SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — If you’re in the market to buy a car, experts say you may have to wait a little longer if you have your heart set on a specific make and model.
As dealerships both new and used try to maneuver through the backlog of inventory because of a shortage in car parts.
“Anyone who deals with cars whether it's new, used, or rental car agencies, they're all essentially in the same place scrambling to get vehicles because of this backlog of demand and shortage of supply," said Karl Brauer, the executive analyst for iseecars.com. "So many of these car-based businesses are doing what they can to get their hands on vehicles at this point.”
And when you translate the situation into dollars in San Diego, the average cost for a used car has gone up about $7,000 in the past year, which is a little more than $25,000 for a used car.
Brauer adds, there’s only one real way to fix this problem.
“If new car production can get back to a new level that meets new car demand, and people who have current cars would trade them in to get new cars, and used cars supply would go up. It tracks back to the microchip shortage," he says.
Until then, if you really need to buy a new car, Brauer says it’s best to keep your options open and stay away from the cars that are in high demand, such as convertibles and trucks.
