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Some of the most popular used cars, including the Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, are now worth up to $6,000 more than if they were brand new
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while you're on the go. Between astronomical prices and few vehicles to choose from on dealer lots, the last year or so has been perhaps the worst time to buy a car in history. And don't think settling for a secondhand vehicle will insulate you from
the challenging landscape and eye-watering costs. In "normal times," buying used was the thrifty option; now some used models are selling for thousands above the suggested retail price for their brand-new counterparts, according to an August study from the car insurance savings app Jerry. Seven out of the ten most popular vehicles in the US cost more than sticker price when purchased lightly used, the analysis found. Jerry compared 2022 retail prices to the prices of 2021 models with
18,000 miles, using Kelley Blue Book data. It focused on base models. The Toyota RAV4, the country's best-selling SUV, tends to cost almost $6,000 more for a used 2021
model than 2022's retail price, according to Jerry. Below are price differentials for the other six vehicles identified:
Counterintuitive as it may be, this has been true for months to some degree. A persistent semiconductor shortage has dealt a massive blow to the supply of new cars in the US, putting upward pressure on prices. (To put this in perspective, US car dealers ended July with 1.09 million unsold vehicles, as compared with 3.69 million in Jul 2019, according to Cox Automotive.) In July, shoppers paid $875 above retail on average for non-luxury cars, according to Cox. Dealers rarely were able to charge above retail before the pandemic. With fewer new cars available, consumers have been willing to shell out extra for used versions of their favorite models. The traditional wisdom that a new vehicle loses thousands in value the instant it leaves the lot hasn't held up for around a year as used-car prices trended higher. The good news: Used cars seem to finally be getting less expensive. Do you have a story to share about buying or selling cars in this chaotic market? Experienced high dealer markups? Contact this reporter at Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notifications Read next More... High demand for scarce new cars has flipped the script from, “Nobody pays sticker price” to, “Everybody pays sticker price. Or more.” What can consumers do to avoid high prices, which auto industry analysts now expect to last all this year and into 2023? How Buyers Can Avoid Paying Over StickerHere’s how buyers can cope. First, the only sure bet is to postpone buying a new vehicle. Lease customers may be able to extend their current leases instead of again making the lease-versus-buy calculations. And many new-vehicle intenders are switching to cheaper used vehicles, although in terms of percentages, used-vehicle prices are up even more than new. Certified pre-owned cars are in comparatively good supply in 2022. The most common CPO cars are models built and sold in 2019 before Covid-19 knocked down production. Walk into a dealer showroom and many of the new cars on the floor are really 2019 CPO cars. Click here for a backgrounder on buying CPO. For someone who can’t wait a year or longer to buy a new vehicle, the best advice continues to be to shop online across a wider territory than usual, be prepared to compromise on features and options and be prepared to act fast. Check back with dealers frequently. Sometimes a buyer backs out of a delivery, and a car you want, in a color you can live with, is available for a day or two. If the selection of cars in stock is an issue, consider a build-to-order (BTO) car, optioned exactly the way you want it. Lead time is as little as four weeks for a car built in North America to 8-12 weeks for a car coming from Europe or Asia. One last option: Buy an electric car from Tesla, which has no dealer network and no extra markups. Tesla has raised prices in the past year, but the sticker price is exactly what the buyer pays. The Tesla Model Y crossover and Tesla Model 3 sedan are the best-selling EVs in the U.S. Some other EV startups are following Tesla’s lead and will sell directly to customers. Five of Every Six New Cars Sell Over ListNew-vehicle shoppers today should be aware they’re walking into a marketing buzz saw. In January, 82.2% of all new-vehicle purchases were above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, and the average purchase was $728 above MSRP, according to researchers at Edmunds, the auto-shopping and advice site. What car types command more than the sticker price? “It’s almost everything,” both cars and trucks, said Ivan Drury, senior manager of insights for Edmunds. “Body styles we thought were dead,” like minivans and subcompact sedans sell above sticker price. “People think they can avoid it, by buying the minivan instead of the SUV, but other people have the same idea, and the price goes up,” he said. Drury said customers may have to grit their teeth and pay above sticker price, but he encouraged buyers to try and negotiate some sort of sweetener, like maybe getting the dealer to throw in some accessories or add-on products like an extended service contract. “You should definitely ask them to do it,” he said. “You may end up paying over, but you can say, ‘Fine, but can you give me something extra?’ They still come out ahead, but at least you’re getting something,” he said. Volkswagen ID.3 EV at the company’s Dresden, Germany, factory. VW is suspending production this week at its Dresden and Zwickau factories in eastern Germany. The reason: Unavailability of wiring harnesses made for VW in Ukraine in the wake of the Russian invasion. That will add to the shortage of cars in the U.S. and worldwide. VolkswagenLatest Threat to Car Supplies: War in UkraineWhat’s changed since then, of course, is the Covid-19 pandemic followed by the shortage of semiconductors (chips). Through December 2021, the chip shortage cost North American auto factories more than 2.3 million units of production, according to AutoForecast Solutions. Some analysts say the chip shortage will ease later this year. Others say it will stretch into 2023. Now, the Russian invasion has closed auto parts factories in Ukraine. They supply factories in Ukraine and eastern Europe. VW said the lack of Ukraine-sourced wiring harnesses will halt car production for much of this week at factories in Dresden and Zwickau, Germany. Zwickau is home to Europe’s largest EV factory. Some of those EVs are destined for U.S. dealers. Individuals Compete with Corporate Fleet Buyers for CarsIndividual buyers and fleet customers are now competing for new cars, says David Hult, president and CEO of Asbury Automotive Group, a dealership chain in Duluth, Ga. “To me, the demand seems so high right now, even when they’re able to start catching up on the inventory, between the rental car companies and fleet businesses and everything else, I just don’t see the demand settling until sometime into ’23,” he said. As for markups, “It’s on everything,” said Las Vegas Ford and Porsche dealer Gary Ackerman, dealer principal for Gaudin Motor Co. “It’s a classic case of supply and demand; it’s not something any of us had anticipated,” he said. For certain high-demand versions of the Ford Bronco, Ackerman said he’s gone to collector-car auctions in the recent past, where customers re-sold vehicles they just bought new. Like the dealers they bought from, collectors are selling cars for well over what they paid. In the past, a dealer had two-plus months of vehicles on the lot. That may be halved. Dealers have to pay interest (“floor-planning”) on unsold cars on the lot, although they have gotten factory assistance at times. While floor-planning aid is down, according to industry data, it’s up on a per-car basis. In the past, when it didn’t cost them to have more cars on the lot, dealers were okay with higher inventory levels. Bill HowardAre High Prices Here to Stay?Dealers are encouraging the manufacturers to make lower inventories and higher prices a permanent feature. To be fair, dealers argue that new-vehicle margins were too low, before the pandemic. Historically, dealerships make most of their profits from used cars, service and parts and finance and insurance, while new-vehicle margins are thin. On individual sales, dealers may charge $500 to $1,000 in paperwork, processing and computer fees in states that don’t cap those charges. Dealers say costs are cited on the documentation; customers say they’re not mentioned until they see the paperwork. “We’re pressing very hard for them [factories] not to bring inventory levels back to pre-pandemic levels. And so, margins are going to stay high. The margins prior to the pandemic are low. We should be selling cars at MSRP,” said Jeff Dyke, president of another dealership chain, Sonic Automotive, Charlotte, N.C. Sonic Automotive CEO David Smith said customers are less surprised to pay over sticker price now “For most people, it’s common knowledge [now] we have supply issues with vehicles,” Smith said. “People are having to wait to get what they want, for a lot of different products.” Factory to Dealer: Don’t Overcharge or … We’ll Huff and We’ll Puff?Publicly and privately, several auto manufacturers have asked their dealers not to overcharge customers, but ultimately, the manufacturers are bound by contracts that allow dealers to set the final price. But there’s a limit to what factories can do. “Hyundai dealerships are independent businesses that ultimately decide on the final vehicle price with customers. However, Hyundai consistently reminds its dealers of the need for complete transparency with our customers,” Hyundai Motor America said in a statement. “We strongly reinforce that prices posted on websites should align with pricing in the store, and we strongly discourage our dealers from charging prices above MSRP as it can have a negative impact on the customer experience and brand loyalty,” the company said. In an internal memo that was later widely shared online, General Motors warned its dealers against overcharging for especially in-demand vehicles which aren’t on sale yet, for which consumers can make reservations online, such as the Chevrolet Silverado EV, the GMC Hummer EV, the GMC Sierra EV, and the Cadillac Lyriq. (Ford has sent similar warnings to its dealers.) “For the small minority of bad actors that are engaging in the conduct identified above, this letter serves as notice that GM reserves the right to redirect our vehicle allocation or take other recourse prescribed by the Dealer Sales and Service Agreement,” said the memo, which was signed by Steve Carlisle, president of GM North America. Whether automakers can put teeth into their dealer warnings remains to be seen. What do they do with unsold SUVs?A final resort for the dealer with vehicles that don't sell at the dealership is to sell them at an auto auction. Most areas have auto auctions that are frequented by new- and used-car dealers.
Can you haggle car price 2022?Can you negotiate new car prices in 2022? Our YAA Auto Experts help hundreds of car buyers every week, and they gather real-time insights of the market along the way. The market is changing, and both new and used cars are more negotiable than at any time in 2022.
What cars are being discounted in 2022?Best Car Deals This Month. 2022 Audi A4 Allroad. MSRP: $45,500-$45,500. ... . 2022 Audi A4 Allroad. FINANCE DEALS. ... . 2022 Chevrolet Equinox. MSRP: $26,300-$33,100. ... . 2022 Chevrolet Equinox. FINANCE DEALS. ... . 2022 Dodge Durango. MSRP: $38,495-$70,295. ... . 2022 Dodge Durango. FINANCE DEALS. ... . 2022 FIAT 500X. MSRP: $27,300-$29,290. ... . 2022 FIAT 500X.. How much over MSRP should you pay for a car 2022?For most of 2022, the average price of a new car was around 10 percent over the official price, with the 15 most popular models all costing between 18 and 24 percent more than the manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP), according to iSeeCars.
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