Any shopper who has stepped onto a vehicle sales lot during the coronavirus pandemic has likely noticed at least two things: There are very few cars and they have very high sticker prices.
Amid inflation and fear of a recession, buying a car in this climate is certainly not for the faint of heart.
“If you go by a car dealership these days, you either see a lot of asphalt or you see a lot of used cars in spaces where normally there would be new cars,” said Tyson Jominy, vice president of data and analytics at J.D. Power.
More from Invest in You:
Retirement is expensive – here’s how much you really need to save for it
Here’s a simple way to make a monthly budget and start saving money
How this former waitress paid off $30,000 in debt and learned to invest
In January 2015, the average price for a new vehicle sold in the U.S. was $30,694. By February 2022, that number had ballooned by 44% to $44,232.
“So what we see in terms of vehicle prices really stems from that fact that there’s hardly any inventory out there,” Jominy said.
Watch the video for advice on purchasing a car when prices are high and inventory is low.
SIGN UP: Money 101 is an 8-week learning course to financial freedom, delivered weekly to your inbox. For the Spanish version Dinero 101, click here.
CHECK OUT: I generate thousands of dollars a month in passive income teaching online classes: Here’s how to get started with Acorns+CNBC
Disclosure: NBCUniversal and Comcast Ventures are investors in Acorns.
Source: Business - cnbc.com