Anyone buy a new car lately during the chip shortage? I did. Update 1/27/22 - Now no limit on prices

[FelixDeCat]

As everyone knows, there are not enough obsolete computer chips to make a lot of things these days, including cars. As a result, the trade in value of used cars has gone up a lot and new cars are in very short supply for some brands and models, like Toyota and Hyundai.

I bought a 2019 Elantra Value Edition a couple of years ago and paid it off early this year. It was a nice car with sunroof and heated seats, but I could not haul anything. So Ive been shopping for a car with more room like a Toyota RAV4 or Hyundai Tucson.

I decided to go with the 2022 Tucson since it was nicely equipped with sunroof, heated seats, all the sensors, automatic cruise, parking sensors, etc. I did not get the limited because I do not like leather seats.

The online calculators were pricing my trade in a few thousand away what I paid for it two years ago with 30,000 miles. I figured the 22 Tucson SEL w/Convenience MSRP would be a cheap upgrade.

Then reality came to greet me at the dealership...........

Because the Tucson is a best seller and I wanted the one they had in stock and not wait for delivery in a few months, plus the color I wanted (RED), their first offer was MSRP +25%. I laughed and said I would leave. I offered them a fair profit and they wouldnt take it since they knew they could easily get more. We finally settled around 10% over, then they reduced that with some rebates, special low rate financing (I did not need, but I took anyway), a couple of add ons the car did not come with, etc.

Essentially, your overpriced trade in may be cut down with "market adjustments" to figure in demand. Too many buyers and not enough stock.

I had offered to sell to Carvana, and I would have gotten about $2,000 extra for it, but the Tucson is sold as fast it arrives and I would have been w/o a car in the meantime. The price of renting would eat up the extra $2k.

Also, when you trade in a car, they subtract the value from the purchase price when calculating sales tax, so I got a $1000 break there. The total was in the mid 30s w/tax.

I've got about 300 miles on it. So far, so good. It does have very bright LED headlights, lots of room and ok power and ok fuel economy for its size. I hate the auto start stop because you have to turn it off every time you start the car. The stereo could use some amplification and the ambient color interior lights at night could be more plentiful. Just nitpicking though. Over all happy.

Update 1/27/22

 

[ultimatebob]

I bought a used car recently, and actually got a wonderful deal on it.

I used to drive a 2018 Ford Mustang GT, and thanks to the chip shortage you simply couldn't get a new Mustang in stock anywhere. Vroom gave me $37,000 for it. That's only $4,000 less than what I paid for it 3 years ago! They tried selling it for $42,000 (That's over the original price!) and they failed miserably. They ended up selling it for basically what they paid me for it.

I ended up buying a very lightly used 2020 Kia Stinger GT with only 4,000 miles on it from a local Ford dealer for only $35,000. They basically had no idea how to sell that car (Ford should probably stick with trucks and SUV's), and I got a great deal on it because it had been sitting on their lot for months. I love that car... it's almost as fast as the Mustang, but actually has usable rear seats and gets suprisingly good gas mileage on the highway.

 

[FelixDeCat]

A low mileage Stinger is a nice find. I've been told the older Mustang GTs drink gas though by a couple of guys that had earlier models.

I was seriously considering the Santa Cruz but it only gets 20 MPG and the Tucson gets about 25 to 30. The Elantra was averaging about 30-35.

 

[BoomerD]

The used car market is absolutely crazy. I bought my 2019 F150 Lariat 6 1/2' bed last May. In August, the dealership contacted me and asked if I'd be interested in selling it. Offered me ALMOST what I paid for it new. Of course, the truck is still almost new...just turned 12,000 miles on it. I declined. I MIGHT get rid of it when the F150 Lightning comes out. That one interests me.
I had to take a load of stuff to the dump today. I was SHOCKED that after dumping everything, the truck still weighed 5780 on the scales. I know I've gotten fat, but come on!
My last truck, 2018 F150 XLT 5 1/2' bed weighed about 4800 lbs.

 

[MadScientist]

We have a 2014 Ford Escape SE that has ~80K miles on it and is in great shape but got the itch to get a new SUV. The refreshed 2022 Hyundai Tucson was our first choice. Most Hyundai dealers here in TN have between 2 to 5 in stock and the listed price on their website is Window sticker price, but only if you finance. Cash price is ~$2K-$3K more. And then there's the added fees, the $700.TN stealership doc fee, bloated registration fees, dealer addons, i.e., $200. for nitrogen filled tires, $200. wheel locks. No thanks, keeping the Escape until the chip shortage gets better, which may not be until 2023 or later.

 

[FelixDeCat]

We have a 2014 Ford Escape SE that has ~80K miles on it and is in great shape but got the itch to get a new SUV. The refreshed 2022 Hyundai Tucson was our first choice. Most Hyundai dealers here in TN have between 2 to 5 in stock and the listed price on their website is Window sticker price, but only if you finance. Cash price is ~$2K-$3K more. And then there's the added fees, the $700.TN stealership doc fee, bloated registration fees, dealer addons, i.e., $200. for nitrogen filled tires, $200. wheel locks. No thanks, keeping the Escape until the chip shortage gets better, which may not be until 2023 or later.

