Average Transaction Price Soaring

I don't like carrying a bike on its side

Quote: Pacomartin

The reasons for the soaring price of new cars are speculated on constantly. The most obvious fact is that SUV sales first passed sedan sales in 2015, and now SUV sales are double those of sedans. As more and more subcompacts are pulled off the market many people are buying used. Carvana caters to the instinctive dread that most people feel about dealing with used car salesmen or worse yet pursuing private sales. Carvana's share of the used car market is now over 10%.


I wonder how much of the uptick in new car prices is actual American preferences and how much is manipulated. Subaru sells a wonderful station wagon in Japan and in the UK with a decent engine and a good price. But they won't bring it to the US because Americans supposedly run from station wagons and they only want SUVs.

We have a 14 year old Subaru, the last wagon they sold in the US. It has 1 cubic feet less storage space than a BMW X3 (from $43,000 in 2021) and cost $17,295 in June 2007 ($1475 discounted because new generation was being delivered and the dealer didn't want a Wagon on the lot).
A 2021 hatchback has only gone up 11% in 14 years and has lost 10% of the cargo space from the wagon). Unfortunately production has been suspended because of the chip shortage. Subaru prefers to use their chip supply to build more profitable SUVs.

I have a hard time believing that Americans don't want a budget priced wagon. Most people don't need the huge ground clearance because we don't drive off road.

How would you define the difference between a hatchback, crossover, and station wagon?

Many consider the Suburu Hatchback a wagon.

Quote: AZDuffman

This could happen as the SUV becomes your dad's Oldsmobile.

Toyota North America founded on October 31, 1957 will be 64 years old this fall. But Toyota is releasing a 70 year anniversary Land Cruiser.

Quote: AZDuffman

The price of an SUV should not be as much more as it is from a sedan.

Yes, metal and plastic are relatively cheap. Especially when the sedan and the SUV share the same platform and engine.

For instance Subaru sells the Forester SUV crossover for $25K to $35K in five trims all with the same 182 hp engine. So people are paying as much as 40% additional for niceties.

The same vehicle as a sedan is called an Impreza starts at $18,795

Is that breather fake I assume? Not like you are going to wade it into water.

Quote:

Yes, metal and plastic are relatively cheap. Especially when the sedan and the SUV share the same platform and engine.

For instance Subaru sells the Forester SUV crossover for $25K to $35K in five trims all with the same 182 hp engine. So people are paying as much as 40% additional for niceties.

The same vehicle as a sedan is called an Impreza starts at $18,795

Almost everything is the same price. It trickles down, on Autoline they once mentioned a guy became a BMW mechanic instead of a basic car because he said you get paid more for the same work. A question for the group is what does everyone think the parts cost of a car is to the manufacturer? I doubt it is much over $10,000 for all but the most top-end and largest stuff.

Quote: gamerfreak

How would you define the difference between a hatchback, crossover, and station wagon?

Many consider the Suburu Hatchback a wagon.

Mainly I go by what the manufacturer calls the car, but there are subtle differences. I admit that there is not a huge difference between a wagon and a hatchback, but supposedly the marketing term "wagon" is considered deadly in the United States.

A 2007 subaru Impreza sport wagon has a straight back with 61.6 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down.


A 2008 subaru Impreza 5 door hatchback has a curved back 44.4 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down.

==================
PRESENT DAY (2021)
Subaru Impreza, Crosstrek, Forester are built on the same platform.
Impreza has 152 hp engine across all trimes, Crosstrek has 152 hp on lower trims and 182 hp on higher trims, Forester has 182 hp on all trims.
These three vehicles are the more affordable ones in the lineup starting at $19.3K for a base 5-door manual transmission Impreza with a Forester Touring topping out at $35K.

The Legacy sedan (no hatchback), Outback SUV and the Ascent 7 passenger SUV are the higher priced Subaru vehicles starting at $23K topping out at $36K, $41K and $45.5K (182 hp or 260 hp engines).

A 2021 Subaru Impreza 5 door hatchback has 55.3 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down. (5.1 inches ground clearance)
A 2021 Subaru Crosstrek SUV also has 55.3 cubic feet of cargo space with the seats down. (8.7 inches ground clearance)
A 2021 Subaru Forester SUV has 69.2 to 74.3 cubic ft of cargo space with the seats down. (8.7 inches ground clearance)
==================

But I think that the word hatchback sounds like it is not very roomy, so it keeps the buyer interested in an SUV. But the SUV has only 25% more cargo space and you are paying more than $5K more.

Subaru's last gasoline powered model premiers in 2 weeks. It is rumored to have a 400 hp option for an engine.

A squat looking jeep-like vehicle pulled up next to me. I thought, "Looks like a Sidekick." I don't think I've thought of that vehicle since it was last made. This vehicle was new though. I never did see the logo though.

Sidekick was a funny name, since the initial car had a stability problem and could tip over easily.

