Why it's becoming so expensive to buy a car in America

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

By Todd C. Frankel

It can be a shock shopping for a new car these days.

The pandemic shortages are over. Dealer lots are stocked. Customers can find the colors and options they want.

But prices have never been higher — and the auto loans bigger and longer than ever to make it pencil out.

The average sticker price for a new car or truck now sits above $50,000 — about 30 percent more than in 2019. Even with incentives and specials, the out-the-door price reached above $50,000 for the first time in September and stood at $49,191 in January — a record for the typically sluggish sales month, according to Cox Automotive.

https://wapo.st/46WFUil

[Skittles]

1. to buy ANYTHING

everything has become ridiculously overpriced

[msongs]

2. yet another account required to read article nt

[hlthe2b]

5. Yup. If the OP could please at least summarize the "why" given most cannot read the article.

If I were on a laptop I would try to archive it, but I can't do so on my iPhone.

Every DUer should be aware of this problem with major news sites and summarize the IMPORTANT part of the article, if they cannot provide a gift article link from their own subscription. Please!

[Initech]

3. Because we have a psychotic man child in charge and billionaire criminals are bending to his will?

[Alpeduez21]

4. This post doesn't address 'why' it only deals with

‘That’ cars are more expensive

[marybourg]

6. Well, why?

[hatrack]

7. I think this is attritutable to the "Because We Can" theory of auto pricing.

Free link:
https://wapo.st/46WFUil

EDIT

Automakers have managed to pay less attention to the entry-level market because luxury vehicles, with higher profit margins, continue to sell. The U.S. economy has seen a widening divide between the fortunes of its top earners and everyone else, creating the so-called K-shaped economy. And cars are no exception.

At the end of last year, vehicles priced over $70,000 were staying about the same amount of time on dealer lots as cars under $70,000. And buyers with household incomes above $150,000 accounted for 29 percent of all car purchases, up from 18 percent in 2020. “Wealthier customers are driving this,” Manzi said. New car buyers are also getting older, another sign of rising costs.

Nearly half of all new car registrations last year came from people 55 and older, according to S&P Global data. A buyer’s average age was 51, according to J.D. Power. It was 50 before the pandemic. Twenty-five years ago, the average buyer was a little over 43 years old.

EDIT

U.S. automakers also need to tackle affordability if they hope to keep out ultra-low-cost Chinese car manufacturers, said Keating, of Cox Automotive. Auto analysts didn’t think the United States would welcome these foreign carmakers anytime soon. But Canada recently relaxed its tariff rules for Chinese electric vehicles. U.S. automakers are slowly starting to pay attention to pricing. Chevrolet has been touting its Trax crossover, which starts at $21,700. Car and Driver recently named the 2026 Trax its Best Crossover SUV. “It shows that it can be done,” Jominy said.

EDIT

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2026/02/17/new-cars-high-prices/

[snot]

8. Part of it seems to be

that people want such gargantuan cars now – even though family sizes are smaller than ever.

[misanthrope]

9. Because people are selfish and myopic

If you ask them why they get such ridiculous vehicles, their answer is usually, "Because I can!"

When you ask them if they enjoy driving up their own bills be increasing the demand and subsequent price of gas, they feign indifference.

[EX500rider]

10. And yet....

The 2025 Nissan Versa is currently the cheapest new car in the U.S., starting at approximately $18,330 for the base manual transmission model

[hatrack]

11. And the 2025 MY Versa is the end of the line, per the article . . .

.

[EX500rider]

12. Still my point is because the average price is high doesn't mean you have to spend that much