Wanna Buy a New Car?

Things are crawling back towards 'normal' in the new car biz.

New-vehicle inventory closed September at its highest level since early June 2021, and the average listing price for new vehicles fell to the lowest point in two months, according to Cox Automotive’s analysis of vAuto Available Inventory data. Still, supply remains well below historical norms, and prices are still far higher than in the past....

New car dealers want to have 60-90 days' supply of cars on the lot.  Under 60 is not enough, over 90 is too much.  That said....

 ...The total U.S. supply of available unsold new vehicles stood at 1.32 million units near the end of September, compared with a revised 1.23 million vehicles at the end of August. Days’ supply edged up to 42 at the end of September compared with a revised 41 at the end of August....

It's very low; it was 57 at the end of September '20.  

What's keeping it so low?  Demand has not slowed and supply is still lousy.  So if you want a new car, you'll have to pay for it, with a few exceptions (which are the Ugly Ducklings).   The 2-wheel drive pickups in the Frozen North, or the purple polka-dot cloth seats jobs. Those you can get for a deal.