Computer chip shortage preventing rollout of new cars
If you’re in the market for a used car, you might need to increase your budget. Perhaps you wanted to buy a new car but can’t inventory for the model you want. You’re not the only one. A computer chip shortage caused by ongoing pandemic-related supply chain issues means fewer new cars are being built right now. That means buyers are forced to look at used cars to change their rides.
“This is totally weird,” Toby Russell, co-founder of Shift.com, told KOMO News. “Typically, a used car will depreciate, drop in price by about 1% per week. The idea that it would in three or four months increase by over 25% is unheard of.”
In addition to the chip shortage, there was not a whole lot of demand for new cars at the height of the pandemic as consumers were guarding their money close because of financial uncertainty and with offices around the country closed, people didn’t have many places to go. Now with half the country’s adults fully vaccinated, many offices are reopening and people are on the move and spending again.
Early in the pandemic, when travel basically stopped, rental car companies sold much of their inventory as used cars. If you tried to rent a car recently, you no doubt paid a lot more than you expected to. Even with that influx of inventory, used car dealers are having trouble keeping vehicles on the lot even as they buy more. While it might make sense to wait a bit for a new car, if you have a used one you’re looking to unload, you won’t get a better price than right now.
“Yeah it’s a great time to sell your used vehicle,” Steve Rennells of Jefferson City (Mo.) Honda told KOMU News. “I have a lot of customers that come in that’s interested in just selling their car and not even buying a new vehicle.”
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