‘Crazy’: Used cars selling for thousands above new car MSRP

KING COUNTY, Wash. — It’s a miserable time for car shoppers right now as the market continues getting pinched by supply chain shortages.

It means car prices are soaring with no clear end in sight.

Carfax says used car prices are up 40% from this time last year — a record high – with some used cars selling for thousands above new car sticker prices.

“There’s a shortage of cars! It’s kind of crazy,” said Tom Voelk, an automotive writer and car review guru.

KIRO7 caught up with him Friday as he was reviewing a Jaguar F-Type near Magnuson Park – an $86,000 car.

But even if you’re shopping for just something that’ll get you to work, it’s going to cost you.

“Some (dealerships) are jacking the prices up $5,000, maybe $10,000, depending on the price of the car,” Voelk said.

The ongoing microchip shortage means new cars are rolling off the lines very slowly.

Brotherton Cadillac in Renton said they usually have 200 cars on the lot, but on Friday they only had a dozen.

“We are receiving about 35, 40 new cars each month, so there is a steady pipeline, just not at the volume we would like,” said owner Brad Brotherton in an email.

Lee Johnson Nissan of Kirkland recently said it had six new cars to sell, though its normal inventory is more than 100.

“It’s not as if the dealers like this,” Voelk said. “They have to pay their employees, taxes and their electricity bills. And they don’t have cars to sell. It’s tough for them too,” he said.

This reporter couldn’t get into a new Honda CRV to test drive at Honda of Kirkland. Lee Johnson Nissan said it had no Nissan Pathfinders until March at the earliest. Brotherton Cadillac said it got nine new Buicks on Friday but expected them all to sell by the end of February.

It means some lightly used cars are costing much more than new.

iSeeCars.com said the top vehicle in Seattle doing just that is the Toyota Tacoma truck, which is selling for 20% or $76,000 more than new manufacturer’s suggested retail price.

Used car dealership Maharaja Motors in Lake City says it’s good old supply and demand.

Co-owner of the family business Sonny Khurana says they’re selling a 2022 Tesla with 70 miles on it for $54,000.

“I think MSRP is about $47,000,” Khurana said. He speculates that the previous owner bought the car solely as an investment and to sell it above MSRP.

“Cars cost us more, so you pass along the savings,” Khurana said.

There is another shortage hitting their business. They normally buy cars from around the country, but there is a lack of truck drivers to ship them.

“It takes so long to get inventory right now — the delivery, it’s become not worth the wait,” Khurana said. He said he bought and paid for a car in Portland about a month ago, and it’s still in Oregon. “It normally would be here in a week,” he said.

Voelk’s advice for shoppers right now?

“My best recommendation is if you don’t have to buy a car, don’t buy a car! Just be patient,” he said.

He said the market should get better in a year – possibly as soon as six months if you can wait.

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