If it were not for the need for something bigger, I was going to stay with my paid off car too.

You will like the Tucson should you get a wild hair.

 

[ultimatebob]

A low mileage Stinger is a nice find. I've been told the older Mustang GTs drink gas though by a couple of guys that had earlier models.

I was seriously considering the Santa Cruz but it only gets 20 MPG and the Tucson gets about 25 to 30. The Elantra was averaging about 30-35.

Nobody buys a Mustang GT for the gas mileage

I could get a respectable 24 MPG on the highway if I drove conservatively (but what's the fun in that!), but I averaged about 17 MPG in town. The Stinger GT can get 27 MPG highway, about 18 MPG in town. My wife will confirm that I was driving it like an idiot on the highway, too

 

[Paperdoc]

My daughter shopped recently for a car in northwestern Ontario, Canada. She found certainly a shortage of new and used cars. Further, prices of very recent new cars were close to new car prices. She found things not to like with several used ones and then found a new Nissan Sentra in stock locally with many extras that she really liked. Dealer claimed to be offering year-end closeout reduced pricing, and so were other dealers in their ads. Net result was the price seemed reasonable (no trade-in). They they offered a significant reduction if she bought by a dealer-operated financing plan, BUT advised her that the financing deal allowed FULL payment of outstanding balance after the first monthly payment, with NO interest penalty clause! Effectively, by using that, she could pay cash and get the inducement price reduction on the car. So she did that. She had a little difficulty with it because, it seems, almost nobody else used that "deal" that way and the dealership Financing Dept. had trouble figuring out how to accept the payment, but it DID work. Result is she got the car she wanted (in stock locally) for what appears to be a reasonable price, NOT one inflated by limited supply.

 

[repoman0]

Got my 2021 Miata for invoice (~$2k off MSRP) in April of this year. Can’t even find them now and if you do they sell for MSRP at least. Just in time!

 

[dingster1]

Kia K5 GT Line AWD $31k new


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BarkingGhostar]

I remember the days in which I balked about some riceburning dealership expecting me to pay US$30K for a Japanese car. Then the words went to Korean. Well, those days are gone and now we'll happily pay anything above MSRP regardless if it is a POS. IMO, of course.

 

[Stiff Clamp]

My daughter shopped recently for a car in northwestern Ontario, Canada. She found certainly a shortage of new and used cars. Further, prices of very recent new cars were close to new car prices. She found things not to like with several used ones and then found a new Nissan Sentra in stock locally with many extras that she really liked. Dealer claimed to be offering year-end closeout reduced pricing, and so were other dealers in their ads. Net result was the price seemed reasonable (no trade-in). They they offered a significant reduction if she bought by a dealer-operated financing plan, BUT advised her that the financing deal allowed FULL payment of outstanding balance after the first monthly payment, with NO interest penalty clause! Effectively, by using that, she could pay cash and get the inducement price reduction on the car. So she did that. She had a little difficulty with it because, it seems, almost nobody else used that "deal" that way and the dealership Financing Dept. had trouble figuring out how to accept the payment, but it DID work. Result is she got the car she wanted (in stock locally) for what appears to be a reasonable price, NOT one inflated by limited supply.

haha, beautiful

 

[JulesMaximus]

I have a new full-size Ford Bronco Wildtrak reserved but I doubt I’ll see it before the end of 2022 quite frankly. Markups of $10-20k are common and I fully expect to pay MSRP at some point in the future when it becomes available.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

In Atlanta, on the regular C8 vettes they are asking $5-10K on available inventory for new. Then again I was just offered a lightly used 2021 1LT base in gray color for, cough, $93K. That's $32K over the MSRP. I've already put out feelers to 5-6 of the top Chevrolet dealers west of the Mississippi River that will sell at MSRP, but several already told me it'll be 12-18 months before my order can be put into the system. Its a $500-1000 deposit for reserving a name on a list. I'm going to do it, but in the mean time go get a Tesla ... this year.

 

[ultimatebob]

In Atlanta, on the regular C8 vettes they are asking $5-10K on available inventory for new. Then again I was just offered a lightly used 2021 1LT base in gray color for, cough, $93K. That's $32K over the MSRP. I've already put out feelers to 5-6 of the top Chevrolet dealers west of the Mississippi River that will sell at MSRP, but several already told me it'll be 12-18 months before my order can be put into the system. Its a $500-1000 deposit for reserving a name on a list. I'm going to do it, but in the mean time go get a Tesla ... this year.

So, basically, new car scalping is now a 2021 problem along with GPU scalping and video game console scalping.

I guess that we can't blame cryptocurrency miners for this one, though

 

[pauldun170]

Put together my 3900x rig right before the shit hit the 2020 fan.
Bought my GTI right before the shit hit the 2021 fan.

