(CNN) — Prepare for automotive sticker shock next year – again.

Average new car prices briefly topped $50,000 in September for the first time, before slipping back under that level in October.

But now, automotive experts say, car prices are headed back over that level. And this time, they might stay there.

Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds, and Erin Keating, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, say cars are nearing that mark.

“It’ll edge up, even as much as the consumer doesn’t want to pay that amount,” said Drury. “It’s just the cost of everything on a car is going up, and $50,000 is just not that far away.”

The higher prices for cars – a necessity in many transit-starved cities and towns – are part of a larger affordability crisis that’s squeezed Americans, leaving many

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