This is a great time to sell your old unwanted car. These are the words posted on the internet ad by my local Toyota dealer. “We will buy your car even if you don’t buy from us.” Carvana is running a similar ad on their cable television ads. What’s going on? Why do they want my old car?
It’s simple. Car dealers lack inventory. After going to the Los Angeles Auto Show and sitting in their new cars I looked at my local dealer web sites to see what models they had in stock. Some had none. Some had a handful of 2021 cars and the trim choice was one. Take it or leave it. 2022 cars are even rarer. To keep their business alive those new car dealers want your old car so they will have any inventory to sell.
What’s going on here? It’s a year of shortages. The auto industry’s turmoil may be unrivaled. It’s all about the computer chips in short supply. Every car needs them and so do appliances. The chip makers are overwhelmed by the unexpected demand. Most of the chips are made overseas in China and Taiwan. Most the cargo ships are waiting to be unloaded in the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. Those computer chips are somewhere among the cargo containers on the ships.
2022 will be an expensive year to buy a car. This is definitely a supply demand situation. Some car dealers are actually asking for more than the sticker price. Unless you really need another car it has been advised by many to wait until 2023.
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