Are used car prices falling? What the October 2026 data shows

Yes, a little, but not in a straight line. Datium Insights’ weekly market update had used car prices down 3.1% in the week to 12 October 2026, only a week after they rose 3.9%, so prices are wobbling rather than sliding.

For most sellers, that means market timing matters less than what happens to your own car while you wait. Below is what the latest figures show, why some kinds of cars swing harder than others, and how to decide whether to sell now or hold on.

Data as at 12 October 2026. We refresh this page monthly with the latest weekly readings.

What did used car prices do in the week to 12 October 2026?

Datium Insights, an Australian vehicle data company, publishes a weekly update on used car prices, sales volume and clearance rates. Its update for the week to 12 October 2026 reported:

• Prices down 3.1% on the week before.
• Ex-corporate vehicles down 10.5%, the largest fall of any seller type.
• Clearance rates (roughly, the share of cars offered that found a buyer) down 0.7%.
• Sales volume down 7.3%.
• Prices for the top 15 traded models “largely negative”, led by the Toyota Kluger (down 6.42%) and Subaru Outback (down 2.74%).

On its own, that reads like a weak week. Read it next to the week before and it looks different. In the week to 5 October, prices rose 3.9% and ex-corporate vehicles jumped 17.1%. The latest fall undid most of that rise.

Two things are worth knowing before you lean on any single figure. Each update compares one week with the week before, so it isn’t a year-on-year measure. And while Datium describes its data as coming from wholesale and retail vehicle sales, the weekly updates don’t say which sales each figure covers. Treat them as a read on direction, not on what your car is worth. You can read the 12 October update yourself.

Are prices falling over the past two months, or just this week?

Over the last eight weekly updates the readings have gone both ways. Five were falls and three were rises, and the rises were big enough that the weeks largely offset each other rather than adding up to a steep slide.

Source: Datium Insights weekly market updates, read on 13 October 2026. Each update names one seller type: in the weeks above, the one with the largest fall when prices fell and the largest rise when they rose.

Falls like this have happened earlier in 2026 too. The same series had prices down 2.3% in the week to 26 January 2026, with ex-council vehicles down 14.7%. In the week to 25 May 2026, prices were down 2.4% and ex-corporate vehicles down 11.0%.

So are used car prices falling? The fair reading is a soft, choppy market with more down weeks than up weeks lately, not a crash. Weekly data alone can’t tell anyone where prices will be in three months.

What a weekly swing means in dollars

Take a car that would sell for $40,000 (a made-up figure, purely for illustration). A 3.1% fall would knock $1,240 off on paper. The 3.9% rise the week before would have added $1,560. Both numbers describe a market average, not your car, and neither is a reason on its own to sell this week or wait for next.

Why do ex-corporate, ex-council and repossessed figures swing so much?

In each of the last eight updates, the seller type Datium singled out was ex-corporate, ex-council or repossessed vehicles, with weekly moves of between 3.0% and 17.1%. Ex-corporate cars fell 10.5% in the latest week, a week after rising 17.1%. Ex-council cars fell 12.7% in late August, then rose 4.0% a fortnight later.

Datium doesn’t say why. These are likely reasons, not findings it has published.

• They can arrive in batches. Businesses and councils can replace cars in groups at the end of a lease or replacement cycle, so one week can bring a cluster of similar cars to market.
• The mix changes from week to week. A week heavy with high-kilometre work utes and a week heavy with low-kilometre sedans produce very different averages, even if no single car changed in value.
• Many are work vehicles. That can mean more kilometres or a plainer specification than a privately owned car of the same age.

For a private owner, the lesson is to look past the seller-type headline. A 10% swing in ex-corporate prices probably says more about what was sold that week than about your car. What moves your price is your car’s own details: kilometres, condition, service history and specification. Our guide to the factors that determine a used car’s value covers each one.

Which popular models moved the most?

Each update also names two models from the top 15 traded: the two biggest fallers when those models were mostly down that week, or the two biggest risers when they were mostly up. Over the last eight updates, the same names keep turning up on both sides.

