2 Sweet Posted August 30, 2021 Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 I'm sure all of you have realized that used car prices have increased dramatically over the last couple years. Covidflation, the stimulus checks, the new car shortage, supply and demand, etc. My question is simple: how long is this shit going to last, or is it permanent? A close friend of mine wants to buy a newer used truck, and the prices just seem insane to me. He's looking at any 3 to 6 year old 1/2 ton crew cab V8 4WD pickup with less than 75k miles, and most that he likes are in the mid $30's. It seems like the exact same trucks were $5-10k cheaper when I was looking a few years back. I told him he should just wait until the end of the year and try to find a deal on a brand new truck when they have dealer rebates and are willing to knock a ton off of the MSRP to get "last year" models off the lot, but I'm not sure if dealers are even offering these incentives at the moment? He also seems hesitant to spend the money for a brand new truck (even though he can easily afford it) but to me it's a lot smarter than spending $35k on a 2017 Ram with 50k miles. Just thinking out loud, feel free to chime in with your feedback! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geeto67 Posted August 30, 2021 Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 well it took about 6mos to a year for shortages to drive demand up, so figure a year or two to cool down after supply resumes (which has not yet happened). Often in these situations it is possible that the prices go stagnant and wait for inflation to catch up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch Posted August 30, 2021 Report Share Posted August 30, 2021 Last years models are off the lot. If you go looking you'll see dealers with maybe 20 new cars on the lot and that is a significant increase from what they had in May. I was looking to buy a tacoma around memorial day. There were a total of 5 new tacomas available at all of the central ohio toyota dealers. Manufacturers will have incentives at end of year, (and currently) but I'd say they aren't going to be as big as previous years and dealers are pulling the BS market adjustments to prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Last years models are off the lot. If you go looking you'll see dealers with maybe 20 new cars on the lot and that is a significant increase from what they had in May. I was looking to buy a tacoma around memorial day. There were a total of 5 new tacomas available at all of the central ohio toyota dealers. Manufacturers will have incentives at end of year, (and currently) but I'd say they aren't going to be as big as previous years and dealers are pulling the BS market adjustments to prices. This. Went to Chillicothe for lunch with the folks Sunday and the "new" Chevy dealership I helped do the electric on had, from what I could see passing by, 3 Camaro's and a Mustang all by themselves, prob 30% of the trucks they had when they first opened, and a small bit of other crap. The lot looked nearly abandoned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HotCarl Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 A very anecdotal story but I was talking to a guy Friday night who's friend was car shopping. Found his car, used small SUV for $29k, while sitting in the sales office he's searching on his phone and finds the same exact SUV brand new and better appointed for $27k.... when he showed the sales guy he just shrugged and said "guess you better go buy it then"..... lol wtf?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STEVE-O Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 A very anecdotal story but I was talking to a guy Friday night who's friend was car shopping. Found his car, used small SUV for $29k, while sitting in the sales office he's searching on his phone and finds the same exact SUV brand new and better appointed for $27k.... when he showed the sales guy he just shrugged and said "guess you better go buy it then"..... lol wtf?! I’m buying vehicles 2-3 years old for above sticker still in some cases Most new vehicles are already spoken for long before they make it to the lot . Until supply goes up we won’t see this getting any better. Also now the rental car companies are hurting bad to stock vehicles again so anything “cheap” with low miles is not even close to cheap. Try watching a Jetta S from 2018 do over 22k to hertz lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wease Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 This is the reason I jumped on selling my G8 when I did. I figured I'd get $15K out of it, at best, in a normal market. Given its condition and miles. I ended up getting full asking price of $18K out of it. Hell, maybe I could have gotten more if I waited, but I wasn't going to screw around and the market change on me. That being said, I'd like to replace with it with another sporty sedan, but I'm waiting until prices come down. I'm not one to wait around on a car either, so it really sucks seeing cars I like, but I'm not paying $5K+ more for them right now. I'm hoping by the Spring prices come back down, but I'm not holding my breath... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuckeyeROC Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 It will be interesting to see what happens once the car manufacturers start getting chips for the enormous amount of vehicles already built just sitting in lots waiting for them. I doubt they will flood the market with them and maybe won't be able to anyway depending on how quickly the chips start arriving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l36tols1 Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 Vroom offered me 24k for my 18 Impala with 60k miles. It's very tempting because I only owe 10k on it. Had my eye on the CT5-V (Non blackwing) to replace it, potentially. If these prices are still crazy by spring and the offer is still there I just might pull the trigger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iwashmycar Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 I too sort of want to sell mine due to the insanity, but I know I would have to pay the premium to replace it....so not worth the hassle. Still a lot of benchmarks are being created here and unless shit really hits the fan I bet stuff will stay reasonably inflated for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blue98ls1 Posted August 31, 2021 Report Share Posted August 31, 2021 When we went to purchase our Kia Stinger a couple weeks ago they only had 8 cars on the lot for sale. The sales guy said they are still having problems getting in new cars and at that time didn't know when the next load of new cars would be coming in. Being in the used car market, the Auto Auctions are still ridiculous. Truck prices have not come back down. And now there seems to be a mini van shortage as vans are starting to have the same issue as trucks. Way over priced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmrmnhrm Posted September 1, 2021 Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 I too sort of want to sell mine due to the insanity, but I know I would have to pay the premium to replace it....so not worth the hassle. Exactly my problem... would be a beautiful time to swap in my 06 Civic hybrid (204 on the clock, so the second traction battery is getting close to where I'm expecting to have to replace it), but last I looked, there wasn't a single Prius Prime in all of Cleveland. