Carmax is betting that people will pay THEIR premium. They'll do that b/c they feel they have money to burn and can pay even more to not haggle. It all flows together. I understand the chip shortage plays a part as well.

Here's where I am. I want a truck. I used to have a truck. I loved having a truck. My Ram was a POS and got 10.5 mpg. During Obama, it became impractical to drive said vehicle. I sold the Ram and bought a Saturn.

I have money now. I'm advancing my career and could easily buy a $50k+ truck without killing myself. I currently drive an '11 Xterra. If something happens to my Xterra and it ceases to function, I'm not going to buy a truck. The market is insane for full sized pickups. I'll likely buy a 5-7 year old sedan of some sort and wait until the economy crashes then pick up my truck from an overly exuberant youth that bit off more than he could chew.

In the mean time I'll stay in the house I bought in 2012 and pay off my mortgage, buy rental properties, etc. I'm minimizing my liability load so that if and when the market turns south I'm covered.