Car Costs After essentially flatlining since 2014, used car prices collapsed by about 15% during the Great Lockdown of March/April 2020. Since then, they have staged a furious rally, making up all losses and some. Why? A sudden reluctance to take public transit, a strong desire to decamp to lower density locations enabled by working from home, very low rates, and unusually limited new car offerings due to assembly line closures.