https://www.forbes.com/wheels/news/new-car-price-tops-45000/
It’s a good time to be selling a car or truck, or to be trading one in. But new or used, the cost of a replacement is way, way, up vs. a year ago.
The transaction price of the average new vehicle, a measure of how much people actually pay, has been over $40,000 all this year and reached $45,031 in September, according to data from Kelley Blue Book. That’s an increase of $4,872 or 12.1% in the past year.
Used-vehicle retail prices, too, are “insanely high,” averaging more than $25,000 retail since June, up more than $5,000 vs. a year ago, Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist for Cox Automotive, said in a webinar hosted by the American International Automobile Dealers Association.
The average new-vehicle transaction price has hit record levels (month over previous month) six months in a row, according to Kelley Blue Book, which tracks market values for new and used vehicles.
Even the one-month jump in new car prices was dazzling: $1,613, or 3.7% from August to September, said Kayla Reynolds, an analyst for Cox Automotive, parent company of Kelly Blue Book. October figures will be reported by mid-November.
The Perfect Storm
From the seller’s point of view, “it’s kind of an ideal market,” Reynolds said, in a phone interview. “It’s well known that new and used vehicles are in short supply and high demand.”
The short supply of new vehicles is due to an ongoing shortage of computer chips used to control electronics in modern cars and trucks, on top of shortages dating back to auto factory shutdowns last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearing the end of summer, the available supply of new vehicles was down 73%, or around 2.5 million vehicles (that weren’t built and sent to dealers), vs. pre-Covid 2019 days, according to Cox Automotive.
Used Cars in Short Supply, Too
For related but not quite identical reasons, the market for used cars and trucks is also experiencing an inventory shortage, which has also driven prices higher.
Companies that run the wholesale, dealer-only auctions where dealers purchase much of their used inventory complain that volume is down from their biggest sources of used vehicles — customer trade-ins, lease returns, repossessions, and former daily rent-a-cars.
Trade-ins are down, because customers can’t find the cars and trucks they want, or because shoppers are starting to postpone purchases in response to high prices. Lease returns are down, since many customers are buying their own lease turn-ins instead of simply handing them in. The residual values stated on lease documents—the fixed amount a customer can buy the off-lease car for, is typically thousands of dollars less than its actual value. See, “How to Cash In On The High Value Of Your Leased Car.”
Repos are down, because during Covid, many lenders have observed a moratorium on repossessions. And rental returns to auction houses are down, because travel has been way down until recently, and because the factories are diverting scarce new cars and trucks to retail customers, and shorting the rental fleets.
It’s a good time to be selling a car or truck, or to be trading one in. But new or used, the cost of a replacement is way, way, up vs. a year ago.
The transaction price of the average new vehicle, a measure of how much people actually pay, has been over $40,000 all this year and reached $45,031 in September, according to data from Kelley Blue Book. That’s an increase of $4,872 or 12.1% in the past year.
Used-vehicle retail prices, too, are “insanely high,” averaging more than $25,000 retail since June, up more than $5,000 vs. a year ago, Charlie Chesbrough, senior economist for Cox Automotive, said in a webinar hosted by the American International Automobile Dealers Association.
The average new-vehicle transaction price has hit record levels (month over previous month) six months in a row, according to Kelley Blue Book, which tracks market values for new and used vehicles.
Even the one-month jump in new car prices was dazzling: $1,613, or 3.7% from August to September, said Kayla Reynolds, an analyst for Cox Automotive, parent company of Kelly Blue Book. October figures will be reported by mid-November.
The Perfect Storm
From the seller’s point of view, “it’s kind of an ideal market,” Reynolds said, in a phone interview. “It’s well known that new and used vehicles are in short supply and high demand.”
The short supply of new vehicles is due to an ongoing shortage of computer chips used to control electronics in modern cars and trucks, on top of shortages dating back to auto factory shutdowns last year, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Nearing the end of summer, the available supply of new vehicles was down 73%, or around 2.5 million vehicles (that weren’t built and sent to dealers), vs. pre-Covid 2019 days, according to Cox Automotive.
Used Cars in Short Supply, Too
For related but not quite identical reasons, the market for used cars and trucks is also experiencing an inventory shortage, which has also driven prices higher.
Companies that run the wholesale, dealer-only auctions where dealers purchase much of their used inventory complain that volume is down from their biggest sources of used vehicles — customer trade-ins, lease returns, repossessions, and former daily rent-a-cars.
Trade-ins are down, because customers can’t find the cars and trucks they want, or because shoppers are starting to postpone purchases in response to high prices. Lease returns are down, since many customers are buying their own lease turn-ins instead of simply handing them in. The residual values stated on lease documents—the fixed amount a customer can buy the off-lease car for, is typically thousands of dollars less than its actual value. See, “How to Cash In On The High Value Of Your Leased Car.”
Repos are down, because during Covid, many lenders have observed a moratorium on repossessions. And rental returns to auction houses are down, because travel has been way down until recently, and because the factories are diverting scarce new cars and trucks to retail customers, and shorting the rental fleets.
one of the options I added , all for nothing 
I can pick up a new car tomorrow, so what's the problem again?
its been rough even browsing the used car sections...
