71–80 of 261 posts
Just in time for $6 gas. Are people seriously going to buy anything other than a hybrid or full EV at this point?
This is not permanent.
I saw an article recently saying that dealerships and car makers want to keep inventories low because they like the post-covid margins they're experiencing. When I paid 5k over msrp a few months ago the salesperson claimed they wanted more inventory because salespeople were unable to hit the volume goals they have. Not sure who to believe but I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in between.
Disclosure: I work for GM. Anything expressed here is solely my own opinion and experience. I think each statement is true. Context: for ages, OEMs (the factory) have had a belief that Americans will not wait to buy a car. There's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma: if any automaker wanted to trim inventories, the customer could go to a competing automaker's lot and buy today. Since customers will not wait to buy a c…
What I wanted was in a color not commonly stocked, with an unusual interior color, and the upgraded engine, with all the packages - but without a sunroof. That's a nearly impossible combo to find, my car is like 1 of 22.
I think you need some cars on the lot for people who can't wait 3-6 weeks for a vehicle, but I think you'd see more customers move to ordering, if it was an option.
Just in time for $6 gas. Are people seriously going to buy anything other than a hybrid or full EV at this point?
That is impressive.
I saw an article recently saying that dealerships and car makers want to keep inventories low because they like the post-covid margins they're experiencing. When I paid 5k over msrp a few months ago the salesperson claimed they wanted more inventory because salespeople were unable to hit the volume goals they have. Not sure who to believe but I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in between.
Disclosure: I work for GM. Anything expressed here is solely my own opinion and experience. I think each statement is true. Context: for ages, OEMs (the factory) have had a belief that Americans will not wait to buy a car. There's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma: if any automaker wanted to trim inventories, the customer could go to a competing automaker's lot and buy today. Since customers will not wait to buy a c…
Why aren't dealerships just consignment stores for cars? That seems like it'd work out better for everyone involved. (And they could still follow "manufacturers can't sell direct" regulations, by having the dealership buy the car from the manufacturer just-in-time to resell it, once they've already got a signed contract from a buyer. And the manufacturer(s) they sell for could even extend them a line of credit to cover the float required to do that, so that they can operate on the same thin business model as regular consignment.)
I'm still 6-8 months out for a Toyota van
I ordered a new Porsche SUV in the middle of December. It just got offloaded from the ship at port today, so I should finally have it in a couple weeks. But it will be missing some of the electronics, such as the electric steering wheel adjustment due to chip shortages. My poor sister-in-law also thought she ordered a Toyota in December. But as it turns out, the dealership just took advantage of her and told her they…
I just ordered a 911. It's a July build scheduled to be in September (let's hope it actually arrives). I had a Macan S that got held up in port in 2019 for months (once it arrived).
I am curious what was the 'above MSRP' that you paid when you ordered?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Disclosure: I work for GM. Anything expressed here is solely my own opinion and experience. I think each statement is true. Context: for ages, OEMs (the factory) have had a belief that Americans will not wait to buy a car. There's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma: if any automaker wanted to trim inventories, the customer could go to a competing automaker's lot and buy today. Since customers will not wait to buy a c…
> Dealerships hate carrying extra inventory because it costs money to finance the vehicles until they sell them. Why aren't dealerships just consignment stores for cars? That seems like it'd work out better for everyone involved. (And they could still follow "manufacturers can't sell direct" regulations, by having the dealership buy the car from the manufacturer just-in-time to resell it, once they've already got a s…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't have to do that. Many if not most automakers, both foreign and domestic, already accept custom orders through their dealers. You're not going to like the wait time, though.
I placed an order for a Sienna a couple of months ago. However, it's more of getting put in line for something similar that is allocated to the dealer. The more specific, the longer the wait is.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Disclosure: I work for GM. Anything expressed here is solely my own opinion and experience. I think each statement is true. Context: for ages, OEMs (the factory) have had a belief that Americans will not wait to buy a car. There's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma: if any automaker wanted to trim inventories, the customer could go to a competing automaker's lot and buy today. Since customers will not wait to buy a c…
> In future American OEMs may move to a more European model where vehicles are built to specific customer order This would be a great thing. NPR ran a show last week about the benefits of switching to this model for the consumer in terms of products of all kinds, and it turns out that given this choice, the customer makes better, more ethical and informed decisions about the product and feels better about the relatio…
I think any move that goes in this direction will be deemed a non-starter by incumbent industry even if it could lead to the good stuff you mentioned later on.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You don't have to do that. Many if not most automakers, both foreign and domestic, already accept custom orders through their dealers. You're not going to like the wait time, though.
I placed an order for a Sienna a couple of months ago. However, it's more of getting put in line for something similar that is allocated to the dealer. The more specific, the longer the wait is.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Disclosure: I work for GM. Anything expressed here is solely my own opinion and experience. I think each statement is true. Context: for ages, OEMs (the factory) have had a belief that Americans will not wait to buy a car. There's also a bit of a prisoner's dilemma: if any automaker wanted to trim inventories, the customer could go to a competing automaker's lot and buy today. Since customers will not wait to buy a c…
> Dealerships hate carrying extra inventory because it costs money to finance the vehicles until they sell them. Why aren't dealerships just consignment stores for cars? That seems like it'd work out better for everyone involved. (And they could still follow "manufacturers can't sell direct" regulations, by having the dealership buy the car from the manufacturer just-in-time to resell it, once they've already got a s…
Presumably because people prefer getting less money now to getting more money later. Also most dealerships essentially "flip" cars (like those people on HGTV flip houses) - they clean them up, do basic service, add a warranty of some sort and that gives them extra margin versus just taking a small fee for handling sale paperwork.
Honestly I'd hate to sell a car via consignment because there's zero incentive for the dealer to do anything with it. They might sit on it for months.