Surprising Nonchalance

[Quark]

Update: two have contacted me. Five have not replied. One of the two told me he’d call at 1 p.m., but didn’t get around to it until an hour and a half later
I don’t disagree with what anyone has said, but it’s a different experience than what I’ve had in over 40 years of buying cars…some of which were in high demand, others not so much. Usually…make that always…I’d find someone who understood that I was serious about buying. Looks like I‘ll have to adjust my expectations.

To be fair it isn't just the car salesmen what about the twitchy kid at Best Buy wanting to get back to texting and wants you to leave. I get the feeling everyone is calling it in.

 

[DarkHorizon]

It’s a weird time buying a car. Hard to find stock, hard to get any kind of deal, hard to order, etc.

As a buyer it is hard for me to pull the trigger on a car:

1. It is $4k higher MSRP than it was last year.

2. I will not get a deal and probably over pay.

3. It will all be for a car that I compromise on, wrong color, missing options, etc.

4. Plus I get to pay 5+% interest on the loan to top it off.

luckily the 4k higher price than last year is actually a cost decrease when you factor inflation.

 

[Banks22]

They said this in 21.... Yet, here we are...2 years later... With more expensive vehicles shipped incomplete and people still begging.....

I think the only vehicles being begged for are Tahoe’s/Yukon’s and HD diesels but that is slowing down fast because the price of those is getting out of control. Much worse economy now than 2 years ago, and honestly right before covid started as a small business owner the economy was about to boom in my opinion. I think by spring/summer you’ll be able to get GMS plus rebates on the 3 big rigs.

 

[UplevelDave]

This seems to be how things are now. I actually always enjoyed car shopping and part of the fun was feeling like a VIP even if it's all BS. This is the second biggest purchase besides your home, and salespeople used to treat it as such. I remember getting offered food, drinks, being told to take the vehicle home for the evening to see if I really like it, etc. You'd get a follow-up call from the dealership after purchase. Now everyone is clamoring to get in line for a decontented overpriced vehicle and waving their money at the dealership so they don't really have to act like they give a damn anymore.

 

[ColeBlooded]

This seems to be how things are now. I actually always enjoyed car shopping and part of the fun was feeling like a VIP even if it's all BS. This is the second biggest purchase besides your home, and salespeople used to treat it as such. I remember getting offered food, drinks, being told to take the vehicle home for the evening to see if I really like it, etc. You'd get a follow-up call from the dealership after purchase. Now everyone is clamoring to get in line for a decontented overpriced vehicle and waving their money at the dealership so they don't really have to act like they give a damn anymore.

When you weren't happy with the price, you walked out of the building and they followed you to your car to get you to come back in lol. Good times.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

This seems to be how things are now. I actually always enjoyed car shopping and part of the fun was feeling like a VIP even if it's all BS. This is the second biggest purchase besides your home, and salespeople used to treat it as such. I remember getting offered food, drinks, being told to take the vehicle home for the evening to see if I really like it, etc. You'd get a follow-up call from the dealership after purchase. Now everyone is clamoring to get in line for a decontented overpriced vehicle and waving their money at the dealership so they don't really have to act like they give a damn anymore.

This will change, and really fast...probably in like 5-6 months.
Then, the dealers who really took care of their customers will continue to have them, and those that lined their pockets w/ markups, etc will suffer...
My dealer was super cool through this whole process, didn't gouge me, and gets my service business.
They even did a follow up call after the sale, after each service visit, and still give me free drinks, coffee, etc while I wait.
But, they are in it for the long haul.

 

[Z15]

Its coming to this..

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

Its coming to this..

Sure do miss Ron!

 

[Stbentoak]

This will change, and really fast...probably in like 5-6 months.
Then, the dealers who really took care of their customers will continue to have them, and those that lined their pockets w/ markups, etc will suffer...
My dealer was super cool through this whole process, didn't gouge me, and gets my service business.
They even did a follow up call after the sale, after each service visit, and still give me free drinks, coffee, etc while I wait.
But, they are in it for the long haul.

I don’t think so… they will throttle back the build rate to keep demand where they want it. Dealers have all admitted they have made way more money with less work with less vehicles on the lot. GM can throttle back overtime and save themselves some money in the process. There is a New World order in car buying, especially for desirable vehicles, and it isn’t going to be pick one from the 25 we have in stock anymore.

