Pickings slim for car buyers | The Columbus Dispatch

Some of the lowest inventories in years are making new-car lots look a little empty these days, a trend that is putting some autoworkers back on the job but is unlikely to help car shoppers looking for a discount.

[Break]

Anyone who buys a new car at msrp, especially a Chevy, is foolish.

[Genital Motors]

Break wrote:

Anyone who buys a new car at msrp, especially a Chevy, is foolish.

We are discouraging the use of the "Chevy" moniker. Chevrolet is the preferred brand identifier.

[Liddleguy]

Not only are the new car lots empty, since "cash for clunkers" took thousands of used cars off the market, the used lots are empty too. Used car prices are now up 25% in the last year. Used cars at auctions are selling higher than blue book retail. Another result of obamanomics.

[hamburger pimp]

So supply is tight primarily due to manipulation of inventories rather than increased demand. Oh well, as long as it LOOKS like a recovery.

[Jeep Grand Cherokee]

I have a '99 JGC Laredo in Patriot Blue. It has the best paint job of any car I've owned. The paint shows no signs of deterioration. My 2009 Jetta SE is a very nice car and gets 30 to 31 mpg on the highway.

[Unbelievable]

Liddleguy wrote:

Not only are the new car lots empty, since "cash for clunkers" took thousands of used cars off the market, the used lots are empty too. Used car prices are now up 25% in the last year. Used cars at auctions are selling higher than blue book retail. Another result of obamanomics.

This is a good thing.

[Eugene_C]

This is exactly how the free market is supposed to work.

[Eugene_C]

Genital Motors wrote:

<quoted text>
We are discouraging the use of the "Chevy" moniker. Chevrolet is the preferred brand identifier.

Oh yes, because "Chevrolet" is Soooo much more "upscale"! ROFL.

[Fat Boy]

You should have discontinued the "GM" moniker. What a corporate welfare crock.

Used cars are definitely slim as well. Check out Craigs List and you'll see even slimmer pickins' and mostly junk.

Genital Motors wrote:

<quoted text>
We are discouraging the use of the "Chevy" moniker. Chevrolet is the preferred brand identifier.

[Fat Boy]

too bad we don't have a free market anymore. that went out the window with corporate/bank bailouts, corporate tax breaks, and the GOP control. Now we socialize risk and privatize rewards. The govt picks winner and losers with automakers making $80K+ a year while we layoff teachers and let small businesses collapse. "free market" can go to hell.

Eugene_C wrote:

This is exactly how the free market is supposed to work.

[Nourished by the Gov]

You're definitely not on the center of the bell curve. My Ford Windstar blew a head gasket and the tranny was trashed at 40,000miles. They helped the owners of this junk the prior year, but simply laughed at my claim - just out of warranty. It wasn't like I ran 1/4 miles with a minivan or pulled an airstream. NEVER will I buy a new Ford POS.
This is an artificial spike caused by the leftover of Cash for Clunkers. GM never did fully pay back the $50 billion we sunk in it nor did it follow through on all cost saving measures. The same clueless lunkheads are still running it - just Wagner was canned for show.

Jeep Grand Cherokee wrote:

I have a '99 JGC Laredo in Patriot Blue. It has the best paint job of any car I've owned. The paint shows no signs of deterioration. My 2009 Jetta SE is a very nice car and gets 30 to 31 mpg on the highway.

[Parasite Government]

All cash for clunkers did was pull sales ahead for about 3 months.

$3 billion spent for nothing, but that is the Obama way.

[Genital Motors]

Eugene_C wrote:

<quoted text>
Oh yes, because "Chevrolet" is Soooo much more "upscale"! ROFL.

Quite right! Our Marketing people and various outside study groups assure us Chevrolet sounds French and is therefore both chic and desireable.

[Freeloader]

It is a matter of "need".
If they need us, we win.
If we need them, they win.
I don't need a car, so I win.
Don't forget, car dealers are really modern horse traders, with all the baggage that implies.

[animal control]

The gigz-up for the predetory yakuza lender clan who sent a new auto out with everybody and their entire family in some pooly designed fugly cheap knock-off that the buyers could not afford anyway.
Just for impressive rankings & sales numbers.
Theres tons of the 08' fugly honda & toyoda's for sale by owner who hate to drive them ,,even the dealers don't want to pay anything for them.
Why would honda even bother producing the fugly ridgeline in 2012? Maybe if someone pays mrsp for a crossturd the dealer will throw-in a free ridgeline to make the sales numbers better. Right now they only need to produce about 35 ridglines a day to keep-up with the dismal sales.

[STOP with NEW TAXES]

Unbelievable wrote:

<quoted text>
This is a good thing.

please explain how overpaying for a vehicle is a good thing.

Too many people overpaid and signed overpriced loans for houses, how'd that work out?

[Cash for clunkers]

Goes to show, the market will self-correct and the government need not do things to artificially stimulate demand (by giving away tax dollars to people who buy certain new vehicles). People are now buying vehicles WITHOUT such government incentives. Please government stay out of the "motivation" business, and let people buy things when they're truly ready. Like now. I wish I had my tax money back that was given away needlessly!

[Eugene_C]

STOP with NEW TAXES wrote:

<quoted text>
please explain how overpaying for a vehicle is a good thing.

They're not overpaying for cars, they're paying the market price. The market price has risen because supply has dropped.

The housing bubble was different. The builders built too many houses and then had the brilliant idea to create subprime mortgages and "sell" the oversupply of houses to people that couldn't afford them.

[STOP with NEW TAXES]

Eugene_C wrote:

<quoted text>
They're not overpaying for cars, they're paying the market price. The market price has risen because supply has dropped.
The housing bubble was different. The builders built too many houses and then had the brilliant idea to create subprime mortgages and "sell" the oversupply of houses to people that couldn't afford them.

Let me see if I understand you - lower supply of cars means price is higher BUT too many houses, sell them at inflated prices to underqualified people is normal? Here is a news-flash for you, the builders didn't create the subprime market, it was the gov't. Clinton and his fellow democrats said everyone DESERVED a house wether you could afford it or not.

I totally understand the laws of supply and demand - covered in basic economics classes... The problem is that the market has been artifically manipulated by the gov't "cash for clunkers". The vehicles that are still on the market aren't worth what they are asking. I actually saw a 1993 mazda with 165,000 miles and rusted-out fenders on a lot for $2500!!! I about passed out when I saw what they wanted.

[Keiretsu Exports Jobs]

Next time try to buy American instead of converting dollars to yen; http://www.youtube.com/watch...