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Used cars are commanding lofty prices and buyers are unable to score a brand new set of wheels due to supply shortages.
AutoNation reported $7 billion in quarterly revenues and record profits much on the strength of “pre-owned” auto sales.
The company moved to increase their availability of pre-owned vehicles.
New or used, consumers are opting for personal cars or trucks as their primary means of travel, but buyers have been forced to opt for older cars or trucks as big automakers try to recover from a worldwide shortage of computer chips that slowed output.
The windfalls are unheard of deals for vehicles that usually start to depreciate the moment they are driven off a dealer’s lot. People trading in their cars are getting an inflated amount of what their car was worth.
Consumers are paying more for their used cars, as the prices of used cars and trucks soared by 10.5% in June. The resulting shortage of vehicles has led dealers to offer premium prices for trade-ins.