Buying a car is harder than ever

Buying a car is harder than ever

High school is the first opportunity for many people to drive. Teenagers reach the age to get their license and finally get out on the road. Many drivers also need a car for when they graduate and go to college. But in order to do so, they must first have a car to drive. Some use their parents’ car(s) and some buy their own. However, in recent years, buying cars has changed.

Used car prices have risen in recent years. This is due to several factors such as inflation and low supply for new cars, which have driven up used car sales. Statistics courtesy of cargurus.com

COVID changed a lot about the world. One of those is high inflation and supply shortages for car parts. This made buying new cars more expensive than it was before.

“Used car sales, I would say they increased,” said Justin Nye, a car salesman at a local dealership. “I think because a lot of people are downsizing and trying to get out of big loans and things like that, and they’re just trying to pay cash for a good used car and not have car payment because they’re trying to consolidate finances.”

In response, people took to buying used cars. At first, used cars seemed to be a much better deal because they were much cheaper than the inflated prices of the new cars at the time. However, with people making a shift to used cars, their prices increased as well.

“I expect it to maybe slow down just a tad this going into this next year because of the possible recession,” Nye said. “But I still think as long as we have good inventory, which we always try to do, we’ll stay pretty good.”

With the prices of all cars going up, people were forced to pay more money for cars since the pandemic. This has left buyers with a harder choice to make about buying a new or used car.

Cars are lined up at Prime Auto Sales LLC in Uniontown. This dealership, which specializes in used car sales, is also feeling the effects of the current car market. PHOTO BY LUKE HOUSER.

“Compared to when my parents bought their first car, I think it’s way more complicated,” said Amarina Long, junior, who recently bought her first car. “Prices are way higher, the used car market is [bad] right now, and a lot of teens aren’t as prepared for getting a car and just expect it to happen.”

This leaves parents with the tough choice of still needing to provide a car or form of transportation for their child but having to eat up the extra prices of the current economic climate. And with many children either needing or expecting a car, parents have to find a solution without exceeding their budget, which has become extremely difficult to do.