DealersUS
EchoPark's Q3 used sales grew year on year as cars sat longer and Aug and Sep asking prices fell
US used market, Jul to Sep 2026 against the same months of 2025
Sonic Automotive reported a record third quarter for 2026, with revenue of $4.0 billion and gross profit of $617.5 million, and said it plans to step up investment in EchoPark, its standalone used-vehicle brand. MarketCheck data for US dealer websites shows what that growth looked like in the US used market: EchoPark's website moved more used vehicles in each month of Q3 2026 than in the same month of 2025, while its median asking price eased in Aug and Sep 2026 and its listings took longer to leave the site in all three months. The pattern is growth won on price and patience rather than speed.
What the data shows
| Seller | Month | Used sold 2025 (units) | Used sold 2026 (units) | Change (%) | Median asking price 2025 ($) | Median asking price 2026 ($) | Median days on market 2025 (days) | Median days on market 2026 (days) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EchoPark website | Jul | 4,198 | 5,949 | +41.7 | 22,297 | 22,896 | 23 | 26 |
| EchoPark website | Aug | 5,252 | 5,848 | +11.3 | 23,697 | 23,447 | 20 | 27 |
| EchoPark website | Sep | 4,291 | 5,210 | +21.4 | 23,497 | 22,722 | 21 | 25 |
| Sonic Automotive (group) | Jul | 9,357 | 10,421 | +11.4 | 27,798 | 27,998 | 20 | 21 |
| Sonic Automotive (group) | Aug | 9,806 | 10,267 | +4.7 | 27,996 | 28,998 | 19 | 19 |
| Sonic Automotive (group) | Sep | 9,598 | 9,092 | -5.3 | 26,498 | 29,486 | 18 | 20 |
Reading it: EchoPark grew units every month year on year but took three to seven days longer to sell, while the Sonic group's used business shifted toward higher prices and lost units by Sep 2026. The figures are MarketCheck sold-vehicle data from US dealer websites, used vehicles only, for Jul to Sep 2025 and Jul to Sep 2026. Prices are advertised asking prices, not transaction prices, and the two series are shown separately and not added together because they may overlap.
Why it matters
The value end of the US used market has a larger EchoPark in it. EchoPark's website recorded 5,210 used vehicles sold in Sep 2026, up 21.4% from 4,291 in Sep 2025, and 41.7% more in Jul 2026 than in Jul 2025. Independents and value-focused used departments are competing with a bigger book of listings below $23,000 than a year ago.
Volume growth came with slower turns. EchoPark's median days on market was 25 in Sep 2026 against 21 in Sep 2025, and 27 in Aug 2026 against 20 in Aug 2025. Days on market is the clearer operating signal here, because unit growth alone does not show how long stock is sitting.
Shoppers in the low-$20,000s saw slightly lower asking prices. EchoPark's median asking price fell 3.3% to $22,722 in Sep 2026 from $23,497 in Sep 2025, after $23,447 in Aug 2026 against $23,697 in Aug 2025. These are advertised asking prices at the point listings left the site.
Sonic's franchise used side moved the other way. The group's used median asking price rose 11.3% to $29,486 in Sep 2026 from $26,498 in Sep 2025, while units fell 5.3% to 9,092. That reads as a mix shift toward newer and higher-priced used stock rather than a broad price move.
Against the largest US groups in Sep 2026, EchoPark sits at the bottom of the price range. Carvana recorded 69,734 used vehicles at a $25,590 median and 21 days; CarMax 66,255 at $25,998 and 25 days; Sonic Automotive 9,092 at $29,486 and 20 days, with a mean price vs MSRP of -38.78%. EchoPark's $22,722 sits below every group shown.
Two points of context. Sep is seasonally softer: Sonic's group units fell from 10,267 in Aug 2026 to 9,092 in Sep 2026, and EchoPark's from 5,848 to 5,210, so the year-on-year comparison is the cleaner signal. And local speed can differ from the national picture. MarketCheck research on Austin found EchoPark turning in 18.6 days on average in Jul 2026 against CarMax's 31.5, at about a $23,400 average price; those are averages and are not comparable with the national medians, where EchoPark and CarMax both took 25 days in Sep 2026.
What to watch
- EchoPark's median days on market in Q4 2026. If it stays above 25 days while units keep growing, value-end dealers should expect sharper price competition below $23,000.
- Where the two to four new EchoPark locations open in 2027, per the earnings-call transcript published by StockAnalysis. Dealers and marketplaces in those metros can benchmark their own sub-$25,000 turn time before the stores arrive.
- Sonic's franchise used price against volume. A $29,486 median with units down 5.3% year on year is a mix question first; watch whether units recover at that price level.
- Q4 year-on-year volume across Carvana, CarMax and EchoPark. Shoppers at the value end benefit if the three keep competing on price.
- Your own metro. National medians hide local spreads, as the Austin numbers show.
How this was measured
Monthly sold-vehicle statistics from US dealer websites since 2021, used inventory only; sales are listings that left dealer websites, prices are advertised asking prices, auctions and private sales are excluded; year on year compares the same calendar month; the latest complete month is Sep 2026. Price and days columns are medians; the price vs MSRP figure is a mean-based discount. The read used the MarketCheck Sold Summary API (the get_sold_summary tool in the MarketCheck MCP; docs Sold Summary tool), with national summaries for the Sonic Automotive dealer group and for the echopark.com source, for Jul to Sep 2025 and Jul to Sep 2026. API keys: MarketCheck developer portal.
The story we checked
"Sonic Automotive Reports Record Q3 Revenue and Gross Profit, Boosts EchoPark Investment", tradingkey.com, Oct 30, 2026. Fact-check tally: five verified, none unverifiable, covering the record $4.0 billion Q3 2026 revenue, the record $617.5 million gross profit, EchoPark's growth and planned investment, the plan for two to four new EchoPark locations in 2027, and the MarketCheck finding that EchoPark sold more used vehicles through its website in each Q3 2026 month than in the same month of 2025.
You can run the same read in MarketCheck AI Desk: https://ai.marketcheck.com/install.
Reproduce this
- search_past_90_days: Pull listings that left EchoPark and Sonic Automotive websites in the last 90 days at their last asking price, filtered to used vehicles.
- search_active_cars: Check live used listings below $25,000 in your metro to compare your asking prices with the value end.
- generate_market_movers: See what is moving in a US metro where a new EchoPark store could open.
- generate_brand_model_market_pulse: Check demand in the US used market for the makes and models that fill your sub-$25,000 rows.
The story we checkedSonic Automotive Reports Record Q3 Revenue and Gross Profit, Boosts EchoPark Investment, tradingkey.com, Oct 30, 2026
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