I don’t normally link to videos if they can’t be embedded, but this cracked carafe of not good is required viewing for anyone who thinks the U.S. car industry isn’t dead in the water. The interviewee, President of NY’s Major World Auto, offers such a litany of bad news that you half expect Harold Bendell to break down and weep: banks getting out of the sub-prime biz (perish the thought), leasing is DOA, new cars aren’t selling, used cars aren’t selling that well, etc. To which the Fox newscaster replies, “Car companies are in business to sell cars. If they are not selling cars, there’s no reason for them to be in business… what are they going to do?” “If you don’t have a 700/725 [Fair Isaac Corp or FICO credit] score, nobody really wants to look at you the same way,” the harried, hapless car dealer moans. “Who wants to take a chance?” Inventory problems? “I’ve got so many cars that I want to give them away,” Bendell says. Only you know what? I believe him.
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Wow, those Fox people sure do like to yell when they talk. Anyway, I think October’s sales results will be very interesting, especially with Toyota offering 0% on so many vehicles and GM’s Employee pricing over with (for this month at least).
It’s good to know that I’d probably be approved for financing, but I don’t plan to buy another car again until about 2012 or so. Sorry about that, carmakers… Capital one and Chase keep sending me new credit offers even though I don’t need them. So I guess some banks are still trying to bait people into the high interest lifestyle, which makes no sense to me since that’s how we got in this mess.
This car market contraction is going to persist for a long time. In the end, keeping over extended people from buying expensive cars is going to be a good thing. The hard thing is that the change is happening over night.
The point that Toyota and Honda have the financial might to keep playing the game means one more nail in the coffin for the 2.8.
And wow, $850 per month to drive a Traverse! You gotta be kidding me.
Fascinating video.
If you have a wealthy family member, try Virgin Money. I’m going to hit up my aunt and uncle for a loan and keep the money in the family.
“Wow, those Fox people sure do like to yell when they talk.”
When you have nothing to say, say it louder!
factotum :
October 7th, 2008 at 11:58 am
If you have a wealthy family member, try Virgin Money. I’m going to hit up my aunt and uncle for a loan and keep the money in the family.
If it’s like a house, then have them buy it in their name and rent it to you. For anything like a car, TV, whatever, if you can’t obtain credit and a decent rate from a bank, then you shouldn’t buy it and your family shouldn’t loan the money to you either. I’d never loan or borrow money from family. That is a quick way to end the relationship. Think on their part, what if you get in the habit of missing payments? Are you going to be happy with your uncle when he shows up to take the car? That is a common story on Judge Judy. LOL
P.S. I love FoxNews! :D
I sent in an email request for a quote on a wrangler unlimited. After several exchanges I asked for the promised “no haggle” quote on the grounds that if I wanted to haggle, I would drive to the much closer dealer.
The price offered was less than $1,000 off list. Apparently, there is no fear at the jeep dealership when it comes to Wranglers.
OTOH, same dealer has a GM store advertising 40k Tahoes for 25k.
Go figure.
The big Ford dealer here in Bakersfield, Ca. is not even selling 2009 F-150’s because they have so many 2008 models unsold. The same dealership has a full page newspaper ad running “$10,000 off sticker on all extended cab pickups”.
Which raises the question of course, where are all the 2009 trucks being shipped if this very large pick dealership in pick up truck land out here do not have any? Are other dealerships not ordering 2009 models?
The guy in the video looks and sounds like he’s had the crap kicked out of him.
hltguy I thought the 2009 F-150s had been pushed back because of the overstock of 2008 trucks. Are you sure the factory started shipping the new truck already? Maybe RF can confirm this.
Our mini Ford dealer closed up shop about a month ago so I don’t see what the stock is every time I drive home, I think they just crawled back to the big main dealership downtown.
Redbarchetta: For what ever reason this large Ford out here does not have any 2009 of the models and here it is October, certainly will shorten the model year on those vehicles, when, and if, they ever arrive at the dealership. My question is, if Ford is building the 2009 models, where are they going if they are not being shipped to the dealerships?
Why is everybody so surprised at this? Why does everybody think the solution is “MORE CHEAP CREDIT!” The American public is so massively overleveraged that nobody should be surprised that we can’t pay up all of our debts. Banks are doing the smart thing by not loaning huge amounts of money to people who can’t afford it, and if people have to buy cheaper cars as a result, thank God. For far too long has the 2+ car (often each costing $20,000+) household been standard.
Get over it, people, not everybody is rich. I’m so glad that banks have stopped lending to people who can’t afford to buy the things they want. People are greedy idiots who seem so blinded by avarice and a desperation to appear highfalutin’ that they’ll take out a $30,000 car note when they only make $35-40,000/year. It’s about damn time people start living within their means.
A friend’s sister recently had to get a peoplemover as a 3rd child is on the way. Being a fan of the Fords, she first wanted an Expedition. Two ford dealerships would not give her a deal on the vehicle.
Chrysler, however, took $8k off the sticker on their minivan, and took her 3 trade-ins; a ’98 Honda Goldwing, Dodge Magnum and a Ford Lightning. The two vehicles still had money owed; the dealership ate the owed cost!
She isn’t particularly proud of owning the Chrysler, but the deal was just too good to pass up.
kazoomaloo:
It doesn’t help when some vehicles on the basic brandnames, ie: Ford Flex, are hitting $44k nowadays!
so blinded by avarice and a desperation to appear highfalutin’ that they’ll take out a $30,000 car note when they only make $35-40,000/year.
I don’t disagree that much of the problem out there today is people living beyond their means. That said, vehicles in my opinion are grossly overpriced. The median income is just shy of $50k while the cheapest trim family sedans run $20-25k. Seems to me that auto inflation has far outpaced income inflation. Granted, I know that a car in 2009 is vastly better (more equipped) than one in 1979, and I was too young to be buying cars 30 years ago, but that said, I would guess a new car was a lot more of a financial reality back then. Without financing of course.
My father is an old school “no debt but the house” type of guys. He never bought a used car until the 1980’s. He hasn’t bought new since, but sure loves to tell stories of when he ordered up his “new” cars in the 60’s & 70’s. Seems to me the prices changed and not my father.
kazoomaloo : Get over it, people, not everybody is rich. I’m so glad that banks have stopped lending to people who can’t afford to buy the things they want. People are greedy idiots who seem so blinded by avarice and a desperation to appear highfalutin’ that they’ll take out a $30,000 car note when they only make $35-40,000/year. It’s about damn time people start living within their means.
A-friggen-men!
My neighbors are a perfect example of this. They’ve been living out of their means and are now having to sell their toys (jet skis and dirt bikes) to pay the bills. I can’t help but to not feel sorry for them. I mean… who needs to buy a new car every two or three years? especially when you don’t need to. Last year, they traded in their 2005 Cadillac Escalade for a 2008 model. Why? I love my neighbors and all, but they are silly conspicuously consuming humans who are paying dearly for it now.
So now all those people who used to buy a new car every few years only to have the latest model are no longer able to afford to do so. They are now pretty much stuck with what they have until it can no longer be driven….like my old F-150. She gave me 200k+ miles before the transmission shed its gears all over the interstate.
kazoomaloo: excellent synopsis of the situation!
Yikes, a $30k whip on $40k/year!
I felt a bit uncomfortable when I borrowed $18k for my Liberty making ~$45k/yr. in July of 06.
News flash. The reason why there are no 2009 F150s in stock yet is because Job #1 was just last week on October 2. There will be plenty in inventories by Nov 1 which is the new on sale date.
About that FICO thing. Is it a sliding scale of sorts that changes dynamically on it’s own and everyone’s score?
I went to that freecreditreport sites months ago and my score was 805(of 850). I recently got prequalified on a house and he said my score was “790”. I thought, how in the world did it go down?
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Saw my first ever Flex on the road. The H3 Trucks at the dealer look like crew cab Colorados at a distance. They look more truck then Hummer(maybe that’s what they wanted). Just didn’t seem very “exclusive” or “upscale” or “High Class”. Again, maybe not what they were going for. If that’s the case, give us S10 pricing. About $18k for an H3 Truck.
hey landcrusher- let me ask you something-did you really want to buy a wrangler unlimited or were you just jerkin’ off some poor internet salesman?looking at an invoice at my cdj dealership, a $ 1000 dollar discount leaves about a $400 over invoice profit. don’t you want your salesman to make a hundred bucks? you gotta sell a lot of cars at 100 bucks each to be able to feed your family. there is more to buying a car then just price. if you have problems with the car, who is the first person you look for at the dealership ? your salesman. he aint gonna help you if you are a cheep f**K. thanks for letting me vent!!
bipsieboy,
I am not going to “buy one today,” but I am watching the market because it is one of my likely choices if I buy new. I am also looking at used vehicles. I am more than kicking tires. At any rate, the dealership promises a quick, no haggle price. Had it been anywhere close to the discounts they were advertising on Tahoes (same dealer, different lot), I would have gone down there quickly.
I would love it if my salesman made a million dollars, but that’s not my concern. That’s between him and his boss. If he is stupid enough to get paid on profit at a business that lies to him about what profit is being made, then that’s his problem. His lack of professionalism was displayed by the second email, so at this point I even care less.
I am not a guy who abuses reps for a little money off. I also know that even when a deal makes no money, there is a possibility of a commission, otherwise the salesmen will stop working. If my salesman, who was less than professional, decides to continue working at a place that doesn’t pay well, that is his problem.
It’s my job to get the best truck value for my money that I can. It’s his to make a profit for the dealer. I guarantee that I will act more benevolently and ethically than any car salesman I have ever met. I have given training at car many dealerships, so I think I can qualify as someone who knows.
PS, I also know better than to look for my salesan in the event of a problem. He didn’t have anything to do with it. Less than 5% of car salesmen today are professional enough to even really help.
I know, I have trained car salesmen.
It’s not their fault. The dealership organizations no longer run their businesses in a way that builds and keeps those kinds of professionals around. Different dealerships have different games going on, but the best I expect to get at a Jeep dealer these days is someone who knows how to play his boss while actually being a semi-professional towards his customers, or someone so new and naive that they still have a good attitude because they haven’t figured out the game being played on their checks.
If I wanted to be unfair, I would likely never have to pay for a repair on a car even close to warranty, while getting just about anything I wanted. I know how to play the game.
I trained service reps, too.
Well, at least if Major World tanks I can stop hearing their damn ads every ten seconds. They can stop telling me they have 2,000 cars on their lot, by the way. Everyone knows. If you spend any time in their showroom, it’s easy to see that a good amount of their used cars spent some time in a body shop anyway.
Harold in the video sounds and looks the way Mayor Giuliani looked right after 9/11. As was quoted on Diehard – “the quarterback is toast”
Airhen mentions liking both Fox News and Judge Judy. Hmmmm.