then converted to 2024 current dollars to be able to accurately compare the prices. Prices after 2016 were sourced from US News & World Report’s Best Cars for Your Money to find the best valued cars of the year, then used Kelly Blue Book’s Car Price Lookup to find the average price for each car. All the data was collected and is up to date as of March 21, 2024.