quote:

I welcome it, in fact I advocated it some 20yrs ago while working for a lobbyist for the auto industry on Capitol Hill. Manufacturers have been barred from selling direct due to early 20th Century franchise laws.

Look at the Tesla model....their pricing and configurations very from day to day, week to week. No stale inventory aging out on a dealer lot, no back-end kick-backs to dealers based on volume, etc. Place your order online, configure however you want based on the available options at order, take delivery at your local independent Service Center, arrange financing through them (profit), extended warranty (profit), dealer installed options (profit) or service plans or post-sales service (profit).

In the current antiquated model pre-CoVID shortages, profits on new car sales were razor thin and dealers make all their money on F&I (finance and insurance) and service. In fact, their motivation is to screw you on F&I to make more money (they shop your loan and can negotiate by monthly payment vs. actual approved APR...they get paid on points over what was approved).

It's a HUGE RACKET.

I don't disagree with the racket perception, in fact it's probably the biggest deterrent to someone buying a car, the sales game. Nobody likes someone getting over on them. The perception is if you go to buy a car you are getting screwed no matter how well you negotiate.

However Nothing I was referencing is along the elimination of dealers that Elon wants to do, so that he doesn't have to share sales revenue which he can't afford. Musk wants dealer rules changed so he can sell direct and pocket 100% of retail.

Ford and GM are talking about changing the way cars are delivered for sale, they will make a minimum number of spec vehicles for the lots, but if you want something specific you have to order.

It's nothing new. GM was taking COPO orders from dealers in the 60's.

Reality is one of the big three will blink, just like OPEC and open up the gates.

Unions will fight it big time, but I'd say gm and ford should do it, cut union jobs to the nub, agree to pay them a couple of billion to take care of the fluff they have on staff, reduce production and eliminate all union issues and expenses of payroll...

quote:

I welcome it's demise with popcorn in hand and a beer in the other.

If manufacturers can sell direct, the market will correct itself. Not selling? Add more content and/or lower the pricing. Selling too many? Adjust content and/or raise pricing.

This is how the modern world works. The auto industry is stuck in 1925.

I'm right there with you, although, I loathe Tesla due to their repair practices and their ability to remotely turn off features that you have paid for, but that is another matter.

What I will never understand about the current market is the human element of why/how people convince themselves that they absolutely must have a new car. My wife for example, she had a perfectly fine vehicle that would have lasted another 5 years easily, but HAD to get a new SUV, just had to. There was no convincing her otherwise.

New cars, used cars, bicycles, guitars. Can't get any toys these days.

Crazy thing is I could probably sell my 2018 Civic for $3k more what I paid in March 2020. Quite tempting, actually.

You might be able to find a deal on a Chevy Bolt right now....

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Originally posted by 2012BOSS302:
You might be able to find a deal on a Chevy Bolt right now....

I hear they are having a fire sale!

I got lucky I guess. Last weekend of April I Found a dealer with an allocation and ordered a new X5. Dealer offered a Very nice discount I stacked with other incentives for a very good price. Then I shopped my old X5 to the local dealers and got three very good offers. Sold the old car to them that week. A month later I took delivery. No mess, no drama.

The new X5 is the hybrid model so it qualifies for the $7500 tax rebate, which is nice. Paired with the Chevy bolt we own, we buy a lot less gas... but I have more fire extinguishers now than I used to.

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Originally posted by HRK:

quote:

Originally posted by 2012BOSS302:
You might be able to find a deal on a Chevy Bolt right now....

I hear they are having a fire sale!

"Groan..."

So, when they finally get chips, will these models be sold as 2021's or 2022's ? Like the 2020 Olympics ......

quote:

Originally posted by Edmond:
New cars, used cars, bicycles, guitars. Can't get any toys these days.

Crazy thing is I could probably sell my 2018 Civic for $3k more what I paid in March 2020. Quite tempting, actually.

If it’s an extra car sure otherwise you won’t come out ahead buying a replacement.

We just sold our 3rd vehicle back to the dealer and just pocketed the check since we don’t need to replace it.

I bought my 2018 QX60 right at a year ago. It was Certified Pre-Owned with 24,000 miles for $30K. Same 2018 model at the dealer are $31,000-$33,000 today.

I was looking for a car for my daughter who turned 16 in July and was hoping to stay around $10,000. Mostly looked a cars with 125,000 miles or more like a Nissan Rogue, Mirano, etc. Ended up finding a 2009 BMW hard top convertable for $12,700 with only 74,000 miles.

