Used MG HS Costs $16,992 Less Than New, but Jolion Saves Only $5,495

• Carma’s Spring Snapshot shows private listings of MG, Haval and BYD up 58 per cent over the past year, against 13 per cent for the whole used market.
• A two to three year old MG HS has sold for as little as $19,999 drive away against $36,991 new, while a used Haval Jolion sits only 20 per cent below its new price.
• Check the exact new drive-away price before paying for any used car, as the gap to new is thin on some Chinese models.

Why a Used Haval H6 Can Cost More Than a Brand New Jolion

A used Chinese SUV can cost more than a new one from the same maker. Carma, a used car retailer, set 18 models against their current new drive-away prices in its Used Car Market Report: Spring Snapshot, October 2026, and listed each two to three year old price beside the new one. The used GWM Haval H6 in that table sells for $27,830. A new GWM Haval Jolion, the cheaper model in the same range, costs $27,485 drive away. The two to three year old H6 costs $345 more than the new Jolion.

That single comparison shows why the headline numbers need reading closely. Chinese brands are not losing value at one rate. The MG HS has dropped $16,992 from its new price of $36,991, a fall of 45.9 per cent, and the used price of $19,999 is 54.1 per cent of what a buyer pays new. The Jolion has dropped $5,495 from $27,485, or 20.0 per cent. Same country of origin, and a gap of $11,497 in what the first owner lost.

Carma also counted the listings behind those prices. Private listings of Chinese brand vehicles such as MG, Haval and BYD grew 58 per cent over the past year, compared with 13 per cent across the broader used market. UK buyers face the same question, and our look at what Chinese electric cars lose at resale shows early UK data with some of these cars losing value faster than rivals. More supply gives a buyer several examples of one model to compare. The Australian figures quoted here are national, and none is broken down by state.

Where the Five Chinese Models Sit Among the Rest

Five of the 18 models in the table are Chinese. Ranked by the dollar difference between used and new, the MG HS leads at $16,992, followed by the Haval H6 at $13,655, the LDV T60 at $10,120, the MG ZS at $8,436 and the Haval Jolion at $5,495. The average saving across those five is about $10,940 per car.

Percentages tell a more mixed story. The five fall between 20.0 and 45.9 per cent, with an average of 31.6 per cent. The 13 other models in the table run from 17.3 per cent for the Mitsubishi Triton to 37.3 per cent for the Mazda CX-5, with an average of about 27.1 per cent. Both averages are simple means of the table rows, worked out here and not published by Carma, and 18 models is a snapshot and not the full market.

Look at who loses most and the badge argument weakens. Only the MG HS, at 45.9 per cent, drops more than the Mazda CX-5 at 37.3 per cent, the Tesla Model Y at 36.3 per cent and the Hyundai Tucson at 35.8 per cent. The MG ZS, at 33.2 per cent, sits below all three. At the other end, the Jolion’s 20.0 per cent sits close to the Toyota Corolla for resale value. The Corolla table row shows a used price of $29,790 against $37,341 new, a 20.2 per cent difference, or $7,551. That is $2,056 more saved than on the Jolion, with almost the same percentage on a higher starting price.

Used prices tell the other half of the story. The cheapest used car in the table is the MG ZS at $16,990, followed by the MG HS at $19,999, the Suzuki Swift at $20,883 and the Jolion at $21,990. Three of the four cheapest are Chinese. A buyer can also spend less on a used HS than on a new ZS, whose drive-away price is $25,426: the used HS is $5,427 cheaper.

What 11.1 Per Cent Costs the Person Who Bought New

Buyers hear the discount as good news. An owner hears it as lost value. Most listings sat in the $20,000 to $35,000 range, and across that range the value of Chinese brand vehicles fell 11.1 per cent over the year, against 8.7 per cent for comparable vehicles from other brands.

