$29,000 for an average used car? Would-be buyers are aghast

[libertybele]

$29,000 for an average used car? Would-be buyers are aghast

A couple of months ago, a woman paid a visit to Jeff Schrier’s used car lot in Omaha, Nebraska. She was on a tight budget, she said and was desperate for a vehicle to commute to work.

She was shown three cars priced at her limit, roughly $7,500. Schrier said the woman was stunned.

″‘That’s what I get for $7,500? ’” he recalled her saying. The vehicles had far more age or mileage on them than she had expected for something to replace a car that had been totaled in a crash.

The woman eventually settled on a 2013 Toyota Scion with a whopping 160,000 miles on it. Schrier isn’t sure he made any profit on the deal. “We just helped her out,” he said.

As prices for used vehicles blow past any seemingly rational level, it is the kind of scenario playing out at many auto dealerships across the country. Prices have soared so high, so fast, that buyers are being increasingly priced out of the market.

Consider that the average price of a used vehicle in the United States in November, according to Edmunds.com, was $29,011 — a dizzying 39% more than just 12 months earlier. And for the first time that anyone can recall, more than half of America’s households have less income than is considered necessary to buy the average-priced used vehicle.

The days when just about anyone with a steady income could wander onto an auto lot and snag a reliable late-model car or buy their kid’s first vehicle for a few thousand dollars have essentially vanished.

“I’ve never seen anything remotely close to this — it’s craziness,” said Schrier, who has been selling autos for 35 years. “It’s quite frustrating for so many people right now.”..............

https://www.winknews.com/2022/01/09/29000-for-an-average-used-car-would-be-buyers-are-aghast/

[Kamaji]

That's insane.

[Hoodat]

I timed it perfectly.  Bought my 2019 Jetta in Jan 2021.  It was a bargain compared to where prices are now.

[Kamaji]

I'm tempted to check on the prices for used 2017 VW Passat R-lines, to see what I could potentially sell mine for.  Of course, I would then have to replace it with something else, so that's probably not such a grand idea.

[Hoodat]

I'm tempted to check on the prices for used 2017 VW Passat R-lines, to see what I could potentially sell mine for.  Of course, I would then have to replace it with something else, so that's probably not such a grand idea.

Looking on Cargurus near me for 2017 VW Passat R-line:

41K miles - $21,200
51K miles - $20,200
89K miles - $18,000

I got my Jetta a year ago with only 8K miles for $14,500.  An equivalent today (2020 Jetta with 8K miles) is going for $26,250.

[Kamaji]

Looking on Cargurus near me for 2017 VW Passat R-line:

41K miles - $21,200
51K miles - $20,200
89K miles - $18,000

I got my Jetta a year ago with only 8K miles for $14,500.  An equivalent today (2020 Jetta with 8K miles) is going for $26,250.

Well, that would certainly pay off the remaining note on the thing.

That being said, I'm more likely to just invest a couple thousand in fixing the things that drive me nuts about the car.  First and foremost, I hate those 19 inch rims with the 45 ratio tires on them.  I've already broken three sidewalls hitting manhole covers and potholes.  It'll cost about $2,000 or so to get 17 inch rims and appropriate rubber.  In retrospect, I should have dropped another $1,500 at the outset when I bought the thing and gotten the Passat SE with the moonroof and the regular 17" rims.

Second, one of the damned heat controllers under the dashboard on the driver's side has gotten stuck open; that's not so bad during the winter, but when the weather gets warm again, it'll be unbearable.  Apparently this is a known defect with the Passats.  it's a rinky-dink little piece of kit, but I don't have three or four days to tear the driver side cockpit down to get at it, so I'll probably have to drop about $1,000 in labor to get it fixed.

[Hoodat]

One thing I really love about my VW is the room.  I am a tall person, and this is the only car I have ever sat in where I don't have to slide the seat back all the way.  Any other car I have been in (except an MGB), even with the seat back all the way, I still feel cramped.

I also love the 6-speed manual and the fuel efficiency.  I haven't experienced any negatives so far, but apparently leaks from weather are a known issue.

[Kamaji]

One thing I really love about my VW is the room.  I am a tall person, and this is the only car I have ever sat in where I don't have to slide the seat back all the way.  Any other car I have been in (except an MGB), even with the seat back all the way, I still feel cramped.

I also love the 6-speed manual and the fuel efficiency.  I haven't experienced any negatives so far, but apparently leaks from weather are a known issue.

The room, particularly in the back seat, is the entire reason why I got this car (I've had VWs in the past, too, so I knew a bit about the brand).  When I was test driving cars, the first thing I did was set the driver's seat where it would be if I was driving, and then sit in the back seat to see if my knees hit the back of the front seat.  The Passat (and, surprisingly, the Jetta, too) was the only car that passed the test.

[mountaineer]

We bought new/used cars last summer. Mr. M got a really great deal for Jeep Cherokee, especially with the trade-in they offered on his 2015 BMW. We were stunned at how much they gave him for that car.

I traded in a high-mileage 2014 Subaru - didn't get a whole lot for it on the trade-in, but it probably was a fair price - for a 2019 Chevy Colorado. I'm glad we bought when we did.