As early as July, 2009, we cautioned readers that a crash in used car prices was nowhere on the horizon. Today, we get news that not only has a crash NOT occurred, but instead used car prices have jumped to 16-year highs. From the Toledo Blade:
“Prices of previously owned vehicles began increasing in March as a reaction to slowed new-car production by Japanese automakers hurt by natural disasters in the island nation. But the rise has been exacerbated by soaring gas prices and a used-vehicle shortage.”
From the Detroit Free Press:
“People are holding on to cars and trucks for about a year longer than they did before the recession, which has created a tight supply of used vehicles. So few are on the market that prices have risen to their highest in at least 16 years.
Dealers are paying an average of $11,660 for a used car or truck, up almost 30 percent since December 2008.”
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