NEW YORK, NY – According to a J.P. Morgan Research report, the skyrocketing prices of used cars that have seen an increase of 42.5 percent in just over two years could finally be showing signs of abating and leveling off, spelling potential relief for those looking to the pre-owned market for their next set of wheels.
J.P. Morgan’s report indicates that the used market is showing signs of having finally peaked earlier in 2022, and a backwards pricing slide of 10 to 20 percent will likely take place in 2023. This is good news to the wallets of Americans, who have been dealing with levels of inflation not seen in 40 years as well as soaring prices at the gas pump.
But even if the prices of used cars begin to lower, buyers will still be facing high interest rates on their car loans thanks to several Federal Reserve rate hikes, which have been made in an effort to curb inflation.
Currently, average used car loan rates range from 9.56 percent for individuals with a credit score of 750 or higher, to a whopping 22.26 percent for those unfortunate people whose credit score is 450 or lower; those with average credit tend to have loan rates in the neighborhood of 10.99 to 15.41 percent.
Meanwhile, new car prices – driven up wildly by COViD-19-related supply chain issues – are also expected to drop, although not nearly to the degree expected of used car prices; currently, prices of used cars are anticipated to drop between 2.5 and 5 percent inn 2023.
J.P. Morgan’s Lead Automotive Equity Research Analyst, Ryan Brinkman, said that the main driving factor of car prices these days is the cost of raw materials, especially when it comes to electric vehicles, but that relief is expected to come next year… depending on whether or not the country goes into a recession that is.
There’s still a lot of inflation bubbling up in the new vehicle supply chain,” he said. “Even though raw material costs are falling, suppliers have a lot of other higher non-commodity costs to pass on to automakers. However, 2023 has greater potential for a more rapid improvement in the volume environment and a more rapid normalization in pricing, with the wildcard being an economic downturn.”
Christopher Boyle is an investigative journalist, videographer, reporter and writer for SEARCHEN NETWORKS® as well as other independent news and media organizations in the United States. Christopher works on a wide variety of topics and fields, has been featured in print and online in a variety of publications, from local to national, and helps keep a keen-eye on what’s happening in the automotive world for Auto Buyers Market.