You never forget the cars you grew up with. Whether it’s the car you learned to drive on, the first car you bought, or the well-kept classic that still gleams in your garage, that memory is likely one that you will hold fondly for the rest of your life.
AxleGeeks, a vehicle data site and part of the Graphiq network, was curious to see how much the average new car cost in the year you were born. We also wanted to see how much car those same dollars might buy you in 2016 given the new features and technology available to today’s car buyer.
Using data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, we calculated the average expenditure per car (considering sales of both domestic and foreign models) for each year since 1967. Then, using the national consumer price index, we adjusted for inflation and calculated the price of each car to determine its value in 2016 dollars.
We also compared the difference in price each year to see how much it went up or down. Turns out, though we enjoy a lot more bells and whistles today, the price of your average new car has remained fairly consistent.
Car prices in the U.S. reached a peak in 1999, the same year the average family income peaked at $57,000, according to the Federal Reserve.
National GDP growth also hit a 25-year apex in 1999, reaching a whopping 4.79 percent. As GDP growth declined in following years, average car prices followed suit.
The BEA data we used provided the average month-to-month price of purchased cars, so we took the average of all 12 months to determine the yearly cost average.
1967
Car Cost: $3,215
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,807
1968
Car Cost: $3,407
Change From Previous Year: +$191
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $23,189
1969
Car Cost: $3,556
Change From Previous Year: +$150
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,946
1970
Car Cost: $3,543
Change From Previous Year: -$14
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,625
1971
Car Cost: $3,742
Change From Previous Year: +$200
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,881
1972
Car Cost: $3,879
Change From Previous Year: +$137
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,977
1973
Car Cost: $4,052
Change From Previous Year: +$173
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,616
1974
Car Cost: $4,441
Change From Previous Year: +$389
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,344
1975
Car Cost: $4,951
Change From Previous Year: +$510
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,810
1976
Car Cost: $5,416
Change From Previous Year: +$465
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,552
1977
Car Cost: $5,813
Change From Previous Year: +$397
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,728
1978
Car Cost: $6,379
Change From Previous Year: +$566
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $23,180
1979
Car Cost: $6,848
Change From Previous Year: +$469
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $22,356
1980
Car Cost: $7,574
Change From Previous Year: +$727
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $21,787
1981
Car Cost: $8,910
Change From Previous Year: +$1,335
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $23,234
1982
Car Cost: $9,903
Change From Previous Year: +$993
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $24,317
1983
Car Cost: $10,607
Change From Previous Year: +$704
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,238
1984
Car Cost: $11,374
Change From Previous Year: +$767
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,948
1985
Car Cost: $11,838
Change From Previous Year: +$464
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,067
1986
Car Cost: $12,651
Change From Previous Year: +$813
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,338
1987
Car Cost: $13,383
Change From Previous Year: +$733
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,916
1988
Car Cost: $13,933
Change From Previous Year: +$550
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,918
1989
Car Cost: $14,372
Change From Previous Year: +$439
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,479
1990
Car Cost: $15,045
Change From Previous Year: +$673
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,292
1991
Car Cost: $15,473
Change From Previous Year: +$428
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,936
1992
Car Cost: $16,334
Change From Previous Year: +$862
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,608
1993
Car Cost: $16,829
Change From Previous Year: +$495
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,616
1994
Car Cost: $17,803
Change From Previous Year: +$974
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,473
1995
Car Cost: $17,900
Change From Previous Year: +$97
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,848
1996
Car Cost: $18,525
Change From Previous Year: +$626
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,982
1997
Car Cost: $19,214
Change From Previous Year: +$689
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,370
1998
Car Cost: $20,238
Change From Previous Year: +$1,024
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $29,412
1999
Car Cost: $20,686
Change From Previous Year: +$448
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $29,416
2000
Car Cost: $21,047
Change From Previous Year: +$360
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,944
2001
Car Cost: $21,478
Change From Previous Year: +$431
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,733
2002
Car Cost: $21,866
Change From Previous Year: +$388
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $28,791
2003
Car Cost: $21,663
Change From Previous Year: -$203
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,883
2004
Car Cost: $22,068
Change From Previous Year: +$404
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,656
2005
Car Cost: $23,013
Change From Previous Year: +$945
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,893
2006
Car Cost: $23,629
Change From Previous Year: +$617
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,752
2007
Car Cost: $23,892
Change From Previous Year: +$263
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,297
2008
Car Cost: $23,429
Change From Previous Year: -$463
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,787
2009
Car Cost: $23,252
Change From Previous Year: -$177
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,696
2010
Car Cost: $24,899
Change From Previous Year: +$1,647
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $27,082
2011
Car Cost: $25,498
Change From Previous Year: +$599
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,873
2012
Car Cost: $25,552
Change From Previous Year: +$55
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,377
2013
Car Cost: $25,581
Change From Previous Year: +$29
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $26,017
2014
Car Cost: $25,464
Change From Previous Year: -$118
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,489
2015
Car Cost: $25,332
Change From Previous Year: -$132
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,332
2016
Car Cost: $25,449
Change From Previous Year: +$117
Car Cost in 2016 Dollars: $25,449
Overview
These summary visualizations illustrate two visible trends between the absolute and inflation-adjusted costs of a car since 1967. Though the absolute price of a car has steadily risen due to inflation, the inflation-adjusted price has remained relatively stable. This means car buying over time has likely had a similar impact on American budgets, regardless of the year of purchase. In other good news for the American car buyer, the cost of the average new car in 2016 is the lowest it has been since 1983.