 

[WalleyeMikeIII]

I don’t think so… they will throttle back the build rate to keep demand where they want it. Dealers have all admitted they have made way more money with less work with less vehicles on the lot. GM can throttle back overtime and save themselves some money in the process. There is a New World order in car buying, especially for desirable vehicles, and it isn’t going to be pick one from the 25 we have in stock anymore.

I agree w/ that, to a point...but when the demand gets more in line w/ supply, at least it won't be 40 week lead time anymore, will be more back to the 10-12 like it was before.

 

[Polo08816]

This will change, and really fast...probably in like 5-6 months.
Then, the dealers who really took care of their customers will continue to have them, and those that lined their pockets w/ markups, etc will suffer...
My dealer was super cool through this whole process, didn't gouge me, and gets my service business.
They even did a follow up call after the sale, after each service visit, and still give me free drinks, coffee, etc while I wait.
But, they are in it for the long haul.

I don’t think so… they will throttle back the build rate to keep demand where they want it. Dealers have all admitted they have made way more money with less work with less vehicles on the lot. GM can throttle back overtime and save themselves some money in the process. There is a New World order in car buying, especially for desirable vehicles, and it isn’t going to be pick one from the 25 we have in stock anymore.

GM doesn't make decisions to throttle back production in a vacuum. You always have to factor in how your competitors will respond and how that will affect your business 5-10 years from now. Are you going to sacrifice long term market share for short term profits?

Half ton body on frame SUVs from different manufacturers are largely interchangeable - and there are more makes to choose from now more than ever. Are some more desirable than others? Sure. But they are still going to be price shopped against others. We are talking about a mainstream SUV here - not an exotic supercar.

In 6-12 months time (as the economy deteriorates and demand dries up), we're going to be back closer to the way we used to buy cars pre-pandemic than how we bought cars during the pandemic. Just look at the 40+ F150s Granger Ford has in inventory and the 40+ GMC Sierra 1500 pickups Robideaux Motors has in inventory. Full size SUV inventory will catch up.

 

[Stbentoak]

I agree w/ that, to a point...but when the demand gets more in line w/ supply, at least it won't be 40 week lead time anymore, will be more back to the 10-12 like it was before.

Yes, agree on the 12 wk Leadtime becoming more "Normal" ( I don't even really know what normal is anymore....) But the lots won't be "Full of them" and if you want one they have... there won't be any quibbling. It will be at MSRP or it will sit for the next guy to show up. They will go to more of the "let us order you what you want...." Model.

 

[TexasLC]

Just in case some weren’t aware…buying a car at invoice isn’t really invoice anymore. Nor has it been for some time. The manufacturer creates an invoice $ value for the dealer to work off of & show to buyers, but the dealer gets paid from the manufacturer $X amount per unit they sale. And when they hit certain sales goals they get more.

I say this to just shed light, but it now feels like MSRP has and will become the new norm for “invoice”.

There is zero reason any manufacturer will go back to big inventory when they’re training us to wait and compromise more on selection and that this creating bigger margins for them.

A version of nonchalance will remain for some time. Inflation or supply chain issues or not.

 

[Polo08816]

Just in case some weren’t aware…buying a car at invoice isn’t really invoice anymore. Nor has it been for some time. The manufacturer creates an invoice $ value for the dealer to work off of & show to buyers, but the dealer gets paid from the manufacturer $X amount per unit they sale. And when they hit certain sales goals they get more.

I say this to just shed light, but it now feels like MSRP has and will become the new norm for “invoice”.

There is zero reason any manufacturer will go back to big inventory when they’re training us to wait and compromise more on selection and that this creating bigger margins for them.

A version of nonchalance will remain for some time. Inflation or supply chain issues or not.

That's why dealers like Granger Ford do 3% under invoice pricing - most of their orders are getting built by Ford within 4 weeks. Like you said, invoice isn't really invoice.

The question is really where in the supply chain or production process will you keep inventory. Just in time manufacturing has significant weaknesses as we've seen during the pandemic. We're experiencing de-globalization. The margins are starting to decrease and that's where things are headed.

The question each manufacturer needs to answer is how willing are they to maintain short term profit margins over long term market share losses to their competitors. The mainstream automotive market is, without a doubt, competitive.