LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J.
As a new car, the Civic would have had a sticker price of around $21,000.
A three-year old Toyota Camry with large dents and scratches on its hood sold for $14,200, nearly twice what it would have brought just a few years ago.
The crisis has created a political headache for the Biden administration, fueling inflation and knocking more than two percentage points from GDP growth in the third quarter.
you’re going to have to pay a very high sticker price,” Wimmer said as he watched the auction, which used to attract more than 1,000 car dealers to Manheim, Pa., every week but since the pandemic mostly operates online.
But chip supply is limited by a lack of semiconductor factories and by the months-long process needed to make the components.
The global auto industry will produce nearly 4 million fewer vehicles than planned this year because of the shortages, according to the consulting firm AlixPartners.
Poorer households are especially likely to feel the burden of pricier used cars, said Michael Hicks, an economics professor at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
If high prices continue, they could also become a drag on employment.
Ryan Calamia, 24, and his mother, Jennifer Calamia, 52, discuss potential cars to test-drive at AutoLenders in Lawrenceville, N.J., on Oct.
“If you don’t get the car immediately, somebody’s buying it right out from under you,” said Pala, a resident of nearby Bucks County, Pa.
She spent about $27,000 on her SUV, which has 23,000 miles on it.
One of the main factors inflating prices: Rental-car companies for the first time have become major buyers of used cars at auction, instead of big sellers.
Normally, Hertz and other rental companies buy new cars directly from manufacturers, receiving discounts because they buy in bulk.
“Hertz, Carvana, Avis, Hertz,” Wimmer said as he watched the offers flood in for a 2019 Acura RDX.
“Auction is one of our sources, however this is a limited resource given our requirements on age and mileage,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Amy Weisenburger, a finance professional near Buffalo, N.Y., was planning an August vacation in Alaska with her husband to celebrate their anniversary.
When her husband checked various sites, the cheapest deal he could find would have cost $3,000 for nine days.
All she found were pricey offers for a Honda Civic or an older BMW, which she worried would have trouble navigating rougher roads.
With new cars in scarce supply, many consumers are buying their leased cars instead of returning them when the lease runs out.
A few doors down from AutoLenders, another dealership, Route 1 Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram of Lawrenceville, has about half its normal inventory in stock, said Chris Mazzeo, manager for used cars.
Route 1 has taken out ads offering to buy consumers’ used cars, even if they aren’t looking to buy a new vehicle, Mazzeo said.
“The person that buys a car every 10 years is walking in thinking – and rightfully so – hey, let me negotiate a new car,” he said.