Photo: Spencer Platt (Getty Images)
Stop me if you’ve heard this before. Used car prices are stupidly high right now — about 40 percent higher. That’s how much used car prices have gone up in just one year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average price of a used car falls somewhere between $28,000 and $29,500, depending on the source you’re looking at.
The blame for all of this misery is the global microchip shortage. Manufacturers just cannot get enough chips to keep production lines running to make new cars. Because of that, a trickle down effect is causing the price of used cars to become stupid.
The microchip shortage is just one factor. Inflation also poses a big issue for any used car shopper. Put simply, everything is way more expensive than it was just 12 months ago.
Even if you do have the cash to fork over for a used car, that might not be enough to get the one you want. They are flying off lots. According to Cars.com, most vehicles are sold within a week of arriving on a lot. Compare that with pre-pandemic sale times, and that number is close to 30 to 60 days.
However, dear consumer, not all may be lost. A spokesperson with Carfax told ABC News there may be some relief in sight for people looking to pick up a used car.
“There are headwinds right now – new car supply is projected to get better in the second half of the year and consumer demand has slowed recently due to the receive COVID spike and used car prices,” Emilie Voss told ABC News.
My advice, as someone who is constantly on the brink of buying another car? Wait it out. There will be deals to be had eventually, just not right now.
Source: https://jalopnik.com/used-car-prices-are-now-up-40-percent-from-just-a-year-1848535960