Kelly Blue Book released July Average Transaction Price for 34 makes instead of 15 companies, giving more detailed look. Companies would group Toyota and Lexus for instances, but now they are separate.


Tesla is artificially lower since the company did not include sales of high end Model S and Model X.

Industry number advanced another $400 from previous month

1. $27,102 Mitsubishi
2. $28,672 Fiat
3. $31,320 Hyundai
4. $31,430 Kia
5. $32,117 Nissan
6. $32,307 Honda
7. $32,561 Mazda
8. $34,402 Volkswagen
9. $34,551 Subaru
10. $35,566 Mini
11. $36,106 Buick
12. $36,240 Toyota
13. $42,650 Chrysler
    $42,736 Industry
14. $44,464 Dodge
15. $45,702 Acura
16. $46,052 Jeep
17. $46,208 Chevrolet
18. $48,211 Alfa Romeo
19. $49,001 Tesla
20. $51,490 Lexus
21. $51,828 Ford
22. $52,227 Infiniti
23. $55,322 Ram
24. $55,756 Volvo
25. $56,938 GMC
26. $59,378 BMW
27. $59,704 Audi
28. $60,096 Genesis
29. $66,631 Lincoln
30. $67,112 Jaguar
31. $68,748 Mercedes-Benz
32. $75,375 Cadillac
33. $83,174 Land Rover
34. $95,534 Porsche

I was a little surprised to see GMC right next to BMW
2021 TERRAIN STARTING AT: 25,100†
2021 ACADIA STARTING AT: $30,100†
2021 ACADIA AT4 STARTING AT: $41,400†
2021 ACADIA DENALI STARTING AT: $46,600†
2021 YUKON STARTING AT: $51,000†
2021 YUKON XL STARTING AT: $60,800†
2021 YUKON AT4 STARTING AT: $65,100†
2021 YUKON XL AT4 STARTING AT: $67,800†
2021 YUKON DENALI STARTING AT: $68,600†
2021 YUKON DENALI XL STARTING AT: $71,300†
2021 CANYON STARTING AT: $26,800†
2021 CANYON AT4 STARTING AT: $38,400†
2021 CANYON DENALI STARTING AT: $41,200†
2021 SIERRA 1500 STARTING AT: $30,100†
2021 SIERRA 1500 AT4 STARTING AT: $54,700†
2021 SIERRA 1500 DENALI STARTING AT: $55,800†
2021 SIERRA 2500 HEAVY DUTY STARTING AT: $36,200†
2021 SIERRA 3500 HEAVY DUTY STARTING AT: $37,700†
2021 SIERRA 2500 HD AT4 STARTING AT: $59,100†
2021 SIERRA 3500 HD AT4 STARTING AT: $60,300†
2021 SIERRA 2500 HD DENALI STARTING AT: $65,500†
2021 SIERRA 3500 HD DENALI STARTING AT: $65,500†
2021 SAVANA CARGO STARTING AT: $33,000†
2021 SAVANA PASSENGER STARTING AT: $37,200†
2021 SAVANA CUTAWAY STARTING AT: $32,900†


Another observation is that some of the ATPs are higher than the base MSRP of even the most expensive model.

For instance SUBARU has an average transaction price of $34,551. It's most expensive model is the 2022 Subaru Ascent which has a starting price of $32,295 for the base 8-passenger model. The range-topping Touring 7-passenger trim starts at $45,445.
The least expensive Subaru is the 2022 Impreza sedan starts at $18,795, which makes it one of the lowest priced vehicles in the compact car class. The 2022 Subaru Impreza hatchback adds $500 and CVT transmission adds another $1300. The top trims of the Impreza sedan and five-door hatchback start at $23,595 and $26,395,

In fact in order to reproduce that Average Transaction Price for Subaru I had to take the sales for each model, and go up to the "limited" trim (4th of 5 trims). While I know that very few people purchase a vehicle at base price with no options, I was under the opinion that most people bought the 2nd or 3rd level of trim, and eschewed the bigger engines and the highest trim levels.

I was behind one of these yesterday. I was wondering if the fat rear tires were stock. Looks like they are. They looked so fat, I thought they had to be aftermarket.

Quote: rxwine

I was behind one of these yesterday. I was wondering if the fat rear tires were stock. Looks like they are. They looked so fat, I thought they had to be aftermarket.

That image is of a car that costs over $70K (2018 BMW X)

Engine choice:
4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 523 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque (M50i)
4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 600 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque (M)
4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 with 617 horsepower and 553 pound-feet of torque (M Competition)

Configurations MPG (city / hwy)
sDrive35i 18 city / 25 highway
xDrive35i 18 city / 24 highway
xDrive50i 15 city / 21 highway

Tires
275/45R20
Diameter : 29.7"
Width : 10.8"
Wheel : 20" x 8.5-10.5"
Sidewall : 4.9"
Circum. : 93.4"
Revs/Mile : 678

Station wagons aren't gone. They're more expensive.