CONWAY, Ark. — Car prices are still higher than before the pandemic, and if you've been in the market for a car, you know how high it's been.
One person who knows that all too well – the ones selling the cars in the first place.
"It's definitely the highest, last year and a half," Cole Enderlin, General Manager of Byrider, a used car dealership in Conway, said. "It's very hard to get someone in a truck, just because they're so expensive. We've noticed our payments are higher because our vehicles are higher."
Enderlin said if he had to guess, prices on used vehicles are nearly 20% higher than they normally are.
"Our prices normally start at $10,000," he said. "Now, our prices are starting at $13,000."
Unfortunately, it's a trend that affects everyone looking for a car. Byrider's customers are usually those who may need some help getting into a vehicle.
If prices are thousands more than they normally are, it prices them out of a vehicle.
"We were able to help a lower income population, but now we're not able to, simply because it's not affordable for them," Enderlin said.
That issue goes past the price of the car. Taxes add up – Donna Beck with the Faulkner County Assessor's Office could tell you that.
"Throughout all my years and experience assessing personal property, this has been the highest jumps across the board," she said.
Beck said it doesn't matter what type of car you purchase, you need to make sure to budget a bit more for those taxes on top of already sky high sticker prices.
"So especially vehicles that are not brand new, but still have enough that a person would really like to have," Beck said. "We've seen a really big increase on those."
So before you buy any kind of car, there's some advice the experts have.
Plan ahead, and don't be surprised at the number in the window.
"If you don't have the money to buy a car right now, don't, because you're going to overpay," Enderlin said. "But you know, if you were involved in an accident and you need a vehicle, just do your research."