South Dakota News Watch‘s report on the evaporation of used-car inventories and explosion of prices makes me glad I bought my new used car in April 2020. It also includes an interesting nugget about how car prices seem to be higher in South Dakota than the rest of the nation:
The average used car fair purchase price in South Dakota was about $25,900 in the first five months of 2021, said Brenna Buehler, a spokeswoman for Cox Automotive, a national car sales group. Nationwide, the average used car fair purchase price was $25,332.
Prices for new cars are also on the rise across the U.S., but even more so in South Dakota, where trucks and sport utility vehicles dominate the market. The state had an average fair purchase price of $44,500 for a new vehicle compared to the national average of $37,943, which is in part attributable to the “vehicle mix” in South Dakota, according to Buehler [Andrew Rasmussen, “Inventory Way Down, Prices Way Up in Booming Used Care Market in South Dakota,” South Dakota News Watch, 2021.06.11].
Read that carefully: a specific make/model of automobile in South Dakota doesn’t necessarily cost more than the same set of wheels elsewhere in the country; it’s just the kinds of cars South Dakotans buy—big four-wheel-drive outfits—tend to cost more than the smaller put-puts that fill other states’ garages, meaning that when we add and average all of our car purchases, we tend to shell out more on wheels than our fellow Americans.
GoBankingRates.com reported in February that South Dakota offers the 13th lowest cost for buying and owning a car for a year in the U.S., but that assumes buying the same $37,876 car, driving the same amount, and buying the same 14 gallons of gas a week as the national average. South Dakotans drive about 1200 miles more per year than the national average (15,541 miles per year per driver here versus 14,300 nationally). Despite having relatively reasonable gasoline prices, South Dakotans also had the third-highest per capita gasoline expenditures in the country in 2017, behind only North Dakota and Wyoming, which flows logically from putting in more miles in bigger vehicles with less fuel efficiency.
Related Reading: Cox Automotive reports that the median number of weeks’ income needed to buy a new care rose from 33.8 weeks in April to 35.5 weeks in May.
Well…when you’re 60 miles between do nut shops, you tend to put on the mileage. We’ll be seeing what the maximum miles are we can put on the odometer before the engine goes on our present vehicle. Cars, these days, are good for 200,000.
When we lived in South Dakota we used to go for a drive when this unusual show from Minnesota would come on the radio. Something about strong women. It added up to many miles.
Republicans want to raise gas taxes that would disproportionately hurt working class drivers, especially in rural states like South Dakota. That’s what has recently been reported. President Biden is standing firm against Republicans in raising gas taxes to pay for his infrastructure bill. The President is correct on this one in pledging not to raise taxes that would disproportionately take more money from working class Americans making under $400,000 annually. So far, Biden is standing by his pledge not to raise taxes on working class Americans.
Arlo, it depends what type of vehicle you have and the maintenance done on it. My Buick is at 276,000 miles and one guy drove his Honda 1 million miles. Honda was so impressed they bought him a new Honda.
Gas tax, bah. Democrats consistently raise the price of oil (gas) without a transition plan to protect the middle class, especially the driving, commuting, flyover state middle class – while the democrats pursue regulations for higher miles per gallon, more environmentally favorable drilling, and now, electric cars. The democrats have laudable aspirations — but not a plan to transition without foisting $3-$4.50-$5 gas on the middle class. Without workable transition plans the democrats hand a populist breadbasket issue to the republicans. The republicans use and abuse this beating stick with alacrity.
Mind you this has nothing to do with fossil fuel companies. Fossil fuel company profits go through the roof in democratic administrations because of the mostly faux, and some real, supply constraints that democratic policies invoke. The republicans nonsense of drill, baby, drill, creates over-supply and tanks fossil fuel company profits.
What. A. Circus.
The US does not need to raise the gas tax. The US merely needs to make the heavy vehicles (including ag vehicles) pay for the exponentially greater road damage and wear and tear they cause.
John, the Corporations need to pay more in taxes to support the infrastructure bill. I agree with President Biden on raising taxes on the corporations.
Guy, not JUST corporations-the richest have made out far toowell, too long, while the bottom 1/2 of wage-earners supported the costs of society.
Biden’s play for taxing corps and above $400,000.00 is right on. Hard to put more
B 21s in play by taxing diapers, food and medicine.
Jake, all excellent points.