Used-car prices are increasing nationally, but Gainesville consumers can still find good deals.
Research from Edmunds.com, an online resource that estimates car values, shows that the prices of used cars increased by about 10 percent nationally since last July.
But Ramon Young, a car salesman at Gatorland Pre-Owned Superstore, said he's seen no change in prices.
"People find used cars less expensive," he said. "They do research on new vehicles so we have to keep our prices down."
Today, the estimated national price for a three-year-old vehicle is $19,248, an increase of $1,800 from last year's price. And in the last 12 months, used-car and -truck prices increased 17 percent and some sport utility vehicles are up 30 percent since last July, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Consumer Price Index Summary. The spike in prices may be a result of consumers' economic confidence.
"A lack of confidence in the economy is driving more people to used cars, putting upward pricing pressure on a limited supply of vehicles," said Joe Spina, a senior analyst for Edmunds.com, in a press release.
David Denslow, a UF economics professor thinks the increase in prices is also partly due to the Cash for Clunkers program, which paid people to trade in their old cars for new ones and thus increased the supply of used cars.
"Now that that's gone, people are holding onto their old cars so there's not much supply and it is holding up prices," Denslow said.
