Car shoppers might have to settle for their second or third choice
The most desirable new vehicles are selling before they even hit dealerships. Used-car prices are through the sunroof. And automakers worldwide are idling plants and cutting capacity as they wait for more desperately needed chips to be delivered.
Instead of the more typical dealer discounts, markups are spreading to new cars, and for hot models like the Chevrolet Tahoe, $10,000 would not be out of the question. Shoppers, confronting a market that should have millions more new cars on the road this year, are shrugging and paying up.
Bu with dealer lots cherry-picked and sparse, many car buyers have been forced to reconsider their choices and kick the tires of overlooked models and brands. Some are settling for paint colors they would normally dismiss. Others are turning from new to used. People are rethinking their transportation coming out of the pandemic and even changing the way they buy a vehicle.