Car Market is INSANE Now!

[TrailerManNJ]

Yes, I realize most of you already know this --- no breaking news. But INSANE is an understatement!!! I have alerts set up on most of the online marketplaces and classified websites, and I'm LITERALLY contacting sellers within an hour or two of them listing their vehicles, and they're already gone! People are buying cars at full asking price...sight unseen over the internet...who does that?!

I cannot express how frustrating it is to be searching for a used car now, at probably the worst time in the past 30 or 40 years. If I had the luxury of waiting to buy I most certainly would, but on the flip side, I don't think the perfect storm that created this debacle is going to end anytime soon. There are several components leading to this unprecedented scenario...

1. The global shipping crisis has created a shortage of vehicles, so dealers big & small are hoovering up any decent vehicle online and flipping them to help fill the cash flow gap.

2. Gas prices have about DOUBLED in the past few months, and with winter on the horizon it might just get worse. EVERYONE is in the market now for small/hybrid autos.

3. The explosion in car camping isn't helping things either, and again, most prospective nomads are looking for small/hybrid/van/mini-van type of autos.

Lump this all together, and you have a WHITE HOT sellers paradise. Going through one's extended friends & family network might be one of the best options now, if your circle is wide enough. Mine is not.

If any prospective nomad is reading this with the intention of buying a vehicle soon to hit the road, DO WAIT if you can do so. Aside from preventing a bundle of aggravation, you'll also save a bunch of cash, as many cars are ridiculously overpriced currently.

 

[sreesekelley]

it is very weird. I scoured every dealership in a 30-mile radius for a 2500. One showed up and I was at the dealership before they opened. I traded a year old F150 for a chevy 2500 even-steven. They gave me more for the F150 than I paid for it a year earlier. while I was buying this truck six more people came in wanting it.

On the flip side, I have a friend who is waiting six months for parts to repair his car. They had to drive a 100 miles to find a replacement and they will sell the older model when it gets repaired.

On the downside, the 2500 gets about half the gas mileage as the F150 did. I can carry my camper with no worries about being overweight.

 

[maki2]

Your list of causes did not include the #1 cause of the issue, a computer chip shortage.. So take the time to learn more about it. To get you started here is one article from the internet that popped up with a keyword search on the subject.
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/2021/06/15/car-chip-shortage-2021/7688773002/

There are a great many in depth articles in t he news about it. It has been headline news for quite a few months now which of course creates a buying panic crisis increasing demand and subsequent shortages.

 

[RoamerRV428]

my hubby drives for a dealership

insane is an understatement for sure

every few days they keep trying to buy his MegaCab for a ton of money then they try to buy our super old blue Dodge farm truck for more money and at some point he was like....damn, give it a rest, I ain't selling my vehicles HA

they are desperate. there is a war between salesman for vehicles to sell and just like the OP said, most are sold within a minute of being in the dealership...........crazy wild out there.

the world has gone mad

 

[hugemoth]

Scotty Kilmer, mechanic on YouTube, did a segment on a 93 Toyota Pickup sold unseen at auction for $46,100.00! Yes it was a barn find with only about 100 miles but still. I'd sell mine for only $35,000.

 

[gizmotron]

LOL

 

[TrailerManNJ]

@sreese - I expanded my radius to 400 miles - yes, 400! - and it's still tougher than a b!tch! 90% of the cars listed in the online marketplaces & classified websites are posted by curb-stoners (amateur mechanics who buy crappy cars, "fix" them, and then hope for a fast flip). I REFUSE to deal with these guys...or almost any other dealer for that matter. Worst part is, not only do these crooks jam up the marketplaces with their listings, but they also try to appear as if they're private sellers. They're listings are a PITA to have to wade through.

@maki - Yes, I didn't mention the chip shortage, but am very familiar with the situation. Just another driver of the insanity right now.

@roamer - I can believe it. I had one fella that I was lucky enough to contact first after he posted his ad, which he even admitted. Sweet Prius with 150,000 miles and immaculate condition. Just serviced at a reputable, well-known mechanic for an oil change, etc. Told him I'd send an inspector out to look at the car 2 days later, and he said sure, I'll honor that since you were first in line. Texted him 2 days later as promised to get his address for the inspector, and he casually tells me he sold the car to a relative the night before! He didn't notify me, give me a heads up...nothing. No courtesy. I called him a douchebag and said when a man gives his word, he keeps it! My guess is he simply got a good offer and took it.

I sold my 2003 Volvo 2 years ago on Craigslist, and I kid you not, I must've gotten 500 responses in a week or two. Most were from scammers with the old money order B.S., car-for-cash places, etc. I cannot even IMAGINE how many responses sellers are getting now. It's no wonder I receive no response to my voicemails & emails on these ads, the sellers must be overwhelmed.

@hugemoth - I watch that guy, too. A bit annoying, but he REALLY knows his stuff!

 

[RoamerRV428]

LOL there is 'no word' anymore out there are good used cars...it is man eat man and flips so fast now one can't keep up

sign of the times as we are dealing with for sure I guess

 

[Ripper238]

It is crazy right now. I can sell my 2019 4Runner i bought new for the same price i bought it for (if not more) and it now has 45k miles.

 

[gizmotron]

That's nothing. Wait until you try to buy a loaf of bread next year.

 

[TrailerManNJ]

For some reason the alert I set up on FB Marketplace isn't working. I'm not being notified whenever a new listing is posted. Yet, when I go in and check manually, new listings appear. Has this happened to anyone else?

