Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Auto Sales

Seeing as we have a resident auto industry expert, I'd like to hear from him first hand what is going on. Anecdotal, yes. Interesting and enlightening, also yes.

I thought about buying a car last month (with kid #3 on the way (and yes, that is my formal announcement), it seemed like we probably should get a car that could fit three car seats) and the dealers seemed a little too desperate. Why not wait a month and see how much more desperate they will get?

So my good friend, what say ye to this from the WSJ?

8 comments:

Bubba the Hutt said...

Congrats on #3.

You sure do know how to make a splash putting your "formal announcement" amidst a post on your blog about buying a car.

Stay classy San Diego.

John said...

#3!!!! Congrats. Now you can raise a Democrat, Republican and Independent to encompass all of your political leanings.

Anonymous said...

I caught the news on Liz's site. (Thank you very much for the personal call.)

I'll post my official response shortly. It will not be earth shattering.

daniel said...

great news, congratulations. glad to see someone is doing his part to stimulate the economy.

oh, well done on the child too.

Hot Diggity Daws said...

Hmm sounds like prices may get even better. No doubt purchasing at the end of a month might be good. If sales are THAT low, you may cause a double digit % increase by purchasing 1 vehicle... Now who is in the drivers seat?

Well done multiplying...

Bubba the Hutt said...

GM sales dropped 45% in October.

I'm still waiting with anxious anticipation for this auto industry expert to weigh in with some information I can actually sink my teeth into.

Waiting sweetheart, waiting.

Anonymous said...

LOL - that made me chuckle Bubba. I love that line... not because it is mine... it is because it is so Alabama!

BTW - before I forget. I kid you not... I reviewed something at F... like I always do. The person's name was Richard Cranium. That is way better than Richard Trouser. It took me a good 2-3 mins to calm back down and reject that thing I was looking at.

I cannot comment officially where my peeps already did in the article.

What I can say is this... F is like Obama. Drive One. It is my belief you will like it. Also, we are statistically equal to Toyota and ahead of Honda in quality.

The Sync technology is amazing and would assist PTC greatly as a road warrior.

Great Mistake is making headlines by doing what it has never done in their history... please do not expect the same from F. My mood at F is what you can expect... find ways to buy every single collectible deal. If I can defend it... I will buy it. If it is burning gas or a fleet of diesel then I have done my job.

Anonymous said...

I would get a PIN for me and go shopping. Nothing says you must choose... if the PIN goes unused... nothing will be lost.

My neighbor bought a Mazda CX9. My personal favorite from the Mazda selection F owns. I told them about this PIN months ago. They never asked me for it. I hope they negotiated well.

Just remember...

1) Never tell the dealer anything you do not have to. They will ask questions... be rude and give them nothing.

2) Find the car you like. (Consider everything... choose your dealer not just on where it is located with respect to your house... choose a dealer based on service.)

3) Find out how much it is worth. Do your homework and find out how much they are worth shortly after release. Make an offer to the dealer for the price you are willing to pay only after seeing the invoice (remember... the invoice does not show floor plan discounts the dealer is getting which puts the cost point even lower than anything on the invoice.)

4) Negotiate everything... fees; interest rate; price of the car; how much your trade is worth; options... everything.

5) and without question the most important... go shopping at a dealership you do not plan on doing business with and PRACTICE! Push the dealer respectively to the point where they ask you to leave. Remember what you learned and understand it may not all come together the first time. It make take several tries... if you like your money and want to save it... you will thank me. If the dealer thinks you are playing them... expect to be mislead. Just be as dumb as a BO supporter (pre-election as I am now a BO supporter) and keep pushing for lower and lower prices. I can of course direct you to the best locations... just ask me!