Yesterday, we published an article about the overheated car market and how the lack of inventory has made it almost impossible for potential buyers to get their hands on new vehicles. It’s not a new issue, either, which is a big part of why used car pricing has also gone off the rails. But who could have ever predicted that the situation would get so bad, someone might pay more for a convertible crossover than a brand new Subaru BRZ? I certainly didn’t.
Yes, if you head over to Autotrader, you’ll find a listing for a 2014 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet that’s priced at a cool $35,900. Nearly $36,000. For a convertible crossover that first went on sale more than a decade ago. Considering Nissan sold (at most) a few thousand units per year, it’s almost a miracle the CrossCab made it four model years without being canceled.
To be fair to Nissan, the price in this ad is technically less than the original MSRP, so we’re not in one of those weird Bring a Trailer situations again. As our own Doug DeMuro was sure to point out in his 2015 review, a top-trim Murano convertible was almost $50,000 when it was new. That’s a lot of money!
And to be fair to the seller, there are very few miles on this particular Murano CrossCab. If it’s been parked since it was listed, we’re talking only 7,152 miles. So the seller isn’t kidding when they say it’s basically brand new. Well, except for the part where the car itself is actually eight years old. And not very good.
You’d think an old, poorly reviewed car that few people at the time would basically be free. This owner should be begging fellow Boca Raton residents to take it off their hands. I could even imagine a scenario where they tried leaving it as a tip for their bartender, leading to said bartender chasing them out into the parking lot and forcibly giving it back.
But you know what? That’s the used car market these days. Prices are out of control, and it’s plausible that someone might actually spend more than $35,000 on a low-mileage 2014 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.
What a time to be alive.