Summary - March is the month to buy stuff if you are trying to beat the pooped fan.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Put together my 3900x rig right before the shit hit the 2020 fan.
Bought my GTI right before the shit hit the 2021 fan.

Summary - March is the month to buy stuff if you are trying to beat the pooped fan.

My wife and I bought a 2021 Range Rover Sport in January of this year and we managed to get them to knock a couple grand off MSRP on it too.

 

[nOOky]

We are keeping our 2019 and 2020 vehicles we both got just before the craziness hit the fan. Things could be a whole 'nother story in 4-5 years when I go looking again. I find it nuts that a vehicle I bought is still worth what I paid for it, when traditionally you lose $10,000 when you drive it off the lot.

 

[JulesMaximus]

We are keeping our 2019 and 2020 vehicles we both got just before the craziness hit the fan. Things could be a whole 'nother story in 4-5 years when I go looking again. I find it nuts that a vehicle I bought is still worth what I paid for it, when traditionally you lose $10,000 when you drive it off the lot.

Yeah, my car is a 2017 but it only has 32k miles on it. It is expensive to operate so I would prefer to have something else as a daily driver. My wife loves having a convertible though so we will probably keep it at least until it starts to be problematic.

I am planning on buying something with some off-road capability sometime next year and I will daily drive that. I really like the new Ford Bronco, the full-size one, not the Sport. I have a reservation for one but I don’t see that being fulfilled anytime soon.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

So, basically, new car scalping is now a 2021 problem along with GPU scalping and video game console scalping.

I guess that we can't blame cryptocurrency miners for this one, though

I've learned to be patient. Several dealers offering legitimate paths, while prolonged, at MSRP and I've chosen one. But I also just ordered a Tesla this morning so there's that.

 

[96Firebird]

It still amazes me that my truck is worth more now than when I bought it brand new over 3 years ago. I've been debating selling it, since it's really a secondary vehicle for me and I could get by with just my Equinox along with the Trans Am as a fun car. Plus, insurance would be half what it is now...

Bought it for $42k, KBB and NADA say it's worth around $45k private party. I still owe $16k, so would net around $30k.

But, I like my truck. I love the way it looks, love how it drives, and I'm able to haul and tow when I need to. And not sure how long it'll be before prices stabilize to buy another, so I'm just glad I bought before this craziness happened.

 

[KentState]

I was able to order a Tesla 3 and get it within a month back in July. Was able to sell our old car to Carvana for $2500 more than Tesla was offering on a trade-in. Glad I didn't have to actually haggle with a dealership on a new car. I would be walking or riding my bike out of pure spite.

 

[rstrohkirch]

My wife, my brother and I all got out of our leases over the last 2 weeks. With all of the 3rd party dealers buying stuff up, a lot of a manufacturers are actually enforcing their policies on leases. Those would be that the only people allowed to buy the lease out is you or the brand's dealer. Luckily, we were able to get the respective dealers to buy out all the vehicles. I got super lucky finding mine new one considering there were only 8 of them for sale on Autotrader in the US. My brother was looking at a car that had 80ish for sale so he found one in a day.

 

[vi edit]

I sold a 2013 Ford C-max with a couple grand in body damage, balding tires and 55,000 miles on it in July to Carvana for $7500. Dealer was going to give me $5000 and we don't charge sales tax on cars in Oregon.

We then bought an AWD Extended Range Premium Mach-E that was a dealer demo with 2100 miles on it for MRSP. That was the only extended range premium on the west coast over the summer. Most dealers were charging $5,000-$10,000+ markups on even the base models. We bought from a rural Ford dealer that basically sold trucks and they just wanted to move it. So was ok giving sticker for the exact car I wanted.

I then turned around and sold a 2016 Pacifica van with 45,000 miles on it to Carvana for $25k. I paid about 31k for it. So I used it for 5 years for about $6,000. Not bad.

I'm now a gas free household. I use an e-bike for a lot of my kid hauling around town. Then the Mach-E for everything else. Happy so far.

 

[FelixDeCat]

I sold a 2013 Ford C-max with a couple grand in body damage, balding tires and 55,000 miles on it in July to Carvana for $7500. Dealer was going to give me $5000 and we don't charge sales tax on cars in Oregon.

We then bought an AWD Extended Range Premium Mach-E that was a dealer demo with 2100 miles on it for MRSP. That was the only extended range premium on the west coast over the summer. Most dealers were charging $5,000-$10,000+ markups on even the base models. We bought from a rural Ford dealer that basically sold trucks and they just wanted to move it. So was ok giving sticker for the exact car I wanted.

I then turned around and sold a 2016 Pacifica van with 45,000 miles on it to Carvana for $25k. I paid about 31k for it. So I used it for 5 years for about $6,000. Not bad.

I'm now a gas free household. I use an e-bike for a lot of my kid hauling around town. Then the Mach-E for everything else. Happy so far.

You should post a seperate thread describing your experiences with the Mach E, I find that vehicle to be interesting, but I wanted a gasoline engine for now.

I was going to go hybrid but I was reading they actually raise your insurance prices because they are more expensive to repair after an accident