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Used car market gets even more bizarre

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Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#31

Post by bogota »

kybernetyk wrote: post #5
dlmiller wrote: post #2

My car died, needing a new engine, so I was forced to get one in October. I usually only buy used, but prices are so inflated it didn't seem worth the premium. Used 2017-2020 Toyota Rav4's with 30-60k miles were the same price as a new 2021 model, if you could get one. I knew it was bad, but I was shocked of how bad it was. I went to multiple mega dealerships with 500-1000 cars that were all spoken for. Most had 0 ne…

Same here. For just 10k euros more I got a current year new model vs a used 2016. Used car market is crazy.

That doesn’t seem that crazy to me.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#32

Post by alphabettsy »

davidw wrote: post #18
syshum wrote: post #3

My truck is worth more today then when I bought it 4 years ago... Crazy that automobiles are now an appreciating asset...

This is exactly what we've done to the housing market in the US. For some reason, people intuitively get why it's happening with cars, but housing... it's some kind of weird mystery why it's so expensive in so many places.

Housing doesn’t seem like a mystery at all. Home prices have been increasing rapidly for several years and supply is partly constrained by the pandemic.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#33

Post by chrisjc »

mrfusion wrote: post #27
speedgoose wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes the Tesla cars we can buy without too long wait are from the Chinese factory. I ordered my Model Y late August and got it beginning of September.

You can choose the factory?

Configuration probably dictates origin.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#34

Post by Y_Y »

larrydag wrote: post #4

Here's the flip side of that from auto lenders. They are seeing a huge recovery benefit from repossession of vehicle after chargeoff. Lenders portfolios are seeing a net benefit in chargeoffs which has hardly ever happened in recent history. Even more bizarre. https://www.yahoo.com/now/ally-financial-ally-beats-q3-12451...

How can you honestly "charge off" a debt as unlikely to be repaid, when you are quite likely to be repaid? It seems that in the case of a car loan you can usually reposses the collateral, which recently will have held value oreven appreciated in the interim.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#35

Post by barrenko »

kspacewalk2 wrote: post #13
clavalle wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was in the same boat. I usually avoid buying new but used cars are nearly the same price as new (if you can find a dealer that hasn't done ridiculous 'market adjustments'). So we bought new. We had to buy a car that was just off the delivery truck before the dealership had it inspected. The one we'd looked at two days before was long gone and they expected the one we bought to be sold the next day. My neighbor trad…

>Mechanics are about to make a killing. If you're a mechanic and already have plenty of business, I imagine it's a tough call: do you jack up your hourly rates and take advantage of the windfall, at the risk of customer loyalty in the future? This insanity will pass, after all.

Yes it will, just like real estate prices.

Joke.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#37

Post by willis936 »

dlmiller wrote: post #2

My car died, needing a new engine, so I was forced to get one in October. I usually only buy used, but prices are so inflated it didn't seem worth the premium. Used 2017-2020 Toyota Rav4's with 30-60k miles were the same price as a new 2021 model, if you could get one. I knew it was bad, but I was shocked of how bad it was. I went to multiple mega dealerships with 500-1000 cars that were all spoken for. Most had 0 ne…

My SO's Subaru Outback's engine died recently. It would be $5000 to replace it. Not being able to justify the cost when it had an engine replacement 2 years ago, was already 9 years old, had 160k miles on it, and us not needing a second car, we decided to just sell it. A dealer bought it for $6500 knowing that the engine was shot. I was expecting like half of that with an optimistic estimate.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#39

Post by wbsss4412 »

symlinkk wrote: post #15

Used car prices have doubled, yet the “official” inflation figure is only 6%?

What percentage of your personal monthly budget gets spent buying a used car?

That is, not in servicing loan payments, but actually buying cars.

Inflation is weighted for this reason.

Re: Used car market gets even more bizarre

#40

Post by nathancahill »

carabiner wrote: post #9
syshum wrote: post #3

My truck is worth more today then when I bought it 4 years ago... Crazy that automobiles are now an appreciating asset...

My truck, a 2015 Tacoma, is worth $4k less than what I bought it for 3 years ago. So totally normal depreciation in my case.

Worth to whom? Have you listed it for sale? The market for used Tacomas and 4Runners is off the hook.
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