We have a good friend who has been in market for a popular Volvo SUV/crossover for most of spring and summer. When I say in the market, I mean indecisive in committing to that car specifically while evaluating others but always coming back to this.

A couple weeks ago she decided this was definitely the car, looking for a CPO in specific color and options. She found 7 of them within a couple hour flight time of where she lives and has been reading up on all the (currently inapplicable) tips, guides and suggestions on how to negotiate the best car deal. Plus some advice from her 75 year old dad.

Her plan is to text/email/call all 7 of those dealers on 8/31 and ask for their best deal with a commitment that day. You know, because she read that last day of month sales are more desperate and can't understand the difference between a quote and a closed sale. Or the fact that these are hotter than AZ right now and like many cars nobody is likely to deal much, if at all.

Her backup plan, just in case one of those cars is gone in the ensuing 3 weeks is to pivot her add'l list of similar inventory at other dealers, also gathered 2 weeks ago.

All this while her 200K LX570 is on it's last breath and costing her about $1K/month in repairs/tires/maintenance. We've stopped offering any advice and just listen now.

As they say in my current home state, bless her heart.

Yes we bought in February a used Honda and still got a great price. I had hoped to replace my commuter but with the price jumps I’ll just wait longer.

At 353k miles but still going strong.

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
They threw in 2 free years of bumper to bumper service to sweeten the deal

That's a BIG selling point for some people.

What they don't understand is that only means they are getting two free oil changes. The dealership cost for two oil changes is about $40.

You are not getting anything more than two oil changes. Its not some special costly service. Its a joke.

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All this while her 200K LX570 is on it's last breath and costing her about $1K/month in repairs/tires/maintenance.

Soooo....is that LX for sale?

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Originally posted by bubbatime:

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
They threw in 2 free years of bumper to bumper service to sweeten the deal

What they don't understand is that only means they are getting two free oil changes. The dealership cost for two oil changes is about $40.

You are not getting anything more than two oil changes. Its not some special costly service. Its a joke.

Not true. They're also going to refill the blinker fluid, rotate the air in the tires (going from summer to winter air as required), tighten the piston return springs, lube the exhaust bearings, and perform a calibrated alignment of the rear view mirror.

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Originally posted by RogueJSK:

quote:

Originally posted by bubbatime:

quote:

Originally posted by Flash-LB:
They threw in 2 free years of bumper to bumper service to sweeten the deal

What they don't understand is that only means they are getting two free oil changes. The dealership cost for two oil changes is about $40.

You are not getting anything more than two oil changes. Its not some special costly service. Its a joke.

Not true. They're also going to refill the blinker fluid, rotate the air in the tires (going from summer to winter air as required), tighten the piston return springs, lube the exhaust bearings, and perform a calibrated alignment of the rear view mirror.

They're also going to be giving me 2 more sets of windshield wipers as they only last a year around here, 2 tire rotatations, engine air filter, cabin filter and possibly hoses around here.

Also possibly brake pads and an ATF change depending on my usage and mileage.

Not a big deal, but I'll take it for free.

BMW was doing complementary service for their vehicles for 3 years, 36,000 miles. Not sure if that's still the case, but back then, that was worth a fair bit if you were cross shopping against a Mercedes or Audi.

Worth at least a thousand bucks between two or three oil changes and the 30,000 mile service. I also got a set of brakes done on my M3 under the program, something like $2k with the special lightweight rotors that need to be replaced with each pad interval.

But yes, my Toyota Camry got exactly two oil changes. One at 3k miles, and the next at 15k. The next service after that wasn't until 30k, I think, which is outside of the 24k complementary maintenance program.

Had warranty work done. I looked around while I was there. Every vehicle had a additional $2500 put on the sticker with magic marker.

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

They're also going to refill the blinker fluid, rotate the air in the tires (going from summer to winter air as required), tighten the piston return springs, lube the exhaust bearings, and perform a calibrated alignment of the rear view mirror.

Yeah, but are they using a 78% nitrogen blend for the tires?

quote:

Originally posted by V-Tail:

quote:

Originally posted by RogueJSK:

They're also going to refill the blinker fluid, rotate the air in the tires (going from summer to winter air as required), tighten the piston return springs, lube the exhaust bearings, and perform a calibrated alignment of the rear view mirror.

Yeah, but are they using a 78% nitrogen blend for the tires?

That's always been my go to.