Buying

Tips for buying a new or used vehicle in a red-hot market

By Betty C. Morrow 6 months ago

If you’re in the market for a new ride, here are some money-saving tips to keep you from getting burned.

ST PAUL, Minn. — Car sales have done a 180-degree turnaround from a year ago when sales plunged 30%. New cars, used cars, the boom is one of the hottest and trickiest markets for consumers.  

Tom Leonard, President and CEO of Fury Motors in St. Paul believes demand for vehicles is at an all-time high. “What has changed in the last few months is the availability of the new vehicles,” he said. “Where we use to have a 100-day supply, we probably have closer to a 30-day supply.”

That makes Leonard a happy man. But the demand comes as a microchip shortage is stalling production at many auto plants. Couple that with employees returning to work, low interest rates and buyers flush with cash and finding your new vehicle could

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Buying a car? Follow these 4 tips to hit the gas with confidence

By Betty C. Morrow 7 months ago

Last year brought unprecedented changes across nearly every industry, and automotive was no exception. In fact, the auto market continues to exceed expectations. Compared to March 2020, TrueCar estimates vehicle sales were up 42% in March 2021. So, if you’re in the market to buy a car, you’re in great company.

Navigating a new and ever-evolving automotive landscape can be tricky, but these four tips will help you be successful with your car-buying journey in 2021 and beyond.

Set a realistic budget

Before you start the process of financing and looking around for a car, you should understand your budget. That includes taking into account not just the sticker price of the car, but the total cost of owning a vehicle.

“Make sure you can afford the monthly loan payment, in addition to other costs that come along with car ownership, personal property taxes, registration fees, insurance, fuel costs

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The pandemic car buying rebound is real as sales rocket 110%

By Betty C. Morrow 7 months ago

America is itching for a new car, collectively.


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It wasn’t hard to imagine substantially better year-over-year sales figures for April, considering much of the US shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, but record breaking sales? That’s the expectation, according to JD Power and LMC Automotive’s retail sales forecast, released Wednesday, with an estimated 1,325,500 new cars sold.

April 2021 sales are expected to catapult upward by 110% year-over-year, compared to April 2020 when millions of Americans were under stay-at-home orders and numerous businesses closed their doors. In short, as we wave goodbye to this month, the retail sales figure will go down as the highest ever recorded for the month of April. However, to underscore the excellent sales month, adjusted for the number of selling days, sales are still

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New car or used? Sometimes buying new can be smarter

By Betty C. Morrow 7 months ago

You probably remember your dad telling you to always buy a used car, because they are so much cheaper than new.

That’s not always the case anymore in this topsy-turvy pandemic year.

“We’ve all heard this: ‘Hey, you lose 20-30% of the car’s value when you drive it off the lot,'”said Karl Brauer of the automotive website ISeeCars.com.

But with used car prices at all time highs, Brauer said some used cars are so expensive that the new version can be a better deal.

“With some vehicles, right now the market is such that you are pretty much better buying the new car,” he said.

He cites Tesla as an example. A used version with 10,000 miles on it is valued just 1% less than its brand-new counterparts.

“If it’s 2% cheaper to buy a one-year-old one, why not just just buy a brand new one?” he said.

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