Used Car Market Not Like it Used to Be

If you're looking to buy a used car, you might want to get used to some headaches.  If you've been looking... and looking... and just can't find the right used car for you... it might not be because you're too picky.

“We're having trouble getting the inventory for the used (cars),” Keith Zeigler, president of Zeigler Chevrolet in Claysburg, said.

“It is a challenge though, you know there are just a lot of less used cars out there right now, especially nice ones,” Matt Stuckey, president of Stuckey Ford and Subaru in Duncansville, said.

The reason you're seeing less hand-me-downs on the lots could be because of those newer, sleeker models.  Car companies aren't out of the woods yet.  That means they're cutting back on sending as many new models to dealerships across the country, including right here in central Pennsylvania.  That causes folks to hold onto their older cars longer.

“We don't have the inventory that we would normally have for people to trade in their used so we could have a greater used inventory,” Zeigler said.

The reality is you might not find really cheap prices on used cars now-a-days and that's making some customers turn to options that at first they didn't think were possible

“We're seeing some people especially with some of the offers looking at a new car instead,” Stuckey said.

Since the used inventory is getting low, dealers said supply and demand will eventually kick in; meaning the price difference you saw between used and new cars a few years ago might really turn into a thing of the past.

“The prices are going to reflect that because there is a shortage, there is going to be a greater price increase on the used,” Zeigler said.

The other reason for low used car inventory?  Rental car chains.  Usually those companies send their older rental cars to auction for dealers to buy.  Those rental companies have started carrying fewer cars because of the economy.