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 1, 2021 Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 Working with car dealers, everything mentioned above is in-line with the rise in used car pricing....and it's not coming down anytime soon on mainstream cars with a lot of demand. Sure, if you find an old truck, beat-up Jeep, or ragged-out stick-shift beater there are still deals to be had, but for 95% of the auto-buying public looking for a 3-7yo used SUV with a warranty, it's going to be a fight with other buyers. The one thing I heard a couple weeks ago that also reinforces used car inventory/pricing is 90% of lease contracts are being bought out. So for 9 out of every 10 lease turn-ins coming off contract, the people driving them are just buying for various reasons: can't find a car they want, the balloon payment is CHEAPER than buying a used vehicle off the lot, etc... This means there's a whole lot of off-lease vehicles that dealers relied on for their used lots - and wholesalers looked for at auction - that aren't showing up because people are keeping their rides. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not Brian Posted September 1, 2021 Report Share Posted September 1, 2021 I could sell my whips for a brazillion dollars over what I bought them for years ago but I love em too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cordell Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Working with car dealers, everything mentioned above is in-line with the rise in used car pricing....and it's not coming down anytime soon on mainstream cars with a lot of demand. Sure, if you find an old truck, beat-up Jeep, or ragged-out stick-shift beater there are still deals to be had, but for 95% of the auto-buying public looking for a 3-7yo used SUV with a warranty, it's going to be a fight with other buyers. The one thing I heard a couple weeks ago that also reinforces used car inventory/pricing is 90% of lease contracts are being bought out. So for 9 out of every 10 lease turn-ins coming off contract, the people driving them are just buying for various reasons: can't find a car they want, the balloon payment is CHEAPER than buying a used vehicle off the lot, etc... This means there's a whole lot of off-lease vehicles that dealers relied on for their used lots - and wholesalers looked for at auction - that aren't showing up because people are keeping their rides. 100% accurate. GM stopped selling fleet vehicle at the end of last year, they killed most incentives this spring, and recently stopped any employee pricing. I know other manufacturers have done similar, and with severely depleted inventory everywhere I would expect this market to stay inflated until things catch up, and then it will crash. Meanwhile people are spending more money fixing what they have, and I’m having one of my best years working on cars, which is further exaggerated by the complete lack of technicians in the field. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robochan Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Honda has stopped production this week due to lack of parts. We still are not back at full capacity even still. We use to build 2000 cars a day in my building and now we are lucky to build 1200. It will be years before supply catches back up. Talked to my brother today who is a Germain Subaru salesman and he has 3 new cars on the lot. 3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmrmnhrm Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Talked to my brother today who is a Germain Subaru salesman and he has 3 new cars on the lot. 3. I dunno if Subaru is the best basis for comparison, though... they're always lower production to begin with. When wifey and I bought the Outback two years ago at Ganley Wickliffe, they only had something like 10-15 new rides on the lot (though in their defense, they were also trying to clear space for the 2020 arrivals). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
l36tols1 Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 100% accurate. Meanwhile people are spending more money fixing what they have, and I’m having one of my best years working on cars, which is further exaggerated by the complete lack of technicians in the field. Man! the place I get my oil changes is a full service shop and you have to make appointments a week in advance for a simple oil change now. It's insane. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWW$HEEET Posted September 2, 2021 Report Share Posted September 2, 2021 Its not goin away for a few yrs. This is some pretty unprecedented supply chain disruption. Got sniped on 5-10 Jeep TJs before I got mine recently. Auction buddies are saying stuff is selling at auction for MSRP just so they have something to put on the lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted September 3, 2021 Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 I dunno if Subaru is the best basis for comparison, though... they're always lower production to begin with. The Chevy dealership I mentioned earlier has 20 currently and it's not a small lot really. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted September 3, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 I looked at this '06 Scion today at a small dealer in Lancaster. 178k miles, A/C doesn't work, and it would cost me over $4k out the door. That's the best they could do. They bought the car for $3250 and said they need to make $500 on it. At least they were honest, and I respect their transparency. I had one of these XB's that I sold last year for next to nothing. I regret getting rid of it now. You used to easily find decent beaters for $3k or less anywhere, but it looks like those days are gone unfortunately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeitgeist57 Posted September 3, 2021 Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 You’ll find beaters in the wintertime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted September 3, 2021 Report Share Posted September 3, 2021 I looked at this '06 Scion today... On purpose? Sorry. Also, you may or may not find beaters in the winter time but Clay def will. He's a wizard. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2 Sweet Posted September 4, 2021 Author Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 On purpose? Sorry. It's funny, I never thought in a million years I would own a Scion XB. But I bought one for dirt cheap from someone here on CR and I ended up really liking it. The 5-speed manual shifted really nice, it was great on gas, extremely reliable and easy to work on, drove great, and had a ton of space inside for it's small size. It was an excellent daily, and I miss it. I'm actually considering ordering a brand new '21 Silverado "Trail Boss" with the 6.2 V8, but I'm going to wait until GM starts offering the employee pricing again before I decide for sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Otis Nice Posted September 4, 2021 Report Share Posted September 4, 2021 Yeah...I'd take the Scion over new truck prices. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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