General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsMineralMan
(146,192 posts)They're also selling cars that have 3-year warranties with 7-year financing. That means either losing lots of money when you trade it in or paying lots of money fixing it when it breaks out of warranty.
Sure, they'll deliver your new car to your house, all sanitized and ready to go. They might even pick up your trade-in, for which they gave you a low-ball value.
If you have a running car, hang on to it. You're not going to be putting many miles on it anyway. Then, when the pandemic passes and is no longer a threat, go to your dealer and get a great price on cars that are being deeply discounted due to having too many of them.
Never finance a car beyond its warranty period. That's my advice.
Iggo
(47,487 posts)That one really floored me.
Never bought a brand new car and never gonna, so some of this kind of info just slips right on past me.
But seven years? Man!
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)But, in that six years, I only put 40,000 miles on it. Still, I got considerably less for it in trade than I would have if I had traded it at 5-years. So, our new care, same make and model as the old one, we financed for just 5 years. 5-year, 60,000 mile overall warranty. 10-year, 100,000 mile powertrain. We will trade this one as soon as it's paid off. Odds are that KIA won't be making that model any longer, so we'll opt for a different model, I suppose at that time.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,483 posts)driving through one of the high-density commercial areas with several big car lots. All were full of vehicles but I didn't see a soul on the lots (north-central KY).
Asked myself: "What the hell is going to happen to all those new cars and trucks that won't be so new anymore by the time people are back out shopping and buying big-ticket items again?".
Same with lots of products sitting in closed stores, retail lots and warehouses. Will the companies still honor the warranties? Some products in storage do not age well.
As you said, for anyone with any money left, there's going to be some huge sales happening......someday.
The downside is we may see an enormous explosion of consumer debt in order for people to get back on their feet and from what I recall, consumer debt was already sky-high prior to the pandemic.
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)Nobody is looking to buy a new car in this time of extreme uncertainty. One car maker is offering 120 days of no payments if you get hit by COVID-19. Worries about that are pretty much blocking people's thinking about making long-term debt arrangements, I think.
I'm feeling sorry for car dealers, actually. There they sit, going into Spring and Summer, with inventories ordered to meet the expected demand for new cars. Now, the demand is gone, so they're sort of stuck with that.
Jan from Toyota is doing an ad that begs for people to bring their cars in for service. I have a relative who is a mechanic at a Volvo dealer. He's been furloughed for at least two months. Nobody's driving right now, at least not much. So, their cars aren't acting up and needing service as often.
It's going to be tough times for new car dealerships. Used car dealerships, too. Carvana is advertising heavily with a "safe home delivery" of your car purchase and advertising that they'll come to you to buy your car, too.
csziggy
(34,120 posts)He's now working one week on, one week off. Usually he goes to car auctions to find cars for the lot - auctions are cancelled. He's trolling the internet for cars but it's hard to find good cars that way.
His family has their horses at my farm and take care of the barn and pastures in return so he's happy to have time to put in at that, but he'd rather be working his regular job.
My friend is worried - he worked for a different car dealership owned by the same family for years. In 2009 it folded and he was laid off and sent to a different of their dealerships for a while. Then that one folded and he ended up at the Honda place. He had always sold GM products, so this was a big shift for him. I hope he can ride it out - but the company will probably keep him somehow. He's the kind of car dealer that people come back to year after year for their next car.
I bought a new car from him just after Christmas. I went in to look at used Fits, but they had 2019 models on the lot that needed to be sold to make room for the 2020s. I only paid a couple of thousand more for a new car than they were asking for the 2014 I was looking at, and got warranties and two years worth of free oil changes and servicing. It's the first new car I have purchased in almost forty years!
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)The warranty was the reason. I don't want to work on cars any more. I still have a 1996 Ford Ranger. I'll work on that, if I have to, but it's a beater and probably won't be driven over 750 miles a year now. So, it's running good, and probably will continue to.
We traded the 2013 in on a 2020 Soul. Nice car. Good mileage. Comfortable and not expensive to buy. 5-year bumper-to-bumper warranty. No sweat, no strain.
Iggo
(47,487 posts)hatrack
(59,439 posts)Dying here! Brilliant.
crickets
(25,896 posts)Windy City Charlie
(1,178 posts)I've seen so many of those "we're here for you" "we want to help" commercials, yet by the time the 30 or 60 commercial is over, they haven't said what they're going to do, other than to say, "buy our product."
pnwest
(3,265 posts)on the money - pun intended. Ive had this weird reaction to all those commercials, but could not articulate it. Im disgusted by them, but could not explain why. This! This money-grubbing, well change our messaging to whatever you want to hear attitude. Its so phony. Its so cluelessly out of touch to advertise big ticket items like cars, when millions are losing their jobs. Gross.
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)payments on the car they already own.
Not a good time for the auto industry, I think, anytime soon.
cagefreesoylentgreen
(838 posts)My current car, a Toyota Scion, I bought during the rock bottom of the Great Recession and got a good deal on it. Six months ago I went to the same dealer and they tried to rip me off on a Yaris of all things.
Im waiting now to see if I can snag myself a Pandemic special.
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)You'll like it, I'm sure.
cagefreesoylentgreen
(838 posts)I love it since I can squeeze it into tiny spaces and can do donuts in a parking garages if I want. Almost anything else feels too big.
I was looking at at Fiat 500c but I hear Fiat isnt going to produce those for the US market anymore. Ill have a look into the Soul though. Thanks!
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)The Soul will seem huge in comparison. Still, it's warranty makes it something to think about.
onenote
(42,374 posts)That's how many folks are employed by the auto dealer/service/parts industry. These people are losing their jobs and face the possibility of those jobs not coming back any time soon, if ever. So, under the circumstances, I don't begrudge car companies doing whatever they can to drum up business, whether its selling cars or promoting maintenance, at this time.