Camaro Prices Skyrocketing: What’s Going On?
The microchip shortage is wreaking havoc on vehicle production. With the shortages in production, it becomes a supply and demand thing, and guess what? Prices are rising. While we’ve seen prices on both new and used trucks ramp up, it is used Camaro prices that are out of control.
What is causing the Camaro price hikes?
When buyers can’t get the new vehicle they want, they’ll turn to a newer used vehicle. So what do the skyrocketing prices of used Camaros mean? Is it because there isn’t enough of a supply of new Camaros?
According to iSeeCars, used Camaro prices have jumped over 45-percent between June 2020 and June 2021. In dollars, that is around $11,000 for newer-used Camaros. All it takes is a perusal of online for sale sites to see how high used Camaro prices are.
Looking through listings at Cargurus, there are multiple 2014 Camaros for over $35,000. And a number of 2018 Camaros exceed $40,000. The 2018 Camaro’s base MSRP was under $30,000 when new.
Some used Camaro prices exceed their cost when new
So a 2018 model over $40,000 is exceeding how much it cost when brand new. We just took a minute to poke around, but it doesn’t take much to see crazier prices than our examples above. The bottom line is that prices are crazy for Camaros right now.
Some of it is because the Camaro factory has been shut down for long stretches to shift microchip needs to the high-margin trucks and SUVs. Supplies of new Camaros have plainly suffered. Another reason is that we’re getting closer to the end of the line for the current Camaro.
Information keeps leaking out of GM indicating the Camaro will either be dropped or become an electric “performance sedan” by 2025. Generally speaking, we expect that most Camaro enthusiasts would prefer a gasoline engine over electric power. And the same is probably true for wanting a traditional coupe.
Part of the reason is that Camaro production as we know it is ending
So it looks like if you want a new, traditional two-door coupe Camaro, you better get one soon. And the last reason, though small, could be encryption. If you buy a new Corvette, you cannot mess with the ECU. So chipping one, or making other modifications is forbidden. Not so with the Camaro.
We expect that once a completely new Mustang or Challenger hits the street, it will have encryption blocking any engine calibration changes. It is just where we’re going with the last of the internal combustion engines. So the Camaro might be the last GM muscle car allowing you to tweak the engine.
As the chip shortage tapers off and supplies get back to normal, this rush on used Camaros will taper off too. But right now, you’ll pay a premium if you want a used Camaro. And good luck finding a new one on dealership lots. It’s just that old supply and demand thing.
