6 New Cars That Are No Longer Affordable for the Average Buyer

Unfortunately for prospective buyers, new cars have seen continued price hikes over the past 11 months. Combined with higher interest rates, these increases have made new cars less affordable over the past year — even when accounting for an increased average household income, an iSeeCars.com analysis found.

“With the average new car price rising from $46,551 to $49,499, plus the big interest rate hikes we’ve seen over the past year, new cars are less affordable for consumers today compared to last year,” Karl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars.com said on the site. “The […] increase in median household income […] was not enough to counter these factors, as the growing gap between qualifying household income and median household income confirms.”

As new car costs continue to increase, six models of new cars that were affordable to the average buyer in October 2022 are now unaffordable. Here’s a look at the new cars that are no longer affordable for the average buyer, as identified by iSeeCars.com.

• % price difference above the affordability threshold: 10.5%
• Price increase from October 2022: 20.9%
• Average new car price in 2023: $40,015

• % price difference above the affordability threshold: 8.1%
• Price increase from October 2022: 7.3%
• Average new car price in 2023: $39,163

• % price difference above the affordability threshold: 4.5%
• Price increase from October 2022: 10.7%
• Average new car price in 2023: $37,855

• % price difference above the affordability threshold: 3%
• Price increase from October 2022: 3.7%
• Average new car price in 2023: $37,302

• % price difference above the affordability threshold: 2.3%
• Price increase from October 2022: 1.8%
• Average new car price in 2023: $37,041

• % price difference above the affordability threshold: 1.2%
• Price increase from October 2022: 2.6%
• Average new car price in 2023: $36,662

All data is sourced from iSeeCars.com and is accurate as of Oct. 18, 2023.

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