Source: Datium Insights weekly market updates, read on 13 October 2026.

Look at how quickly models flip. The Tucson was the biggest riser in the week to 7 September and the second-biggest faller a week later. The Prado fell 5.63% in late August, then rose 4.81% the following week. The Outback rose 3.94% in early September and fell 2.74% in the latest week. Even the Kluger, the latest week’s biggest faller, was up 1.76% in the week to 26 January.

If your model shows up in a falling week, don’t panic. If it shows up in a rising week, don’t assume the rise will hold. One week of one model’s average is too thin to plan a sale around.

How do new-car prices change what your used car is worth?

Changes to new-car prices are one of the more visible forces on used values, and they work in both directions.

When new prices are cut, used prices tend to follow. Tesla cut new Model 3 and Model Y prices in Australia repeatedly through 2023, and used prices came down with them. A buyer won’t pay close to the new price for a used car when the new one now costs less. CarsGuide research reported by EV Central had the average advertised price of a used Model 3 down about 30% between January 2023 and December 2024. Our guide on why used electric car prices dropped explains what that means if you’re selling one now.

When a new generation arrives at a higher price, the outgoing model becomes the cheaper way into the badge, which tends to support late-model used examples. Recent Toyota launches show the size of the jumps:

Sources: 4X4 Australia (Prado) and CarExpert (HiLux, RAV4), prices before on-road costs.

The HiLux figure isn’t quite like for like. The old $27,730 entry model had the 2.7-litre petrol engine. Toyota dropped that engine and the 2.4-litre diesel, so the new range starts with the 2.8-litre diesel.

The practical point is to know what the new version of your car costs today. A big cut on the new model is the kind of news that can move used values quickly. A big rise tends to take some pressure off.

Does selling at the end of the financial year get you more?

You’ll find forum posts claiming the end of the financial year is a good time to buy new but a poor time to trade in. It’s an opinion, and we haven’t found published data showing a June effect on used prices either way, so we wouldn’t plan a sale around it.

What does change with the calendar is your own car. Every month you wait adds kilometres and age, a rego renewal or service may fall due, and any factory warranty keeps counting down. Those happen whatever the market does. For more on timing a sale around them, see our guide to the best time to sell a near-new car.

Should you wait for prices to recover or sell now?

Rather than trying to call the market, work through your own situation. Weekly swings of a few per cent have gone both ways, while a car’s age and kilometres only ever go one way.

If several of these apply, the cost of waiting is real and certain, while a market recovery is not. If only the last row fits, there’s no harm in watching a few more updates before you decide.

How do we keep this page up to date?

We update this page once a month. Each refresh changes the “data as at” date at the top, adds the newest weekly readings to the tables, drops the oldest, and notes any new-car price changes on popular models. The address stays the same, so you can bookmark it. The next refresh is due in November 2026.

If you want the weekly figures between our updates, Datium posts them on its blog. Read three or four weeks together before drawing any conclusion.

What can’t the market data tell you about your car?

Market averages are a backdrop. They can’t tell you what a buyer will pay this week for your car, with its kilometres, condition, history and options. The only way to find out is to get a real offer, which is a different thing from an online estimate, as our guide to online valuations versus real offers explains.

If you’re weighing up a sale, you can get a free valuation from us. It’s a genuine offer by phone from a licensed dealer. We’re run by a valuer who has priced cars since 1992, so the offer reflects what your car is actually worth to the trade today. There’s no obligation and no fees taken out of the offer.

If you accept, we can often pay a deposit the same day, then inspect the car at a time and place that suits you. The balance goes into your bank account, and we collect the car only after you confirm the funds have cleared.

We buy cars, utes, SUVs and 4WDs that are 2021 or newer with 100,000 km or less, anywhere in Australia. If yours is older or has more kilometres, send it through anyway and we’ll tell you straight away if we can help. If time matters, our page on selling your car fast sets out the steps. You can also call 1800 73 55 73.