Aussie car buyers have seized on another way to steer around the long wait times for delivery of their new vehicles.
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With in demand vehicles like Toyota's 70 series Landcruiser 4WD and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid SUV facing wait times of a year or more, impatient buyers are paying better than new prices on those few appearing on the used market.
Online car auction houses are also reaping the rewards.
Take Saturday's car auctions in Australia by Lloyds Auctions which includes an imported Chevrolet Stingray C8 Corvette.
Bids for the brand new Stingray Corvette are already $80,000 more than the retail price.
Prices for the in demand Stingray have escalated because of the two year wait time for delivery, the auction house says.
This means a vehicle normally costing around $A160,000 has already reached an online bid of $A240,000.
Back in March, Lloyds auctioned second-hand Tesla's for higher prices than their original price where a 2022 Tesla Model 3 sold for $73,000 when it normally retailed for $68,000.
Sorry, there are no Landcruisers in the extensive catalogue of classic cars for sale this weekend.
A Holden fan has already bid $19,000 for a restored 1966 HR Holden ute which claims to have 44,148 miles on the clock.
Or there is the $14,000 already bid for a 1991 Ford XLT F150 twin cab with 183,204km travelled.
Lee Hames, chief operations officer for Lloyds Auctions, said long wait times had dramatically increased demand.
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The 2022 Corvette can accelerate from 0 to 100kmh in just 3.1 seconds reaching a top speed of 312kmh with 14km travelled.
There are more than 420 classic cars going under the hammer on Saturday from 10am as part of Lloyds Auctions Grand Carmada Event.
Australian car retailers are generally quoting a six months wait time for popular models and a year or more for those in red hot demand.
An ongoing global semiconductor shortage is still being blamed for manufacturing delays, while the ongoing war in Ukraine is also affecting the supply of some critical parts.
Plus there is the ongoing aftershocks of pandemic border closures to deal with as well.
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
