KANSAS CITY, Mo. — In the used-car world, it's a seller's market.
"So consumers are getting more for their used car than ever before," Danny Zaslavsky said, general manager at Country Hill Motors in Merriam, Kansas.
The microchip shortage affects how many new cars are on the lots.
Over the pandemic, there were less repossessions and more people choosing to buy at the end of their lease.
"Traditionally, new car stores need to sell new cars to get those trades to fill their used car lots, right," Zaslavsky said. "Well, when that's not happening, that demand trickles over to the used car side."
This is good news if you want to sell your car.
KSHB 41 News reporter Sarah Plake used her car as an example. It's a 2010 Toyota Corolla with about 136,000 miles on it. A Country Hill Motors' quote said she could get up to $7,400 if she sold it to the dealership. Realistically, she probably wouldn't get that much because the dealership would have to fix several things on her car.
Prior to the chip shortage, that quote would have been about $1,200 less than what she got today.
On the flip side, expect to pay more.
Many times, dealerships get their inventory from auctions and have to pay thousands in back-end fees, such as auction fees, transportation fees and inspections — driving up prices for you.
Zaslavsky is a part of a local software company called Vincue, which helps dealerships connect with consumers directly without having to go to auctions.
"Whether that be on Facebook, on Craigslist, on Auto Trader, on Car Gurus - wherever they're listing their vehicle - dealers have the ability to send offers to those consumers and buy the vehicle," Zaslavsky said.
That's why he says his lot is full.
Zaslavsky said right now is a good time to look for deals.
"Between like October and January is the slowest time in the car business which also means there's a demand from the dealers to sell their inventory and buy their inventory," Zaslavsky said.
You can certainly sell your car yourself, and Zaslavsky estimates you'd get about $1,000 more than if you sold it or traded with a dealership. However, the burden is on you to make sure everything looks good mechanically and cosmetically.
