Forum user reports a petrol Seat Ibiza now costs €19,000 in Spain

New car prices are soaring: a petrol Ibiza now costs €19,000

In 2023, buying a new car has become an exercise in disbelief. A petrol Seat Ibiza, the quintessential small hatchback, is listed at €19,000, according to a forum user. A Peugeot 208 with the usual extras comes close to €20,000, he adds. And a Peugeot 308 diesel, which a few years ago cost that same amount, is now a distant memory. The initial complaint came from a baffled buyer: "Four years ago this car cost no more than €12,000, and that's being generous." The question is no longer whether the market is expensive, but whether there's anything left that isn't outright armed robbery.

The used car market is heating up too

The logical alternative would be to buy second-hand, but the outlook there isn't much better. A 2011 Renault Megane, naturally aspirated petrol with a category C sticker, was bought for €14,300 and is now valued at €11,000 by a car sales website, according to its owner. "The damn car would almost be free," he sums up. Inflation and the shortage of new cars have stretched the market so much that a vehicle over a decade old barely loses value, some participants argue. Others go for €1,400 beaters, like a 206 or an Xsara, to secure a DGT sticker (the Spanish traffic authority's emissions label) and pray the mechanics hold up.

New alternatives: mild hybrids and ECO labels

For those who don't want complications, the new options with an ECO label include models like the Kona 1.0 petrol 48V with 120 hp, which goes for €25,800, or the Xceed 1.5 MHEV with 160 hp at the same price, according to examples given in the debate. These are what one participant calls "the rational buy in 2023 for €1,500-a-month rowers." The irony, another points out, is that a 200 hp Golf GTI cost about that not long ago. The conclusion is bitter: for under €25,000 there's only "scraping the barrel."

Waiting lists and financing: the new battleground

The problem isn't just the price. Waiting lists keep getting longer and financing has become a maze. A buyer of a Skoda Octavia 1.5 with 150 hp signed in September for €31,500; now the basic three-cylinder 110 hp version exceeds €28,000, according to his account. Another complains that paying cash is more expensive than financing, a practice he calls a "racket." The general feeling is that the market has turned hostile to the private buyer.

Public transport as the only way out for many

Faced with this situation, some are choosing to give up their cars. "Public transport if it's not essential," recommends one participant, who adds: "Spain is no longer for the Spanish." The remark, somewhere between resignation and provocation, reflects a deeper unease. For those living in big cities with a metro, the alternative is viable; for those who depend on the car to get to industrial estates at 6 in the morning, not so much, another replies. The gap between urban and rural Spain is widening in this too.

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The Spanish car market has become a puzzle. Prices are rising, the offering is shrinking and middle-ground solutions are scarce. Meanwhile, one question hangs in the air: how much longer can this bubble hold before someone has to get out of the car?