In Russia the terms for selling used cars have shortened
Budget cars sell in a week, the premium segment waits for a buyer up to 45 days
In 2026 the average cost of a used car in Russia remained at the level of last year — 1.7 million rubles, however the real budget of most buyers is substantially lower: most often cars are purchased in the range from 500 thousand to 1.1 million rubles. At the same time the terms of selling used cars, with a preserved demand, have shortened, and the structure of the market is still formed predominantly by private sellers — their share accounts for more than half of the listings. About how sales are organized, how much time they take and what difficulties buyers encounter — in the material of “Real Time.”
“More than half of the sale listings are posted by private sellers”
In 2026 the demand for used cars in Russia as a whole remained at the level of 2025. The head of the business direction “Professional Sellers” of Avito Auto, Sergei Khakhulin, stated this at a press breakfast. Based on the results of last year, according to “Avtostat” calculations, a little more than 6.2 million used cars were sold in our country.
— If we speak about the structure of offers on the market, then more than half of the sale listings are posted by private sellers; the remaining part is divided in equal shares between dealers and resellers. Moreover, if one looks at the statistics in individual regions, the data do not differ much. The exceptions are only the regions of the South, where most of the listings fall to private sellers, since the number of dealers there is smaller, the expert clarified to “Real Time.”
At the same time he drew attention to the fact that in foreign countries the situation is the opposite. For example, in the USA dealers have taken the “main place” in the market of used cars.
— But in India, where 1.5 billion people live, 6 million cars are sold per year. Their main transport is the bicycle, the speaker noted.
The widespread budget for buying a used car is up to 1.1 million rubles
As for the purchases themselves, most users buy a car from a private seller, since there are more offers from them on the platform, Khakhulin told “Real Time.”
He added that often future car owners themselves strive to take a used car from the owner. Buyers are convinced that the owner of the car took good care of it and serviced it properly. However there are often cases when, in choosing a car with mileage, they encounter a discrepancy between the real price and the one indicated in the listing.
— The average cost of a used car in Russia in 2026 amounted to 1.7 million rubles; the price indicator remained at the level of last year. However the most widespread budget in which people buy passenger transport is from 500 thousand to 1.1 million rubles, the interlocutor shared with the publication.
Let us recall that compared with August 2026, in September of the same year used cars in the country became more expensive by 1.2%, or by approximately 17 thousand rubles, and since September 2025 — by 4.7%, or by 65 thousand rubles. Such figures were earlier voiced by the head of strategic projects of the agency “Avtostat," Dmitry Yarygin.
The average term of selling a used car has shortened by several days over the last year
The average term of selling a car with mileage fluctuates from 1 day to several months. Over the last year the “speed of sales” of used passenger cars has shortened, but not by much — the difference amounted to only several days, Khakhulin continued in a conversation with the correspondent.
— In this question everything depends on the price of the car, its class, seasonality and the situation in the economy. It happens that a passenger car sells in a day, since the price is good. On average cars up to 500 thousand find their buyer in a week, the premium segment — up to 45 days, the speaker reported.
At the same time the average term of ownership of a car in Russia amounted to 8 years, the expert summarized.