Great recessionary car deals? Yeah, those might be gone
If there was one benefit to this lousy recession, it’s that deals on new cars were all over the place.
Should you have had the money, a jaw-dropping bargain on an auto was about as easy to find as a Paul Walker movie that sucked. Dealers couldn’t give the things away.
But there was a reason incentives were through the roof, and that’s because – among other things – manufacturers spat cars out at a rate simply too quick for dealers.
Inventory piled up, sales slumped and then, all of a sudden, Hey, guys, we’re losing a s***load of money here!
So what happened? Factories were shuttered, good people were laid-off and dealers felt the corporate foot on their necks. Get rid of these cars or get rid of yourself.
Yet that was then, and now, thanks to a major slow in production, output now comes much closer to matching demand. And what does that mean?
Say goodbye to those car deals.
Domestic automakers have snatched up their profit-sapping incentives at an incredible pace, Bloomberg reports, finally “weaning themselves” off the dependence of having to sell their product at a fraction of its usual retail rate.
“Incentives on GM, Ford and Chrysler Group LLC auto plunged 26% to US$3,278 in August from a March peak, while discounts industrywide fell 22% to US$2,474,” writes Bloomberg.
“The U.S. automakers’ vehicles sold for an average of US$2,000 more in the second quarter (of 2009) than a year earlier, said researcher J.D. Power and Associates.”
It might strike you as odd it took a financial meltdown – not seen since the days of this and this – for the Big Three automakers to realize it might not be a good idea to pump out cars by the thousand when they weren’t really selling so great to begin with.
But, such is life, and while now’s not the worst time to buy a car, don’t be surprised if those one-in-a-million bargains aren’t there to greet you next time you pass through the dealership.
“As we suffered through the worst automotive recession of our lifetimes, the lesson automakers learned was to stay under control and not bloat inventory, which you have to follow with huge incentives to move the metal,” J.D. Power analyst Jeff Schuster tells Bloomberg.
“From now on, we’re going to see a more cautious approach to incentives.”
By Jason Buckland, MSN Money
Posted by: Dennis Coughlin | Oct 4, 2021 10:08:48 AM
In 1967 I ordered a new Mustang GTA fast back and had to wait at least 3 months to get it. There was no such thing as what is happening now. Around here (Edmonton, Alberta) there are acres of brand new 2009 vehicles and the 2010's are starting to arrive. It doesn't make sense. I guess the executives that get the huge bonuses don't think far enough ahead. Why can't they just change the name plates to 2010 ??? and slow down the production. MMMMMM I wonder if that's done already.
Best personal regards,
Dennis
Posted by: JD | Oct 4, 2021 1:54:12 PM
What car deals? I was looking at cars last year when the recession was at its' peak, and again just last weekend. Most times, I had to either wait 'til the salespeople finished chatting amongst themselves about a golf game, or go to the receptionist to ask if anyone wanted to sell a car that day. Then there's the fun of the "trade in" war. One place refused to appraise my car before I made an offer on the car I was going to look at. In that case I just walked out, didn't even bother looking at the car I was interested in. Another place offered me $3500 for my car, and when I produced paperwork showing the value of my car at over twice that, the manager just shrugged and said essentially "Take it or leave it." I left it. This was at both domestic and import dealerships, it seems the incentives and "deals" exist only on paper or advertising. Many of the incentives have fine print that disqualifies you, or only applies to cars that are not appealing to me. Try finding any incentives on a Dodge Challenger, for example. There aren't any, not even on the V6 models.
Posted by: TW | Oct 7, 2021 10:34:16 AM
I agree with JD, what's wrong with Auto Sales, lets start at the Dealership's! If and when you get a sales person to wait on you, do they even know their product and what deals are being offered? I enquired about a deal mentioned all over the TV for the past month, the sales person said and I quote, "you sure that wasn't a USA ad?", after he checked his notes, sure enough it was a Canadian promotion. Or my all time favourite, the large price sticker on the vehicle in front of the dealership, and the sales person asking "what price? where did you see it?"
With a trade, no trade, personal purchase or company purchase, buying a vehicle is the most frustrating buying experience I've encounted, greater than a house purchase. With smaller local dealers being closed down in favour of the "super dealers" I forsee it only getting worse.
Posted by: Robin Smith | Oct 10, 2021 5:24:25 AM
Before picking up your desirable car model you should rather take it for a test drive & it will help you get a feel for the car and to see whether you like the way it drives.
http://www.createfreeblogs.com/smashing/49263/
Posted by: Jamaal Collins | Oct 10, 2021 9:21:44 PM
How about the action from the other side ladies. People seem to think everything is 50% off or better. I am in the industry, and the best one yet is a female teacher telling me she wanted a 08 or newer Lexus ES350. Average price is around 45, she states she wants to be "out the door" as in taxes included at under 25. If I could get them anywhere close to that, I would buy as many as I could.
She is not the only one, far from it. Just one of the best examples. If you are looking for a deal, that works. Offering insulting numbers for prime cars, keep dreaming!