When Do Vehicle Inventories Get Back To....

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by Wengr

I also will never pay over msrp.
Actually I will never pay msrp.
I will not buy in retail model where negotiation is not possible. If that means I am relegated to used only from here on out so be it.

I’m curious, have you checked the used car market lately.
Where I live there’s no pricing negotiation going on and availability is pretty poor.
It may be different where you live.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I’m curious, have you checked the used car market lately.
Where I live there’s no pricing negotiation going on and availability is pretty poor.
It may be different where you live.

Here's how the used market will probably improve for buyers. Just traveling all around our metro area for some errands I noticed a lot of higher end cars in lower end neighborhoods and more modest vehicles in truly higher end neighborhoods. The big vehicles and light trucks as personal vehicles trend is high. Our next recession will get some of those on the market and at better prices.

[Draft Guitar]

Originally Posted by rokdog49

I’m curious, have you checked the used car market lately.
Where I live there’s no pricing negotiation going on and availability is pretty poor.
It may be different where you live.

Used vehicle prices where I live are out of control. I just advertised my Jeep at a reasonable price and less than 24 hours later a guy couldn't shove his cash in my hand fast enough. He didn't even care to test drive it! I should have asked a lot more, but I'm not that type of person.

Availability is almost non-existent.

This isn't restricted just to on-road vehicles. My wife wants a UTV. I'm trying to explain to her that there aren't any available, unless we want to pay 20% more than new price for a used one.

Tractors? Forget about it!

[Tnfiddler]

Originally Posted by Wengr

I also will never pay over msrp.
Actually I will never pay msrp.
I will not buy in retail model where negotiation is not possible. If that means I am relegated to used only from here on out so be it.

Agree 100%! I’ve never paid full-price for a vehicle and don’t plan on starting, any time soon.

[Gunny]

Man was I blessed to get my F-150 Lariat just before COVID. I have had offers for quite a bit more than I paid. Our big Toyota dealer in town is so depleted that they are parking their cars sideways to keep the lot from looking empty.

A few years back, I bought my Wife a Jeep through the employee discount program as my Dad is a retiree. I wonder if that program is still a go or on hiatus?

[Steve DeRosa]

Can't say for sure, but this sounds about right:

[Jobe]

I've never seen anything like this in the car market. Supply-side issues are not meeting demand. This drives the price of good used vehicles. If we wind up in a recession things could change on the "value" side. As a side note my sister just told me if you want a new dishwasher from Lowes it may be a year out. Funny times.

[Murphy Slaw]

But it doesn't make sense.

The Big Three should be losing money, but they're not.

What about commission sales people ?

Strange days indeed.

[imwjl]

Originally Posted by Murphy Slaw

But it doesn't make sense.

The Big Three should be losing money, but they're not.

What about commission sales people ?

Strange days indeed.

I'm not sure how the scenario doesn't make sense though I don't believe that on the whole all we see is sustainable.

The automakers have been concentrating on high margin vehicles for a while now. It was a shift they made fast early into having parts and labor shortages.

The role of salespeople is changing. That's no different than lots of history. We have lots of jobs that have changed a lot and even disappeared.

I think it was 2 weeks ago now when we gave up after 3 rounds of car shopping and spent a fair amount on repairs instead. A day before that we found the only version you could order of a car we have now was the top tier highest power model with a sticker around $8000 more.

The 2023s of that car were released and while it no longer has the base model ordering unavailable, the dealer sales manager said we'll only see the high end models showing up yet this year.

On the sales labor part, it looked like they changed the showroom to have at least 1/2 or more of the desks it used to have either just gone or obviously unused desks.

[rllink]

One of the big Chevy dealerships here is advertising that they have sales people ready and waiting to take your order, just come in and sit down with one of them. They are marketing it as the best way ever to buy a car. Get exactly what you want.. As if ordering a vehicle and waiting six to twelve weeks is just as normal as it could be.

[redi]

The safest play is just don't plan on buying a car, new or used, for at least several years.

Now life is easier and you can move on.

[The Watchman]

Maybe the way cars are sold will change permanently. Its stupid to shop for cars where you have to arm-wrestle with an unnecessary sales person over what you're going to pay for something. Just put a price on it, like a refrigerator, and the market will decide what its worth. Heck, buying some brands (Honda, Toyota) for years, there really wasn't much negotiation at all, just fake discounts they'd periodically offer to anybody, or maybe you could get them to throw in the floor mats.

[ghostnote]

It's incredible how many "we want to buy your car" emails I get from the dealer where I bought my last car - 7 years ago! At least once a week they ask, and once a month they send an offer by regular mail. And the thing is, the prices they're offering would actually be VERY good in normal times. But these days I'd just lose my advantage when buying my next vehicle - there's no way to win unless you don't need to replace the car you're selling.

[drtedtan]

Originally Posted by redi

The safest play is just don't plan on buying a car, new or used, for at least several years.

Now life is easier and you can move on.

This is my approach. Fortunately, my 2013 truck is cooperating.

[tinnitus]

Just for fun, I visited a major dealer in October. Showroom and storage lots were emp-ty. Crickets chirping. Tumbleweeds.

Simple answer:
New auto/truck inventories will eventually rebound to some degree once chipmakers can finally supply and deliver to manufacturers. Until then, used vehicles will either remain in use by their current owners or quickly fly out the door (at bidding-war prices based on the rules of unprecedented high demand vs. scant supply).

Grimly, it's systemic, countless layers deep, and not looking very promising.

On a cheerier note (keeping in mind that nothing is absolute), while many cars built just before/during the 1973 OPEC embargo were notoriously failure-prone and junkyard-bound well shy of 100,000 miles, most vehicles built this century tend to last much longer with some basic maintenance.