-LRB- AOL Autos -RRB- -- Buying a used car may seem like a simple topic . Used car sales company CARMAX had an influx of trucks and SUVs after gas prices skyrocketed . But when you begin slicing and dicing the various possibilities among approximately 3.3 million vehicles that are for sale at any given time , interesting insights into consumer preferences begin to emerge . For Krista Glotzbach , director of marketing at Vast.com , the San Francisco , California-based aggregator of data -LRB- which provides used vehicle search data for AOL Autos -RRB- , the various permutations are nearly endless . But users should n't worry because , with the help of search filters , vehicle fashion statements -LRB- what color do you want -RRB- and budgetary considerations -LRB- what price range do you want -RRB- easily come to the surface for faster used car searching . Because Vast.com has a variety of sources for its data , including Web `` crawls '' -LRB- an automated Internet search for used vehicle information -RRB- , the data is , by definition , revealing in its own right . AOL Autos : Safest cars But industry player CARFAX , which makes its vehicle history reports available to the public , provides a different kind of insight . AOL Autos : Used luxury cars As Larry Gamache , director of communications , pointed out , used car sales dominate the automotive industry . With that volume comes its share of fraud , notably in the marketing of vehicles damaged by flood . And even if a vehicle does n't look bad , what you ca n't see can hurt . `` The problem with flood-damaged cars is that they 're rotting from the inside out , '' Gamache said . It 's also a potentially big safety issue . `` Air bags that have been submerged do not function properly , '' Gamache noted . `` They either do n't deploy or could deploy at speed . '' But not all used cars have skeletons in their closets . Actually , most of the vehicles sold in the U.S. are used . AOL Autos : Most popular crossovers Here are a few water cooler tidbits that might make you say `` hmm '' : 1 . Three out of four automotive transactions in the U.S. involve previously owned vehicles . 2 . The average vehicle will likely have three owners in its lifetime . 3 . Industry experts believe one of every 25 air bags that have been deployed have not been properly replaced . They 're also the most stolen item from a vehicle -LRB- having surpassed radios -RRB- . AOL Autos : Best resale value cars 4 . About half the cars that are flood damaged end up back on the road . As far as Hurricane Katrina is concerned , estimates are that about 200,000 vehicles were dried out and resold . 5 . The most frequently searched price range for a used vehicle is under $ 5,000 . 6 . Consumers lose as much as $ 4 billion a year due to odometer fraud , with the average rollback being 15,000 miles . AOL Autos : Best hybrid cars 7 . There are more used Silverado pickup trucks for sale than any other model -LRB- nearly 120,000 throughout the U.S. -RRB- 8 . Texas has more used vehicles than any other state -LRB- more than 220,000 -RRB- ; Houston alone has more than 32,000 on the market at any given time . 9 . Chevrolet tops the list of most-available brands in the U.S. -LRB- with about 450,000 available -RRB- , followed by Ford -LRB- 425,000 -RRB- . There are `` only '' about 280,000 Toyotas on the market at any given time . 10 . Silver is the most available color in the used vehicle market -- more than 447,000 vehicles , followed by black -LRB- 429,000 -RRB- , white -LRB- 409,000 -RRB- , and red -LRB- 321,000 -RRB- . Blue -LRB- 309,000 -RRB- and gray -LRB- 277,000 -RRB- are also aplenty . The color you 're least likely to find ? Pink , with just 249 used vehicles listed . 11 . Age does appear to matter , at least when it comes to a used vehicle . Nearly half those listed at any one time -LRB- about 1.5 million -RRB- are model years 2007-2008 . 12 . Automatic transmissions outnumber manual 10 to 1 in the market for used vehicles . 13 . Six cylinder vehicles are the most popular on the used car market , accounting for nearly a third of the total available -LRB- and roughly the combined total of both four cylinder and eight cylinder powered vehicles -RRB- . The least likely number of engine cylinders ? The 23 vehicles that were listed as being equipped with a 16-cylinder motor , among them a 2006 Bentley Continental Flying Spur -LRB- just $ 122,000 -RRB- and a 1938 Cadillac -LRB- $ 195,000 -RRB- . 14 . Nearly half the used vehicles on the market come with air conditioning . Clearly , the marketing and sale of used vehicles is a big business . Like any other transaction , it 's `` buyer beware '' and `` buyer aware . '' Thankfully , well-known and respected sites -LRB- such as AOL Autos Used Cars -RRB- and sources such as CARFAX for checking a vehicle 's history can help lower the risk to consumers . Sources : VAST.com -LRB- vehicles available as of July 21 , 2008 -RRB- , CARFAX , National Highway Traffic Safety Administration .