Just spotted another Prius listed within the past few hours. I was late to the party however, as the woman selling the car said she was "hammered" with responses, and a guy called up offering cash in hand, which he's driving down now from 2 hours away! Said she'll call me if the deal falls through, but I do NOT like operating this way. Rush jobs normally have shitty outcomes.

This is getting ridiculous 

 

[gizmotron]

This is starting to get funny. What about all those people that have leases that need to rollover?

"We have a nice 20 year old VW that we can get you into." We sure would like to get you out of that lease so that we can sell it.

 

[TrailerManNJ]

Ok, opinions needed!!! A Craigslist seller just got back to me and we hit it off well and spoke for about 40 minutes. Said he's had many calls about it, but we had such a great chat he said he'd hold it until my inspector came out to look it over. But a few things are making me uneasy. Please share your thoughts --- especially if you own or have owned a Prius before.

His Prius is a 2007 with 178,000 miles. Car is in excellent condition inside & out. He's asking $4,750. That's all the good. Now for my concerns...

He said the hybrid battery died about 2 years ago, so he had it replaced with one from Green Bean, which crapped out after a couple of months. So GB swapped it out as it was under warranty, and that one too went kaput a few months later. GB claims about 8% of their batteries short out or some other nonsense, and this is all normal. So GB replaced it yet again under the warranty, and this one (3rd hybrid battery) has been fine for about the past year. If I bought the car the GB warranty is transferable to me, and has about 1.5 years left on it.

Next, he said the 12v battery died last month and he spent $300 on a new one, which is working fine.

The rear hatch door latch broke, and he replaced that entire panel with a new latch and everything.

Only other issue is, he said the tire pressure gauge warning light has been on for the past 8 years, but it doesn't affect the car at all.

To me, these are a lot of issues. My gut feel is that the car is starting to break down/fall apart. But the other part of me says it might be a great deal as HE paid to fix everything, not me. Plus I have the 1.5 year warranty on the hybrid battery.

What say you? I'm torn myself. Especially since I've never owned a Prius. Opinions appreciated!!!

 

[Ripper238]

Well, that's $263 a month over 1.5 years of driving if it goes till the warranty is out. Pretty low to average price for a car per month anyway.

It sounds like they got the battery figured out, and the car being mint certainly adds value if you had to replace the battery again. I just worry about these battery powered cars, but atleast its a Toyota.

Its just a really bad time to buy a car. You can't wait?

 

[Morgana]

TrailerMan, questions that might be worth asking yourself: why does a guy with so many calls have time to chat for 40 minutes, why would he care so much about your pleasant personality that he'd hold the car for you (when he could probably be waltzing out the door right now with a ridiculous sum of money), and how good is your inspector at diagnosing electrical issues.

The first two seem a little fishy to me -- but if you really really trust your inspector, and talk these issues over with them beforehand, and they like the car, that could outweigh the fishiness.

Scary times. Be strong and good luck!

PS You could research this battery manufacturer (to see if what the seller told you is consistent with what others report) -- and ditto the Prius (to see if these are normal issues for a car this age/mileage).

 

[TrailerManNJ]

@Ripper: Wish I had the luxury of waiting, because making rushed moves like this are generally always a bad idea. But the market is extremely tough now, so no way around it. Besides, even if I did wait, who's to say all this economy/car/shipping/gasoline crap won't carry over into the new year.

@Morgana: I was thinking the EXACT same thing as you about our conversation...it seemed a bit "off." But the guy is a doctor at a well-known hospital, and to be candid, he sounded like a lonely fella who doesn't get to shoot the sh!t very often. At least that's MY take, which very well could be wrong.

As for the inspector, I used a national company called Lemon Squad about 2 months ago, and they did a pretty good job, so I'll be using them again for this car...after sleeping on it overnight, and hopefully getting more opinions from you guys.

 

[user 30781]

My landlord bought a big, red, fancy truck of some kind or another from a dealership last year, they're called him TWICE in the last few months trying to buy it back.

 

[bullfrog]

Most Prius vehicles live to go 300,000 miles with proper maintenance. Since the owner cheaped out on a battery he probably had a bad air pressure sensor and again didn't choose to fix it which is a concern especially if someone had the chance to buy and didn't. If oil changes were done early or on time and records are complete that is a big plus and if so with an emergency fund large enough to replace the battery and tire problem you are looking at going 100,000 miles for pennies per mile. There are plenty of YouTube videos (Car Angel) that tell you what to expect from the different year models, watch them.

 

[TrailerManNJ]

UPDATE: I have the inspector going to look at the car tomorrow, but the seller texted me a few minutes ago with a STRANGE message.

After confirming that the inspector contacted him to set up a time, he then wrote the following, which I'm quoting...

"BTW - If he finds anything wrong, just tell me you don't want the car. I don't care to know any more because then I feel like morally I would need to disclose that to someone else if I knew about it. So just either yes you want car or no you don't".

WTF?!?! The seller just admitted to me that he's a shifty bastard. I don't know if I should cancel the inspection now or what. If I do, I'm out $175 because I canceled the appointment, as opposed to it being weather-related, the car sold already, etc., all of which the company would provide a credit for.

This is precisely why I HATE rushing when it comes to buying cars

 

[tx2sturgis]

I feel like I'm watching a train wreck in slow motion. 

:-/