Millennials Flock to Out-of-Production Used Cars

Six of the 10 used vehicles with the highest rates of Millennial buyers through the first half of 2015 are no longer in production, according to an analysis by Edmunds.com based on registration data from Polk.

Millennials (age 18 to 34) accounted for 27.6% of used car sales for Fiat Chrysler's Dodge Magnum crossover vehicle, making it the topped ranked model for the group during the period. The Magnum also has been the most popular used model among Millennials for the past two full years.

Pontiac Aztek gains Millennial fans.

It's followed closely this year by the Chrysler Pacifica crossover, which counts 27.3% of its buyers as Millennials, according to Edmunds. The other four out-of-production models in the Millennials' top 10 all of which have purchase rates of more than 25% for the group--are the Chevrolet Trailblazer, Volkswagen R32, Pontiac Aztek and Saturn Outlook.

The industry average for Millennial buyers across all used vehicles that are not more than 10-years old is about 17%, Edmunds says. The online auto data provider attributes the popularity of out-of-production nameplates with the group to what it characterizes as "almost unparalleled" value compared to those that are still being produced and tend to be priced higher.

At least one of the vehicles on this year's top 10 list also may have benefited from a rising cult status, Edmunds notes. The Pontiac Aztek, which has long been maligned for its unusual shape, has found a new fan base in recent years due in part to its role in the popular television series Breaking Bad. In 2010 it had the highest proportion of secondhand Millennial buyers.

The used vehicle segment with the largest penetration of Millennial buyers is vans/minivans, where the demographic made up about 20% of all purchases through the first six months of the year. Millennials accounted for 17.3% of all used sedan purchases and 15.8% of all used coupe purchases, according to Edmunds' analysis.