Your guide to navigating the inflated used car market!

Now that the "pandemic" is behind us. It is time for us Americans to get back to regular life and that includes shopping. Specifically used car shopping. The used car market is booming there are many factors that are affecting the market right now I will be only touching on a few in this article.

Stimulus

With the threat of economic doom looming, the Federal reserve decided to"stimulate" the economy" While I won't get too deep into economics in this article it is important to provide a bit of background on the topic. When people have extra money, they tend to do what with it? So there has been a recent influx in purchases especially vehicles. The first thing many people did when they received their stimulus check is put it towards the purchase of their new vehicle a lot of this stimulus acted as a great down payment helper towards a purchase of a vehicle. So now you have a large amount of demand and the supply just cant produce heck the poor supply chain is so worn out that even the chip manufacturers can't keep up with this new demand for vehicles. Which brings us to the next point

Chip Shortage

As I stated earlier chip manufacturers cannot currently keep up with the demand! So how does the chip shortage affect the car market? By now hopefully you have grasped the concept of how the recent economic stimulus has helped to increase the current vehicle demand. That leaves us with the chip shortage, almost everyone of your vehicles functions are controlled by little computers or "chips". Have you noticed how challenging it has been to get new electronic devices here recently? It has been just as hard for auto manufacturers to obtain them as well. But you know what doesn't require new "chips" and is newer than the vehicle you currently own?..........That's right (Used Cars)

How to navigate this market

So now that we are acclimated with a few of the causes of this current car market. we can now focus on how how to properly navigate it! If you have recently had the chance to do some car shopping here recently. You are fully aware of the recent price hike on these vehicles. That is both good news and bad news.

The good and the bad

The good news about the used car market being inflated is that you will be getting top dollar for your trade-in vehicle. The bad news is that if you are in the market for a pre-owned vehicle, the inverse will happen and you could potentially be overpaying! The only real danger that your face with buying a USED CAR is that when the dust settles and things get back to normal.Someone will be left holding the bag when the market inevitably corrects itself and will it be you or the dealership? If I were in your shoes I would trade my vehicle in and then purchase a new vehicle. The reason being the "sticker price" or Monroney label has not changed. New vehicle prices do not currently reflect the market.

Conclusion

• Do not get stuck with holding the "bag".

• Even though new cars are scarce they are out there, do your research

• The new car market does not reflect current used car prices

• "Trade high buy fair" trade your vehicle in now and replace it with a new vehicle within the MSRP

We covered a lot in this article, if you have any questions about the concepts covered. Please feel free to comment or reach out to us directly at sales@drivewithjulius.com! God bless, and have a wonderful day!