ATLANTA -

For only the second time this year, a truck model has cracked the national top 10 list of hardest-to-find certified pre-owned vehicles.

According to monthly scarcity data that AutoTrader.com provides to Auto Remarketing, the Ram 2500 was the fourth-scarcest CPO vehicle in the country during June. This marks the first time since January that a truck has made the national list of tough-to-locate CPO vehicles (the Cadillac Escalade EXT was No. 1 that month).

The Ram 2500 also ranked No. 6 on the CPO scarcity list for Los Angeles and came in at No. 3 for New York — it was on neither of those lists the previous month, the AutoTrader analysis said.

“Sales of new full-size and heavy-duty pickup trucks remain robust, particularly because trucks on today’s roads are so old,” said AutoTrader senior analyst Michelle Krebs. “This pent-up demand is no doubt fueling the scarcity CPO trucks like the Ram 2500.”

Overall, the hardest-to-find certified vehicle during June was the Pontiac Solstice. Despite that vehicle no longer being in production, AutoTrader said it was “likely due to its sporty, drop-top design.”

The CPO rankings include a combination of early- and late-model vehicles, but AutoTrader also carves out a list specifically for the scarcest late-model vehicles.

Ranking tops on that list nationally in June was the Porsche Cayman.

Brand Strength

Going back to the certified pre-owned scarcity list, AutoTrader spotlighted Mazda, Subaru and Toyota as being particularly noteworthy in June.

Subaru’s sporty Impreza WRX and BRZ models were among the scarcest CPO vehicles in several metropolitan areas, including:

Atlanta (WRX at No. 4)
Houston (WRX at No. 6)
Philadelphia (BRZ at No. 3)
Los Angeles (WRX at No. 5)
San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose (WRX at No. 5, BRZ at No. 9)
Washington, D.C. (WRX at No. 3)

 “The Subaru brand has enjoyed a stunning sales surge, even through the recession and well beyond,” Krebs said. “Summer and sporty cars go hand-in-hand and even more so for affordable ones like the WRX and BRZ.

“The same could be said for Mazda’s sporty cars — the Miata and the MazdaSpeed3,” she added.

In fact, the Miata was fourth on the CPO scarcity list in Philly and ranked eighth in Atlanta. The certified MazdaSpeed3 cracked the top five of both Dallas-Fort Worth (No. 3) and Chicago (No. 5) during June. The Mazda CX-5 was the 10th hardest-to-find certified vehicle in the San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose area. 

As for Toyota, AutoTrader said the used Sequoia remained challenging to secure, and the CPO variety stood out.  It was No. 5 on the CPO list for both Boston and D.C., and it was No. 7 in Atlanta. 

Additionally, the certified edition of the Toyota FJ Cruiser was No. 9 in Dallas-Fort Worth, AutoTrader said. 

The complete rankings can be found below: