> Speculation is that people were buying cars they couldn't afford using the stimulus checks as the downpayment and then immediately asking for a halt on paymen

> Speculation is that people were buying cars they couldn't afford using the stimulus checks as the downpayment and then immediately asking for a halt on payments due to COVID. I wouldn't be surprised if that happened a few times, but I find it hard to believe that it was widespread enough to significantly impact car prices. I certainly haven't heard of anyone doing this. That said, I'd welcome a reduction in used car prices. Someone ran into our car and totaled it earlier this year. We replaced it with the exact same make model and year, and it cost us several thousand dollars more than buying it the first time, despite it now being several years older.