Here Are Some Of The Surprisingly Good Car Deals I Was Able To Find This Year

I shop for cars for a living and this has been a tough year to do so. Supply shortages on new cars coupled with rapidly rising prices on used cars have forced a re-evaluation on what really constitutes a “deal.” That said, I was able to score some competitive prices on a few models through a combination of luck, creativity, and good connections.

Prior to summertime things weren’t so bad, but once the supplier shortages really peaked I was honest with folks and told them that sticker price is likely the best deal around. The biggest challenge right now is even finding the right car. I’ve encouraged shoppers to be as flexible as possible and be open to buying from far away, and for some folks, the best path might be a “hold me over car” until things cool down in the next few years.

But it’s not all doom and gloom and it is still possible to score a “competitive” price depending on your level of patience. Here are a few rides that were surprisingly good deals given the circumstances.

Discontinued for the 2022 model year, the future of the AMG wagon is uncertain for the American market. Pre-owned uber-wagons always commanded a serious premium over their sedan counterparts, but now that new ones will no longer be an option for buyers, used examples have started to go for crazy money. During the summer I was lucky enough to score this certified pre-owned E63 AMG wagon for around $85,000 and it had an original MSRP near $120,000. If he keeps the miles down, it’s likely this customer can sell this AMG for what he paid for it, or possibly more.

This one was a recent deal and goes to show that there are a few, albeit rare, values in the pre-owned market even when prices are bonkers on almost everything. The sale price was around $58,000 with an original MSRP of over $70,000. This 2018 Quadrifoglio was Alfa certified so it’s covered until 2023, which is probably wise to have with these high-strung sedans. This customer had his share of BMWs and Mercedes so he wanted to try something different.

The VW Arteon is a stylish five-door hatchback that is sort of a budget Audi A5 Sportback. With a starting price pushing $40,000, it’s a tough sell for your typical sedan/hatchback buyer. With most folks pushing towards crossovers, back in July, you could find the Arteon with discounts upwards of twenty percent off MSRP.

Currently, Subaru is looking at a backorder of over 10,000 cars per month and counting. This means buyers would be lucky to score one at MSRP. This deal sheet from last January is a reminder of the good ole days when you could buy a new Outback, in New England of all places, for under invoice.

When Hagerty car expert Dave Kinney came to me looking for a brand new WRX STI, in the Spring I didn’t think my chances were very good. But there was a decent amount of inventory available and dealers were willing to move on these cars. After shopping up and down the East Coast I found a store in Ohio with a competitive price and a hassle-free experience.

During the summer I got a request to find an allocation on a Cayenne Turbo Hybrid, what I got instead was even better. A NJ/NY area Porsche dealer that I regularly work with informed me that they had an open slot for the all-new Cayenne Turbo GT and it would not have any markup. This customer got his deposit down just in time. I spoke with the salesman a month later regarding another hard-to-find model and he informed me that any GT series cars from here on out would be at least $20,000 over MSRP.