No one has been able to avoid the used car price discussion these days. We all know that the once-cost effective option of buying used has become as much of an investment as buying new. And some new reporting and data tracking from CarGurus illustrates what brands are raising prices and by how much. In fact, some brands have seen as high as a 30 percent increase in prices.
Take some time to look through the CarGurus chart, which lists the price increases by make and body style. Click on a manufacturer, and you can explore the increase of prices per specific model and year. You can also change the dates that are being analyzed, which produces its own fascinating results.It’s a great tool if you’re looking to buy used—but it’s also a fascinating research tool.
In fact, there are a whopping 11 brands that have seen used car prices increase by over 30 percent. Those include:
- Ram, +40.58 percent
- Ford, +38.93 percent
- Aston Martin, +38.34 percent
- GMC, +38.09 percent
- Chevrolet, +37.47 percent
- Dodge, +36.54 percent
- Volkswagen, +35.13 percent
- Lincoln, +32.96 percent
- Toyota, +30.54 percent
- Hyundai, +30.07 percent
- Kia, +30.03 percent
Manufacturers whose year-over-year numbers have increased the least include:
- Tesla, +6.18 percent
- Ferrari, +8.83 percent
- Alfa Romeo, +9.33 perent
- Genesis, +13.00 percent
- Jaguar, +14.89 percent
- Suzuki, +15.96 percent
As you can see, cars with lower price points when used have tended to skyrocket in price when compared to many sportscar or supercar brands (though that isn’t a guarantee, as Aston Martin shows).
There are plenty of factors contributing to this wild market. The increase in used car prices kicked off as folks started receiving their COVID-19 stimulus checks and has only grown as more folks are vaccinated and return to work. Pair that with a semiconductor chip shortage that has seen some dealers that normally stock 1500 cars only able to keep 30 on the lot, and you've got quite the recipe for a massive amount of inflation.