Protect Your Budget While Car Shopping

Back in May of 2021, I wrote about buying cars in the early days post pandemic. That was at a time when the supply of both new and used cars was very low and prices were high. Fast forward to today, a few things have changed and some haven’t:

1. The availability of most cars is still relatively low. Now the auto companies are purposely keeping the supplies at dealerships low to keep the prices high. There are some exceptions. You can see which makers are offering incentives at Edmunds.com
2. Prices are still high. The average new car price in June 2023 is $46,229 according to JD Power.
3. There are less cars being sold. Before the pandemic annual cars sales were around 17 million per year. Last year sales were 13.7 million. The lowest in a decade. Higher prices and rising interest rates are keeping buyers away.
4. There aren’t many lease deals. JD Power reported that last year the percent of leases went down to 16% of total sales from a high of around 31% in January 2019. The lack of deals is due to the low inventory and the rising interest rates.
5. Used car prices are also still high. Due to the above mentioned, people are keeping their cars longer. Reducing the availability of used cars and keeping the prices high.If you are looking to buy a car and want to pay less, what should you do? We recommend 2 initial steps. First go to Edmunds.com and see which car brands have deals. Second, check consumerreports.com to see the makes and models that are recommended.

   This will get you started on offsetting the rising car prices. Want some additional assistance? Set you your free initial financial coaching session with us here.

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