Despite lower tax on vehicles in 2024, used cars remain costly compared to before the pandemic

HORRY COUNTY, S.C. (WPDE) — Some research shows that used car prices are going down after a post-pandemic spike.

The vehicle tax Horry County drivers pay each year is based on the market value in January, and this year seems to have lowered.

Horry County's cost for drivers to renew their plates is figured by taking 6% of their car's January 1 value, multiplied by the millage rate and adding a $50 road maintenance fee.

Used Car Listings and research website CarGurus has a graph of the average used car price over the last five years.

The graph shows that there was not much of a change when the pandemic began, but the impact hit in 2022, dealing with two years of a global health crisis, Russia's invasion into Ukraine and several supply chain shortages.

Used car listings and research website CarGurus has a graph of the average used car price, and over the last five years, you can see there isn't much a change when the pandemic began, but we really saw the impacts in 2022, dealing with two years of a global health crisis, Russia's invasion into Ukraine, and several supply chain shortages. (CarGuru graph / WPDE GFX)

While prices are still not down to pre-pandemic prices, used car prices are down more than 3.5% from last year, and 3.4% of that decline happened within the last 90 days.

CarGuru listed common brands and how much of an increase or decrease they had over the last year, and below are the six largest decreases.

1. POLESTAR – 32.1%
2. TESLA – 30.5%
3. WAGONEER – 16.1%
4. ALFA ROMEO – 14.7%
5. SCION 11.7%
6. FIAT – 11.3%

CarGuru listed 5 brands that saw increases this year, but of those increased prices, all were less than a 2% jump.

1. ROLLS-ROYCE - 1.8%
2. GMC - 1.7%
3. DODGE - 1.1%
4. FERRARI - 1%
5. PONTIAC - 0.7%