On a car worth $35,000, that is $3,885 against $3,045, so the Chinese brand owner is $840 worse off after twelve months. On a $20,000 car the figures are $2,220 and $1,740, a gap of $480. Both are straight arithmetic on Carma’s percentages and not Carma figures for those prices.

Carma’s own executives describe the drop as a buyer’s opening. “For buyers, that can mean a much bigger gap to new,” says Lachlan MacGregor, Carma’s co-founder and CEO. He applies the same view to the whole market. “Across the market as a whole, the same used car was about 6.5 per cent cheaper in September than a year earlier, while around two-thirds of dealer cars leaving the market had been discounted,” he says. MacGregor adds: “Household budgets remain tight, but the used car market has adjusted to meet buyers,” and “The market is clearing at more affordable levels, and well-priced stock moves fast.”

Peter Willis, Carma’s Director of Buying, ties the Chinese brand fall to the sub-$35,000 end of the market: “Steeper depreciation on late-model Chinese vehicles and non-Tesla EVs hitting sub-$35,000 price points create great entry points, but you have to act fast,” he says. Read those lines as the view of a business that sells used cars, and test them against the listings near you.

How to Check the Price Before You Pay or List

Start with the new price. “Before buying used, check the exact new car drive-away price,” says Peter Willis. “For some Chinese brands, the gap can be substantial, while for others, a new car might be closer in price than you think.” The H6 against Jolion comparison shows how real that is. A buyer who skips the check could pay $27,830 for a used H6 when a new Jolion costs $27,485.

Next, compare the used car against similar listings, and know what you are buying. “At around $30,000, you might be looking at a demonstrator with 200km on it and a full warranty, or a three-year-old car that someone has driven every day,” says Willis. His advice: “Check the build date, the kilometres and how much new-car warranty is left, because at a similar price, those are two very different cars.” Warranty terms differ by maker and the Carma material does not set them out, so confirm what remains, and whether it passes to a second owner, on the maker’s own website or with the dealer before you sign.

On timing, Willis says: “If you’ve found the right car, compare it with similar listings rather than waiting for the whole market to fall further.” He adds: “A well-priced car could be gone before the market moves much.” The market has been busy. July 2026 was the busiest month for used car dealers in two years, and stock levels are falling, which could lift prices.

Check recalls too. The federal infrastructure and transport department runs vehiclerecalls.gov.au, where you can search for a recall on the make and model you are considering. The same site carries a scam alert dated 24 October 2024 about people posing as dealership staff and offering to collect a vehicle to complete an outstanding recall, so book recall work through the maker’s dealership.

If you are selling, the Chinese brand numbers cut the other way. More listings of the same model give buyers more to compare, and a used car priced close to the new drive-away figure competes with a lot of rivals. Look up the current new price first, then look at what similar cars are listed for.

The Cheaper End Beyond Chinese Brands

The same snapshot shows that the brand is not the only thing that sets a gap. A one year old Subaru Crosstrek could save a buyer as much as $7,642 over a new one, while a one year old Toyota Prado could save just $667, a difference of $6,975 and a saving that would barely cover a year of wear and tear. Of the table rows, the Mitsubishi Triton saves $8,755 (17.3 per cent), the Kia Seltos $7,677 (19.7 per cent) and the Hyundai Kona $11,006 (25.0 per cent).

Used electric cars show a similar pocket at the lower end. In March 2026, once fuel passed $2.50 per litre on the back of the Strait of Hormuz conflict, used EV sales below $35,000 jumped to 1,228, more than twice the month before. In September 2026 they climbed to 1,288. Dealer demonstrators made up 45 per cent of those sales in September 2026, up from 14 per cent in September 2025, which is why the build date and kilometres matter so much.

One rule covers every row of the table. UK data on what new cars lose in three years shows why used buyers keep most of the saving, but the gap differs by model. The percentage fall in the table shows what the first owner lost, and the new drive-away price decides whether the used car is worth buying at all. Check both before you offer.

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Reviewed by Preetam Gadekar