Car Dealerships?

[TexasFreedom]

I'm curious what others are seeing near them.

The few 'new' dealerships in my area are 80% empty. Normally they have so many cars that you can barely drive down the aisles. However, the small 'used' car lots seem to have their normal number of vehicles. I wonder if the issue is that dealerships are scared to have a large inventory (car lots getting torched or mass-robbed in riots). Or is it that dealerships know their sales are slow and don't want all the cash tied up or be paying interest for parking the cars there? Or is distribution a problem? Or are the manufacturing plants shut down, and cars are not available? LIkely a mix, but what ratio? Anyone have inside information?

Imagine the cost of a car factory getting taken over by rioters? Not just the number of cars that can be stolen/torched. But the equipment inside and the $billion value of them? You know GM/Ford/Dodge/etc have upped their security and are tied in well with local police to prevent this. Oh, this would be fun, imagine if Tesla gets their plant torched in Californistan?

 

[Brent S]

I’ve seen it here in Ga too. Jeeps are the number one selling car around here and there are hardly any to buy right now, but it’s not just Jeeps. I’ve seen some headline blurbs of new car shortages nationwide and think the supply chain was disrupted by the virus with delays on parts. I believe Tesla was only one not affected much.

 

[Arcticdude]

I’ve seen it here in Ga too. Jeeps are the number one selling car around here and there are hardly any to buy right now, but it’s not just Jeeps. I’ve seen some headline blurbs of new car shortages nationwide and think the supply chain was disrupted by the virus with delays on parts. I believe Tesla was only one not affected much.

The shortages are hitting everywhere. A couple weeks ago I went to a Yamaha dealership to buy two jet skis. They were sold out until next year.

 

[DrHenley]

This is going to have to affect the inflation rate.

 

[Brent S]

This is going to have to affect the inflation rate.

Even the feds are warning if coming inflation. There are some rough times coming

 

[Jayson]

The major car dealers here in Southern Kalifornia seem to have full parking lots of unsold cars. They are hurting for sales.

 

[MaterielGeneral]

I am pretty sure it is that the populace are finally getting smart about the high cost the UAW puts on the vehicles and they are saying F YOU to the UAW. Thats my opinion.

I got sick of the high cost of domestic and some foreign that now, my family either buys used or foreign like KIA, that does not have union rip off prices. I can buy a $30,000.00 KIA with the same options and a hell of a better warranty than a $40-45,000.00 Chevy or Ford.

 

[LiveTrap]

I think they are just waiting for the 2021 models. It is that time of year, after all. I also suspect the banks are tightening up credit since they are not making much money right now. So when a local dealer needs a couple million to buy 2021 models, the bank says, "I'll loan you half that now, and we'll see how it goes." We are going to see a change in the way that dealerships do business. More custom orders, and less inventory. I would rather buy American products whenever I can, but I drive my vehicles 10 years at minimum, so I'm not a customer worth worrying about, statistically. Your typical UAW guy makes less than the national median wage, which is $29 per hour, and it is hard work. Some of them a lot less in South Carolina, Texas, Kentucky and other southern states. But I agree, for an extra 5K, you can get a Toyota or Honda that will run 50,000 extra trouble free miles.