The cost of used cars has risen over the past few months. According to the American Association, NADA - National Automobile Dealers Association, some used cars are more expensive to buy now then when they were New.
Cars such as Volkswagen Jetta, which is now worth $747 more, along with the Nissan Cube worth $842 more, the Hyundai Tuscon which is worth $635 more - these are just a handful of used cars that are already exceeding their price bought at new.
NADA explain that although the prices of the cars on their system that record the value of cars are often overpriced, there is a significant rise overall due to many economic factors. The main and most obvious one is the recent Japanese earthquake which has left the Japanese Automotive market in turmoil and devastation. Lack of new parts and new cars drive prices up for used cars - which are easier to obtain and easier to source parts elsewhere.
American-made cars used to depreciate more quickly than many foreign brands for a variety of reasons – quality concerns, styling, and reputation, to name a few. A big factor was also Detroit's excessive use of fleet sales to rental firms, which the automakers used to prop up overall sales figures. Rental fleets would use the cars for a while, from several months to a year, and then re-sell the cars at auction. The oversupply of rental cars helped keep used car prices lower.
The same held true for leased vehicles as well: When drivers return a lease car back to the dealer, it either goes onto the used car lot or to an auction house where it is resold.
The combined effect automakers cutting back on fleet sales and the massive reduction in leasing in 2008 is cutting into used car supplies at auction.
Manheim, an American auto auction company, says used car prices are at an all-time high. The company is auctioning off fewer cars, but prices have soared.
