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Used car prices rising?

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Old 05-21-21, 08:50 AM
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HOMER350
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Default Used car prices rising?

I can only speculate as to why but anyone notice this?

I'm in Southern California and checked the rates on my cars a few others, they're very high.

My 2018 Hyudai Tucson Tucson now I'm finding for $4-5k more than I paid for the same car about 18mo ago. Same year, trim, current mileage (+20k we put on it), etc. Except when I bought it, it was CPO at that time. I can sell that car today and get paid $4k for having driven it as long as we have. My Lexus CT is similar. Sure I did get great deals at the time but no THAT great.

Recently read another member sold their Hellcat for several thousand more than they paid 2.5yrs ago.
An employee was shopping CUVs and suddenly found the same cars are 3-4k more than they were just weeks/month ago.

If I could find a 2nd car solution makes me want to sell the Hyudai and pickup a NX hybrid when the market settles down.

Anyone seen similar and have any insight on this?
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Old 05-21-21, 08:59 AM
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Used car prices increased significantly since last year especially depending on the specific model.

Its a combination of many factors- inflation, lack of new car inventory due to Covid/chip shortage, ppl have much more money due to govt spending/stock market etc

Used 911 prices which i have followed since last year have gone insane. It is almost impossible to get allocations on new ones even a base or S model. Most dealers are asking for ADM because of shortage and that is driving up used car prices.

Most sports cars have increased in value as ppl are looking to buy their dream cars before everything goes EV.
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Old 05-21-21, 09:15 AM
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Prices are getting high across everything. Seeing incentives and discounts on new vehicles also get pulled back pretty significantly as OEMs and Dealers see no need to offer them to clear the volume of cars that they do have on the lots and in the pipeline.

So higher new car transaction prices also allow for used car prices to jump and surge.

So yes, selling your car will net you a pretty penny today, but there are less "deals" to be found for anything new. Kind of similar to the housing market in many areas.
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Old 05-21-21, 09:17 AM
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Used car prices have been skyrocketing. They were up 10% from March to April, which is the largest one-month increase since data began being tracked back in the 1930s.

One of my coworkers just upgraded from a 2017 Pilot to a 2021 for about $3500 out of pocket. He also sold his 2018 Civic Type R with 15k miles back to the dealer for $2k less than the current MSRP, and it needed new brakes and summer tires. So he basically drove the car for free for 3 years. They will sell him a new one at MSRP, and he will likely do that.
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Old 05-21-21, 09:28 AM
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It's definitely wild. I bought my Tacoma a year ago. The MSRP was $44k and I paid about $41k for it. KBB lists the trade in value for my Tacoma at $44k. Similar used ones around here are going for about $45-47k.
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Old 05-21-21, 09:53 AM
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In mid-March I got prices from Carvana and Vroom on our low mileage '19 X3. In mid-May I checked again and they were both about $5,000 higher. Vroom's offer was about $2k higher each time. Tempting but we like the CUV.
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Old 05-21-21, 10:47 AM
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Yes. Used car can cost more than a née car too.

dealers are selling used RAV4 more than the new price.
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Old 05-21-21, 10:51 AM
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It will all calm down as time passes and the chip shortage ends. I'd call this a rare blip in history.
The only real benefit to anyone would be for someone selling a car and not getting a replacement. And that's just about no one. Otherwise, it's a wash if you are selling/trading in and in need of something else.
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Old 05-21-21, 11:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Fizzboy7
It will all calm down as time passes and the chip shortage ends. I'd call this a rare blip in history.
The only real benefit to anyone would be for someone selling a car and not getting a replacement. And that's just about no one. Otherwise, it's a wash if you are selling/trading in and in need of something else.
Completely agree with you but I feel the chip shortage is overrated. Particularly as it relates to used car values.

Late 2020 homes and used cars were slightly to the seller's advantage but not too drastically.

I follow the housing market more closely than vehicles and it's pretty outrageous here too. Home selling prices raised more in a few months than could be anticipated in 2 years time. Of course case by case basis (and Southern California).

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Old 05-21-21, 11:19 AM
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Originally Posted by HOMER350
I can only speculate as to why but anyone notice this?

I'm in Southern California and checked the rates on my cars a few others, they're very high.

