Used Car Bubble

[Por_sha911]

Soaring used vehicle prices are set for a correction, according to CarMax CEO William Nash.

Conditions caused by COVID-19 boosted average used car prices by a couple thousand dollars and in some cases to above their original sticker prices.

Late-model used car prices are "bumping up against the new car" prices, Nash said on CarMax’s first-quarter earnings call on Friday. "I think we are getting close to that inflection point."

Used car and truck prices in May surged 30% annually, boosted by a global chip shortage driving more customers into pre-owned vehicles and pent-up demand from consumers, many of whom had more cash to spend thanks to government stimulus measures.

Nash expects prices to moderate as the effects of government stimulus checks recede. There is already evidence that is happening. Personal spending was flat in May, slowing from a high of 5% growth two months prior.

Nash says the supply chain constraints surrounding new cars won’t be remedied until the "latter part of this year."

https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/used-car-price-bubble-is-about-to-burst

[billybek]

Well, it worked for me...
I found a Duramax truck online with very low kilometers and bought it on Monday. Listed the old GMC and the Toyota on Tuesday.
Toyota sold Thursday and the truck yesterday. Looked like I was running a curber/flipper operation here!
Neighbors will be happy when the old truck is gone but I will go pick up the travel trailer in a few hours to take up the same amount of space...

[cabmandone]

Used car bubble, used construction equipment bubble, existing home bubble, you name it bubble. When it pops, this oughta be fun.

[Noah930]

My next door neighbor just told me today that his Camry has 16K miles on it. His salesman friend keeps calling him to trade it in. He owes $17K on it, and the salesman is offering him $23K!

[cabmandone]

Part of why I bought a new Highlander last September was due to the used being so close in price to the new when they were offering incentives. Used prices have to be driving new sales when new is available.
I've been thinking about selling the Polaris Ranger I bought a few months ago. I got a good enough deal on it that I think I could make money on the deal and find one later this year when things settle down for less than I have in this one.

[red-beard]

My 2017 F250 with 40K miles, which I bought for$45K, the dealer wants to buy it back for $42K.

[red-beard]

We need a new car for Mrs. Beard. This is NOT the year to buy one.

[cabmandone]

^^^
Nice! But doesn't the new cost close to 60?

[Mike Andrew]

Yep, Kung Flu and the chip shortage are great for the used car market. Noticed the used car inflation when I bought my new Forester in August year. Certified used prices were within $2K of new and few on the lot. To me it became a no brainer. Things have worsened since; both with used car prices and the chip issue. Maybe if cars had less Nanny systems, the chip shortage might mitigate slightly.
Local Chrysler plant has had to shutdown due to chip issues. Pano had an article this month about the number of cars affected and production shortcomings. Probably here for a while as increasing capacity is so costly.

[Por_sha911]

This would be a good time to start a new business back-dating modern cars to carburetors, points and condenser? We'll even throw in an AM/FM Cassette deck at no charge.

Yeah, I know there is this nasty little problem with the EPA but heck, I bet the folks with 60's and 70's cars are smiling bigly right now.

To those who want to sell their used vehicles and buy one later... Later may be in a year depending on how bad the backlog of needed chips is.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Por_sha911

This would be a good time to start a new business back-dating modern cars to carburetors, points and condenser? We'll even throw in an AM/FM Cassette deck at no charge.

Yeah, I know there is this nasty little problem with the EPA but heck, I bet the folks with 60's and 70's cars are smiling bigly right now.

To those who want to sell their used vehicles and buy one later... Later may be in a year depending on how bad the backlog of needed chips is.

That would be silly. I converted my factory carburetor El Camino to fuel injection to have a car the starts when it is cold or hot and run like a modern car. No hesitation, no and great running.

Carburetors suck. And a simple throttle body FI system is better in every respect unless you are looking for only max HP for a drag race or top end.

[Nickshu]

I feel like this is a bubble on top of a bubble. For the past decade I have been amazed at what used cars sell for. I mean cars that have 3/4 of the life wrung out of them selling for tens of thousands, and people taking out 5 year loans on them. I always shake my head at some of the prices, and that's before this extra 30% the article refers to.