Crazy times we live in

Crazy when my truck is 2 years old with 27,700 miles and still worth more than I paid for it. After TT&L out the door I paid $45k

 

Crazy that Vroom bought my truck - then sent it straight to wholesale auction. Never physically took possession - bought, sent tow truck today and straight to auction lot for prep/resale - hoping to “flip” it for profit.

 

Definitely! I’ve noticed that a lot of dealerships are going to have to used vehicles right now.

 

I wonder when things will get back to normal

 

i’d say 9 to 12 months by just focusing on the chip issue.

 

At work we're thinking no less than a year

I bought my Nightshade in September of last year drove it over 9k miles and sold it for what I paid for it

 

By then interest will be so high that nobody could afford them so the lots will be full of unsold vehicles.

 

Why do people INSIST on calling it a “chip issue”

So the fact there are record high prices and sales on RV/boats/pools/lumber amongst other things that DONT use a chip of any kind (but do share a common trend as they are outdoors specific use to varying degrees) doesn’t lend itself to support the supply issues have nothing to do with chips - but it’s the latest story the PR machine can feed us to fuel acceptance of higher prices

Sone things will take a longer time than others - and I suspect the price on new remains close to sticker with less ‘incentives’ - just as manufacturers like Ford have been aiming for better than 3 years now to keep them competitive and actually profitable quarter over quarter.

Used though will not stay costlier than new. There needs to be a gap - buyers paying more than new for used can’t last long - or the financing end WILL pop with all the negative equity in a couple years and all the walk aways (owners realizing it will take 2 plus years to get near a break even point and just handing back keys to skip out on a huge monthly payment).

Auto finance has always been competitive- and there will always be “second chance” lenders willing to take these customers at a slightly higher rate - bottom line though - your better walking from a 18k negative equity loan at 3% and buying a similarly valued car at same term for 8% (credit impact issues not factored in - reality is that’s the only scare tactic banks have on us….and a score can rebound in 12-18 months to acceptable levels with an otherwise acceptable history and the single blip on the bureau).

The sub prime mess taught us a lot of lessons. This was one of them - how to recover and shed thousands in “dead weight” debt.

 

Be careful dealing with Fred Haas. They’re some shady mfers. They perfectly fit the stereotype of a dishonest dealership.

 

Kinda my though - just based on the “range” they gave.

5k is kinda a huge range - 10% of price.

Would that fly in any other market than cars - say real estate. I wanna buy your house - auditor says it’s worth 325k - I’ll give you between 295k and 338k (TBD after I look at it and feel you out as to how desperate you are to sell). Give me a “guaranteed” offer and the. If I say no you can say bring it in and I might give more…not I’ll give you a number between x-y if it meets all my conditions (FYI - it likely won’t - but I’ll take it off your hands at 85% of what my original was…just to help you out).

 

There’s multiple issues causing the price and lead times to go up on different products. A lot has to do with “panic buying”. Once certain products had a perceived shortage, lots of people bought way more than they normally would, myself included. Having experienced things like this before, as soon as some of my manufacturers shut down for even a week or so last March I knew it would snowball.
I placed massive bulk orders to make sure I had inventory and I kept doing it throughout 2020. Eventually everyone started doing the same, which got us to a point where the manufacturers were way behind. Most major manufacturers have gone to monthly allotments based on historical purchases. Now they won’t sell me more than I bought on average per month prior to all of this.
Other things have run short because demand has increased. I talked to a manufacturer of smokers and grills a few weeks ago. He said in over 30 years he’d never fallen behind in production. He said since nobody could go out to eat or do other things last year, people decided to spend their money on things for their homes, including bbq pits. Restaurants and such being closed actually left more money in people’s pockets than they normally had, so they spent it elsewhere.
Supply shortages have also pretty much eliminated discounts on products. No reason for anyone to cut a price if inventory is sold the second it hits the floor. In a lot of cases it’s not so much that costs have increased, it’s because everyone is sticking to “book price”.

 

Ive attempted to buy multiple vehicles there. They are pretty competitive on pricing. (I think they’re the biggest Toyota dealer in the country). Every time I’ve made a deal though, the finance office has tried to screw me over and I’ve walked.

 

I wasn’t really thinking of selling. I was just sitting in my truck and got curious. I agree the price range is pretty large

 

Best one I found was Don McGill. Other then arguing over an extended warranty for 30 minutes, no complaints. Price was as advertised.

 

There is plenty of interesting reading out there about why we are in this current situation. It really displays how fragile the supply system is when you go all in overseas. I only hope that people realize that there is more to "made in america" than US jobs.

 

Depends on where in America. If your supply is from Florida great, but if it's from California then you were screwed as they were shutdown for much longer then the rest of the country. IMO this shows how diversifying your supply is most important.

 

The problem is not just in the automotive industry. Yes we are seeing short supply of vehicles and escalated prices. However, I’m seeing this problem all over the place in multiple industries., Boats are In The same situation. Outdoor furniture as well. I’ve been waiting months for outdoor deck furniture that I ordered quite some time ago. Was looking for a sofa for my daughters apartment. None available from the internet sites and local furniture stores. Was quoted months for delivery. My sister runs a flooring and renovation shop (tile, hardwood flooring, etc). Everything is out of stock from the manufactures with a back order of several months. It’s beginning to affect their sales because folks do t want to wait months for a purchase. I r t ell you, the world has gone mad.

 

Well let’s just hope for a speedy recovery from all this. And for prices on things to come back down and same with wait times. Most people are to impatient to wait months for things. I’m just as guilty as the next guy when it comes to waiting. I’m more of a do it now or just don’t do it kinda guy.

 

You do have a point to a certain degree where we all like instant gratification. Truthfully I can understand having to wait months for certain Items on rare occasions. However having to do so for everything magnifies the weakness and vulnerability of our Country.

 

I couldn’t agree more. I try to buy “made in America” when I can even if it cost a little more