Why have used cars gotten so expensive? This is a question that comes up more & more often both from car shoppers and from pre-owned automotive dealers alike.

The automotive market was one of the earliest, hardest-hit businesses during the pandemic. We’ve all seen the cost of just about everything we buy increase dramatically because of the after-effects of manufacturing plant shutdowns and store closures, supply-chain disruptions, and quarantines. Limited new car production during the pandemic has created a limited used car inventory today. Potential buyers are now looking at used vehicles that can be 4 to 6 years old or more. One-year-old used car prices have increased a whopping 67% from 2019 to now. Used vehicles of all years have increased 33%. (Source: iseecars.com)

The average used vehicle price in 2023 is $34,491. Before the pandemic (2019) 49% of used cars cost less than $20,000 and now only 12% of all used cars cost less than $20,000 (https://www.iseecars.com) 

To make matters worse, as monthly payments continue to rise, the short supply of new cars tightened the used car market to a point where prices rose at a time overall interest rates rose as well. This situation makes lenders very nervous, and has buyers currently looking at average payments of $533 for a used car. (Source: carscoops.com)

At World Famous Autos, we feel your pain! It’s our pain, too. We are dedicated to doing as much as possible to get you into your new car with a payment you can manage. Prices are rising, but we’re here to help! 

Check out our current used car inventory and schedule a test drive today.