WASHINGTON, D.C. – The 40-year high bout of inflation that the country is currently embedded in is causing prices of consumer goods to skyrocket in nearly every market conceivable, but there are few areas where this is being felt more than in the used car industry.
Over the course of the past two years, prices of used cars have jumped considerably, with the average buyer forced to fork over approximately $10,046 more today than they would have prior to the nation’s surge in inflation, reports say.
Currently, prices of used cars and trucks are up 7.1 percent year-over-year from 2021, according to the Labor Department; prices declined slightly in April and held steady in May, but since then have increased 2.2 percent per month, with no signs of slowing down.
Used car and truck prices have been a major component of scorching-hot inflation, with prices up 7.1% from the previous year, according to the most recent consumer price index from the Labor Department. Prices in June — after briefly declining in April and moderating in May — surged again, jumping 2.2% on a monthly basis.
Consumers have turned more and more to the used car market recently as COVID-19-related supply chain issues have resulted in a shortage of brand-new vehicles – along drastically higher prices – but efforts to save a buck by going pre-owned have proved to be increasingly futile, as demand has driven up costs in that marketplace as well.
In June, the average cost of a used car climbed to $33,341, representing a 0.5 percent jump from May and $200 under the previous record high achieved in March.
However, according to analysts, although the market had been proceeding according to normal levels of inflation instead of the accelerated degrees that Americans are dealing with currently, the average used car price would most likely be in the neighborhood of just $23,295, according to online car-shopping app CoPilot.
Despite economic headwinds caused by inflation, interest rates and fuel prices, the continued inventory shortage in the new market as well as strong consumer demand are driving overall used car prices to near-record highs,” the app noted in a blog post.
CoPilot also noted that the more recent the model of used vehicle, the higher the prices tend to be, whereas the older a model is, the closer it gets to being at what would be considered “normal” pricing.
Demand for used vehicles remains very strong, especially for newer and more expensive vehicles,” CoPilot reports. “This allows dealers to keep closing deals well above projected normal prices. This trend is driven by the shortage of new cars, by the desire by dealers to hold out for profits while they can, and by a sufficient backlog of confident buyers.”
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.