My 2018 Hyudai Tucson Tucson now I'm finding for $4-5k more than I paid for the same car about 18mo ago. Same year, trim, current mileage (+20k we put on it), etc. Except when I bought it, it was CPO at that time. I can sell that car today and get paid $4k for having driven it as long as we have. My Lexus CT is similar. Sure I did get great deals at the time but no THAT great.

Recently read another member sold their Hellcat for several thousand more than they paid 2.5yrs ago.
An employee was shopping CUVs and suddenly found the same cars are 3-4k more than they were just weeks/month ago.

If I could find a 2nd car solution makes me want to sell the Hyudai and pickup a NX hybrid when the market settles down.

Anyone seen similar and have any insight on this?
This has been going on for a year. It started with production line stoppages and turning to used cars; people not wanting to take public transit; cargo container ship log jams in busy ports; computer chip shortages affecting new car production. It's not gotten any better.
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Old 05-21-21, 11:42 AM
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Originally Posted by HOMER350
Completely agree with you but I feel the chip shortage is overrated. Particularly as it relates to used car values.

Late 2020 homes and used cars were slightly to the seller's advantage but not too drastically.

I follow the housing market more closely than vehicles and it's pretty outrageous here too. Home selling prices raised more in a few months than could be anticipated in 2 years time. Of course case by case basis (and Southern California).
Supply and demand will dictate pricing more than any other factor.
One other thing about the car pricing. It is regional. At least here in SoCal, many dealers have plenty of inventory. With a lot of dealers competing, there are still incentives to take advantage of.
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Old 05-21-21, 12:14 PM
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According to JD Power (for what it's worth) wholesale prices at used car auctions are up 26% since the start of 2021. This says alot.

Resale prices overall up 21% since a year ago and 10% of that (like someone mentioned) happend in April.
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Old 05-21-21, 08:17 PM
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I’ve been looking at selling my white 2001 GS300 and buying a black/grey/blue GS300/GS430 and the used prices are insane right now. Cars with twice the mileage of mine sell for $5,000 or higher. According to KBB, my GS’ value has gone up since I purchased it last fall. I also look at other used Lexus and everything is dramatically more expensive. For once it seems like my cars are worth something. I would’ve held onto my BMW if I knew I could get way more for it a few months later.

I looked at vehicles like the newer TRD Pro Toyota 4Runners and used 2018-2020’s are selling for more used than they did new. I saw one by my house for $61,000! It’s so bad all across the board. Most new car dealerships are running out of new cars and dealers are desperate for trade ins. I really want a different color GS but they’re so expensive that I may wait it out. If I sell now I won’t be able to afford a replacement at this rate.
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Old 05-21-21, 08:51 PM
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Originally Posted by Kira X
I’ve been looking at selling my white 2001 GS300 and buying a black/grey/blue GS300/GS430 and the used prices are insane right now. Cars with twice the mileage of mine sell for $5,000 or higher. According to KBB, my GS’ value has gone up since I purchased it last fall. I also look at other used Lexus and everything is dramatically more expensive. For once it seems like my cars are worth something. I would’ve held onto my BMW if I knew I could get way more for it a few months later.

I looked at vehicles like the newer TRD Pro Toyota 4Runners and used 2018-2020’s are selling for more used than they did new. I saw one by my house for $61,000! It’s so bad all across the board. Most new car dealerships are running out of new cars and dealers are desperate for trade ins. I really want a different color GS but they’re so expensive that I may wait it out. If I sell now I won’t be able to afford a replacement at this rate.
Yeah I'm at a similar dilemma, don't have access to another vehicle to use for a few months so I would need to replace right away.

Always liked those GS's!

Temping numbers when looking at resale and trade-in values....but the cars I would replace with are selling for top dollar as well.

I took a peek at trucks last week, just an old beater F-150 or similar to keep around...prices real high on those as well.
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Old 05-22-21, 03:09 AM
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There’s a local dealer outside of Boston that is running an ad that if you turn in your lease to his dealership, whether you leased it from him or not, he will give you $500 on the spot. Real shortage of used cars around here for sure. Seeing 10 year old cars for sale on big dealership lots, that’s pretty unusual.
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