After real estate flips, now comes the time for automotive flips! The price of used vehicles is skyrocketing, and more and more owners are taking advantage of it!
You’ve heard it often, a new vehicle loses about 30% of its value when it leaves the dealership parking lot. Well, forget that! These days, your racing car represents a more lucrative investment than the stock market.
“An SUV like the KIA Telluride that comes out of the dealership will appreciate by 5% to 10%,” the president of ALBI le Géant, Denis Leclerc, quoted to me as an example. At a time of parts and vehicle shortages, the return to normal is not for tomorrow. “With the problems in the supply chains, we anticipate disruptions for another year or two. »
Forget the depreciation of a new vehicle! It now increases in value week by week. It also has an effect on used vehicles. According to the specialized firm Canadian Black Book, their value has increased by about 50% over the past year.
My experience
Allow me to share a personal experience. In the winter of 2020, I rented a new sport utility vehicle (SUV). Without identifying the brand, it was a basic model, one of the most affordable brands.
To my surprise, a year later, I received an offer I couldn’t refuse. The dealer was offering to buy my vehicle back for nearly $10,000 more than I paid for it!
In short, I estimate that I achieved a return of more than 20% on the SUV, if I subtract the expenses related to maintenance, such as oil and tire changes. And even by calculating the price of gasoline, I made a financial gain!
So I took advantage of this cash grab to lease a new vehicle with a down payment that allowed me to reduce my monthly bill by 30%. It’s not nothing !
Flip automobile
Presumably, I am far from the only one to have sniffed out the bargain. More and more buyers are reserving vehicles in order to make resale profits.
For example, new 2022 Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Ford F-150 models are displayed on resale sites for $10,000 to $20,000 more than the dealer price. And buyers seem to be showing up quickly to get their hands on it.
If we are witnessing such overheating, it is because the shortage of new vehicles is reaching unprecedented heights.
“It’s unheard of,” confirms the CEO of ALBI le Géant. Our Mazda dealer usually presents 150 cars in the showroom. We have 15 at the moment. »
Speculation
More than ever, dealers are on the alert to avoid selling new vehicles to speculators who only hope for one thing: to make a profit.
“We ask more questions,” Denis Leclerc confirmed to me.
Some buyers even come from the United States to buy cars and resell them at a high price to our neighbors to the south, where the shortage is even more severe than here. This new phenomenon contributes to soaring prices.
Between the confinements in China which affect a major exporter of auto parts, and the supply chains tested by the Russian invasion in Ukraine, the return to normal is not for soon.
resale ban
The situation is so crazy that several manufacturers intend to ban the resale of their vehicles altogether.
Noting the strong popularity of its electric F-150 Lightning, and the low number of copies, Ford introduced a non-resale clause during the first year. An owner could therefore face legal proceedings if he sells his van on the second-hand market.
Who would have thought, one day, that a new vehicle would turn out to be a better investment than an investment on the stock market. In our time, however, this is indeed the reality!
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