Saw a GMC truck advertisement the other day taking 20% off pickup trucks MSRP. Local dealers around me have automobiles piled up to levels I haven't seen since way prior to COVID. Used cars around here don't last long and are commanding premium prices.

What are you seeing around you?

Just a week or so ago I bought a car to take some pressure off my truck. The truck has 185k miles, going strong.

I bought a 2020 Civic with a ‘salvage title’, so there’s that. It has 43k miles, previous front end damage. Yes, there are negatives with the rebuilt title, one needs the price differential.

This small stealership had about 30 vehicles, kinda specializing with rebuilt titles.

He just had a guy come from Indiana to buy a rebuilt 3/4 ton truck, low miles. This is the 2nd time I’ve went the rebuilt route. The 1st time was my best ever, rebuilt, 2009 Vibe with 9000 miles. On that one I made an offer & walked. He called me a few days later, we made a deal.

Buying almost anything used can be a minefield. I expect to do a few things to get up to speed, rear brakes next. The phrase ‘caveat emptor’ comes to mind, especially with this salvage title idea.

I wouldn’t know what the prices around here are like because I stopped looking. I mention it because if new trucks are being significantly discounted it may be because enough people like me have said Fuck No! to those new truck prices and stopped looking.

Seeing adds for new Ram 1500 trucks at 0%.

Inventories are definitely packed around here. Lots are back to looking full again.
Haven't paid much attention to prices or discounts/incentives in a while on new stuff.

I just bought a 2026 Ram 1500 Laramie crew cab for 18% off MSRP, and the dealer gave me $5,500 more for my '14 Ram trade than Carmax offered.

I had to go out of State to Dave Smith in Idaho to get the deal, but expect as winter settles in the same deals will be common in Montana.

New vehicle sales are definitely down, the dealers are going to be hurting. It takes a while for teh slow economy to hit businesses but we are getting there. Should be some good deals in the next year when they are really hurting.

I see too many problems with many of teh new vehicles. I’d research well before buying anything new and know what common problems are. It is not uncommon for new trucks to have major issues, especially diesels.

I just bought a new Ford Transit van 3 weeks ago. It was a leftover 2024 model and the 2026s are starting to show up on lots, so Ford had a $7000 rebate on it plus the dealer knocked off another $4700. I ended up paying 20 percent below the sticker MSRP, including tax, title, etc.

Don’t know about the new cars but the buy here, pay here lots are full of cars. Florida dealerships are also notorious for tacking on dealer fees. I think the average is about $1,000 since there’s no state regulation regarding dealer fees. Seems the great majority of dealerships have an unwritten agreement to charge it.

I follow several YouTubers who report on the general state of the automotive industry. Several factors are coming together to create this situation with new car inventory.

1. General overall slowing of the economy.
2. O.E.M.'s have raised prices so high that many people are price out of the new car market.
3. People who bought when dealerships were charging insane markups are underwater on their loans

The factors above which are causing an increase in new car inventory are also having the opposite effect on the inventory of quality used cars.

People trading in their three-ish year old car to get the latest and greatest, or turning in their three-year-old lease, would result in many low-mileage used cars on the market that could be had for decent prices. But since people are trading in their cars for the above mentioned reasons, that inventory or quality used cars doesn't exist.

Right now, if I were looking to acquire a vehicle, I would be looking at new instead of used. The used bargains that existed previously just aren't there now.

I have been eyeballing Sequoias for a while and the prices on used ones are crazy. $50 to $55k on 2019-2021 with 50-70k miles. The 24’s can be had for under 70k with 10-20k miles on them but I really don’t want any part of that twin turbo V6. It’s really irritating as our dog car has 180k on it. I have started to contemplate looking at Fords and Chevys. That seems another game of what issues they have and.

I think auto sales are way down right now due to the double whammy of high prices PLUS high interest rates.

Been using Cars.com now for a bit looking at used 2022-2024 models of SUV's and I'm starting to see dealers lowering prices finally.

https://subaru.com

Most models shown on this page have MSRPs of (what they call "outstanding value") under $30K, with the Impreza and Legacy at $26. Considering that it's possible to equip a Toyota Corolla to well over that, that doesn't sound too bad. I'm surprised they even still make the Legacy, a four-door sedan, which I prefer. Every Subaru I see is the Crosstrek, Forester or Outback. Anyway, I get the "vibe" that these prices are lower than in the past. Other dealers are advertising lower prices.

The deals are on 1/2 ton pickups, everything else is still selling well

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:
https://subaru.com

Most models shown on this page have MSRPs of (what they call "outstanding value") under $30K, with the Impreza and Legacy at $26.

The issue is, those were $16,000-$20,000 cars not all that long ago before everything went crazy.

If you can buy from an individual you can eliminate a lot of the headache and BS dealer fees
such as document fees which in reality is pure dealer profit.

I found a vehicle early this year on Autotrader.com and you can filter results just from individuals.

https://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/by-owner

quote:

Originally posted by PASig:
I think auto sales are way down right now due to the double whammy of high prices PLUS high interest rates.

Been using Cars.com now for a bit looking at used 2022-2024 models of SUV's and I'm starting to see dealers lowering prices finally.

Plus they are saying that many people are defaulting on their car loans now.

My Dealer had a promotional rate of 1.9% .

Bought a new Tesla Model 3 for my daughter at 0% financing for 60mos

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
The deals are on 1/2 ton pickups

This. Especially on the higher tier trims.

My father just got an excellent deal on a 2026 GMC Sierra 1500 SLT with the tow package.

New truck demand is way down, due to a combination of overall economic slowdown, specific new vehicle sales slowdown, and the fact that trucks in particular have skyrocketed in price in recent years which has priced a lot of folks out.

And with that lack of demand comes a greater willingness to deal, as dealerships' truck inventories stagnate.

So if you have the funds for modern truck pricing and are in the market for that type of vehicle, there are good deals to be had currently. (Well, relatively good... compared to the typical high truck prices.)