Economic Research: Used Car Price

Tuesday 25 December 2012

Used Car Price

Used car shoppers looking for deals are doing a double-take. Prices are up, and they are expected to keep going up this year. It's a new kind of sticker shock. Good used cars are scarce. That's sending prices higher than many shoppers expected. Larry Williams was out in the middle of the day with his wife and son, looking for a bigger used car. "The most surprise is that it is like buying a new car," he said. "They are around the same prices." On average, the National Automobile Dealers Association says used vehicle prices are up about three percent from last year. That number could be deceiving. Kelley Blue Book figures prices are closer to 20 percent higher for the most popular fuel efficient models. Jalin Brown traded his 12-year-old SUV with 188,000 miles for a newer one. "Actually the prices they are asking for, some are ridiculous, some you can bargain for. It depends on where you go and what you find," he said. The recession put the car market on its ear. Dealers say a lot of their trade-ins are a lot older and have a lot more miles on them. Shoppers are looking to buy used instead of new.