WHEELS
WHEEL AND DEAL
Ongoing supply-chain shortages means you need to get creative to buy a new car. BY A N D R E A R I C H A R D S
Alex Leyva, Sales Manager, Kia of Alhambra Best-selling car pre-pandemic: Kia Soul or Kia Optima Most in-demand car currently: K5 Easiest car to get now: “We have a few Kia Niros in stock and
also the new 2023 Kia Sports. Right now, if I look outside, I only have seven cars out—it’s very tough to tell you which one has the best availability, because probably I have one or two of each.” When do you think inventory will go back to pre-pandemic levels?:
2019 Toyota RAV4 Limited HV
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uring the first year of the pandemic, the inventory of new cars in the U.S. dropped to a third of what it was before lockdown, and car dealerships, usually cacophony of colorful, new vehicles, began looking like barren swaths of asphalt. The causes of the scant supply were many, from labor shortages to lack of raw materials, especially computer chips. As a result, in 2020 the auto industry endured one of its worst declines in new car sales since the 1980s. And much like the virus, supply-chain shortages have not let up. Shopping for a car is yet another reminder— as if you really needed one—that we are not yet living in a post-pandemic era. Still, the world keeps turning and the wheels need to as well, so what’s a person in need of a new car to do? We polled several local dealerships to find out—and while each reported that they are still in the midst of low inventories, they suggested ways to keep moving.
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“I don’t have an answer for that because it depends on the production of chips.” Best advice for shopping for a car right now: “If you’re interested in a vehicle, you have to come to a dealership and work your deal before—agree to the numbers—and once the vehicle gets here, the car is yours. By the time the car arrives to the dealership, that car is already sold. So, if you want a car, go to the dealer and expect to wait a month or two for that car to arrive.”
Desiree Castillo, Sales Consultant, Lexus of Glendale Most in-demand car currently: “The hybrids because of the gas
2021 Kia K5 GT-Line
