Given the tens of thousands of vehicles lost during the superstorm last month, residents of New Jersey and other affected states have been dealing with a slight uptick in car prices.

Used Cars
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The car market has always been driven by supply and demand. There had already been a short supply of used cars in the marketplace before Sandy hit.

"When you have demand pressure on a market that has limited supply, you always see prices go up," explained Jim Appleton, President of the New Jersey Coalition of Automotive Retailers. "How much they'll go up and fast is anybody's guess."

Appleton mentioned a silver lining, though, for folks who are in the market for a vehicle and aren't looking to replace a storm-damaged ride.

"When used car prices go up, the value of your trade goes up, which makes it a really good time to think about buying a new vehicle," he said.

The supply of new vehicles was not impacted significantly by the storm, according to Appleton. New cars are experiencing a small in jump in cost as, but smaller than what can be seen in the used car market.

Many car dealers in New Jersey, obviously, were out of power for days due to Sandy. Over the past few weeks, traffic started to pick up again at lots across the state (drivers in desperate need to replace a vehicle due to the storm and others who could not shop because of the road and power conditions).

Appleton said November should prove to be a very brisk sales month for New Jersey car dealers.

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