Some recent-model used cars have become more expensive in the last year because many people prefer not to wait months for the delivery of a new vehicle.
In 2022, vehicles made in 2014 to 2017 cost an average of 25% more than in 2021, while the 2018 and 2019 cars cost 12% more, according to a price analysis carried out by the Clupp insurance company on more than 2,400 used vehicles in Mexico.
But the most in-demand vehicles cost even more.
Clupp gave as an example that the 2016 Nissan Versa went from costing 135,500 pesos in 2021 to 182,000 pesos in 2022, 35% more, despite being one year older.
Another case is that of the Kia Rio 2018, which cost 207,900 pesos in 2021, and then 257,000 pesos in 2022, 24% more.
For Jorge Rodríguez López, executive president of the Mexican Association of Automotive Distributors (AMDA) Jalisco, the increase in the cost of used vehicles is due to a growth in demand for second-hand cars, as a substitute for new cars, which are scarce in various models.
“It is a side effect of the lack of inventory of new vehicles,” explained Rodríguez López, when asked about this situation.
“The issue is that there is not enough production in the world of new vehicles to meet the demands of the market and what customers require.”
Regarding the expectation of regularization of the delivery times of new vehicles, and the normalization of the pre-owned market, he pointed out that this will happen this year, since automotive production is expected to increase.
There are still lists of buyers waiting for vehicles to be delivered, a situation that has been going on for at least least two years due to the shortage of chips for the automotive industry due to the pandemic, and now due to the delay in production that this generated.
At Kia and Honda dealers, sellers stated that, depending on the version, there are SUVs whose delivery takes three months, while at Toyota, they indicated that it takes about a month and a half.