# What is happening with car prices? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071 "2009-07-24T01:37:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/1 "2009-07-24T01:37:17Z")
This may end up in GD but . . . I looked at Dodge Durango prices about a year ago. In the last 12 months, Durango prices have gone up $4000 - $5000. Before we start the WTF?! You can’t sell the cars you have and you raise prices as the economy gets worse?! :eek: thread what have been happening to car prices in general over the last year in the US? ---
**Author:** ![hobscrk777](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a6a055/32.png) [@hobscrk777](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hobscrk777)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/2 "2009-07-24T01:47:22Z")
This is a good question. I’ve actually observed the opposite. That is, I’ve seen cars (new and used) drop in prices and being sold with low, low APRs (many advertise 0%, no credit check, etc.). It seems that many dealers/companies are desperate to get people behind the wheel in this economy. My perception of this is that it’s like the practice of pushing home mortgages on people who really can’t afford them, albeit at a smaller scale. How can this be any more sustainable? ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/3 "2009-07-24T02:27:08Z")
I think the logic goes, “We are selling fewer cars, so to maintain profitability, we have to raise prices.” No, they don’t get the free market. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/4 "2009-07-24T02:39:18Z")
Base price, or are you considering incentives? I know there was a new model Ram this year; is it a new Durango, too? ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/5 "2009-07-24T02:56:50Z")
> [@Fear\_Itself](#): > > I think the logic goes, “We are selling fewer cars, so to maintain profitability, we have to raise prices.” > > No, they don’t get the free market. Sell at a loss and make it up in volume didn’t work so hot. By comparison, crank up the margins and lose a ton of market share is business genius. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/6 "2009-07-24T13:34:19Z")
I’ve never bought an American car but people I know who have always commented on how much of a great deal they got and how much money they got off of it. Sometimes thousands off the sticker price. I wonder if these increases you’re seeing in MSRP are inflated to give the impression to buyers that they are saving a lot of money when offered rebates and discounts. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-happening-with-car-prices/504071/7 "2009-07-24T14:19:01Z")
I have not noticed any large changes in the price of vehicles, having just bought a new ride myself. But I wouldn’t be surprised if the Cash for Clunkers deal that is beginning shortly had an impact on prices – if car sales are going to be subsidized by $3.5k or $4.5k, dealers may see an opportunity to adjust the “real” price of a car, aiming for a win-win: consumers get a better deal on a car under the subsidy program, and dealers get to charge a little more than they did earlier this year to make a little additional profit.