The used-car market has flipped. Used electric vehicles are now selling faster than used gas cars in America, even as their prices rise — a reversal driven, analysts say, by fuel costs that have made running a petrol car noticeably more expensive.
The speed gap
A new iSeeCars study of more than 1.5 million one- to five-year-old used vehicles found the average used EV sold in 41.9 days in September 2026, down 10% from a year earlier. The average used gas car took 54.8 days, up 19.9% from last September. That is a gap of nearly 13 days, and it held even though used EV prices rose. iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer linked the shift to fuel costs: regular gasoline averaged US$4.33 a gallon in September, the highest September average on record according to AAA figures cited by Autoblog.
Prices have flipped too
The average used EV sold for US$32,533 in September 2026, up US$2,896 or 9.8% year over year. The average used gas car sold for US$31,954, up just US$90. A year earlier, used EVs cost US$2,227 less than gas cars on average; now they cost US$579 more. Hybrids remain the most expensive powertrain of the three, averaging US$34,476, up US$1,625, or US$1,943 more than an EV and US$2,522 more than a gas car, according to the study as reported by Advanced Manufacturing.
What buyers should check first
Speed is not a reason to skip checks. Battery health, remaining warranty, charging history and any outstanding recalls matter more on a used EV than on a comparable petrol car, and a fast-selling market leaves less time to arrange them. Get a pre-purchase inspection, confirm the battery warranty transfer, and compare the total cost — purchase price plus home charging or public charging — rather than the sticker price alone.
