Sept. 20, 2021—After climbing for a record five consecutive months, the average purchase price of a new car won't be heading down anytime soon.
A report from Kelley Blue Book shows that a large part of the $50 billion in damage to property caused by Hurricane Ida was the destruction of at least 250,000 cars. That figure is a low-ball estimate, as it leaves out car owners without comprehensive insurance who won't be eligible to file a claim.
“This is an historically tight market, so it’s going to be much more inflated impact (than) we saw in previous storms like Harvey,” Cox Automotive Analyst Kayla Reynolds told CNN.
When Hurricane Harvey destroyed nearly half a million vehicles in 2017, CNN Business reported used car prices climbed by 3 percent for several months even with a large supply of cars. Now, amid a global car shortage, the average prices for new and used cars could continue to shoot even higer.
