Lots are mostly empty of new vehicles!

[Garemlin]

Only local dealers around here that are low on inventory are Chevy and Toyota. In fact Toyota is so empty it looks like they are going out of business.

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[rharr]

it's crazy with all these dealers paying inflated prices on old stuff. Just goes to show dealers aren't making money on the cars they sell, they hope to land that juicy loan that ends up costing $15K over the life of the loan. Finance bubble here we come.

Welcome to the subscription society where no one really owns anything, they just pay for the use monthly............

 

[ShadowsPapa]

I disagree that it was us who caused this. Word leaders have had a hard on for the west for years things like mass immigration, Nafta, China manufacturing, big pharma, big tech. Has nothing to do with us. All of these were delivered to us with diamonds whether we wanted them or not. Word leaders are probably very happy they turned the west into a developing shithole.

You apparently didn't see the same documentary on PBS about Apple and similar tech.
We bought it hook, line and sinker. We allow others to tell us what's necessary or "cool". Apple marketing was almost entirely on the "cool" factor for years.
Yes, other countries, other companies will be more than happy to deliver to us - but our constant demand for more and cheaper has helped us get here.

 

[MNWillys]

You apparently didn't see the same documentary on PBS about Apple and similar tech.
We bought it hook, line and sinker. We allow others to tell us what's necessary or "cool". Apple marketing was almost entirely on the "cool" factor for years.
Yes, other countries, other companies will be more than happy to deliver to us - but our constant demand for more and cheaper has helped us get here.

100% agree. Deregulation of imported goods and the shift of production from the US to Asian and other foreign countries in the 1980's to today has fed our need for cheaply made and affordable goods. Consumerism has overtaken our society and infected traditional norms where we value mass marketed junk over solid built lasting goods. Now its all about the technology, I tried to stave off my hunger for a new vehicle, but the JT came around at the right time. If not I was on my way to a 2006 LJ Rubicon 6-speed manual.

 

[Rickv100De]

JIT has multiple benefits, accounting is one. Also, less space required to store excess amounts of parts in a warehouse, allowing production (the money making) utilize more space than storing (cost center).

The chip shortage isn't drastically affecting gfx cards - they've been in high demand for 5+ years. Bitcoin requires higher-end cards, which most consumers aren't buying. Gamers are the ones pissed about that the most. A $200-300 good card now goes for 3x that because of bitcoin.

I'm working from home and running 3 monitors (2x24" & 32") off a $100 gfx card. I don't need anything more than that to do my work. I don't do PC gaming, so I'm fine not shelling out $500 or $1000 for the latest octo-core 1TB 0 latency 240hz quad-fan contraption they're selling these days.

Yes, my son wanted a gaming PC and needed a PC for school. All of the low end graphics cards were sold out.

 

[brianinca]

Drove by the Dodge/Jeep/Etc dealer in a town north of mine last night. Pop 118K, conjoined to a town of 525K (location of the Jeep dealer I bought from). They had at least a dozen Gladiators, mostly Mojave and Rubicon models. They had plenty of JLU's as well.

Lots and lots and LOTS of whatever cars, too. Guess it depends.

Stopped by my local dealership to pick up a part and was surprised that the lot was 2/3 empty. The folks at the dealership said new car inventory was thin and incoming was spotty. They also mentioned the used car market is just as challenging. Drove out of the way to pass by another couple of dealerships and same situation, nearly empty lots. Is it really that rough for the new car market or is it just the central Florida area?

 

[Erievon]

My local dealer has two wranglers and a gladiator on their website right now, and they're starting to list them OVER MSRP. Crazy. And this is usually a high volume dealer.

 

[CerOf]

Our dealer, Huffines, won’t ever sell over msrp. Not even at their Chevy store on the new corvette.
They are still selling at below invoice. Just bought my wife a High Altitude Grand Cherokee last week.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

....We bought it hook, line and sinker. We allow others to tell us what's necessary or "cool". Apple marketing was almost entirely on the "cool" factor for years.

This thread is getting dangerously close to talking politics but I'll offer my two cents.

We have ALWAYS "...allowed others to tell us what's necessary or 'cool'"

From Hula Hoops, to the way Kookie combed his hair, to cigarettes, marketing has always been aimed at convincing consumers that one thing is cooler or more necessary (or both) than what someone else is selling.

Anyway, back to the original subject. I just took delivery of a used 2020 Gladiator Rubicon in Sting Gray and so far I'm tickled as hell with it. I sold my 2014 GMC 2500HD Denali which was in perfect condition with only 82,000 miles and had hardly ever done any work for the EXACT same price I paid for it used in 2016!! Couldn't 't pass that up.

SOLD this:

The dealers I was talking to about leasing a Gladiator couldn't find what I wanted, a Sport S or a California Edition with the Max Tow option. They found a few Rubicons with Max Tow (well, 7,000 lbs) but I didn't want all the other things they came with and they wanted thousands down and a much bigger monthly payment than I wanted. End result is I dropped the new lease idea (I've never leased & a bad idea anyway) and bought this one with 15,000 miles on it. It's spotless in and out. Yes, has stuff I didn''t really want: Leather, expensive stereo, colored roof and fenders (now I love them) and it's costing me about the same as a lease would have gotten but I get to KEEP this one! I'll tow my 22 ft wakeboard boat probably 3-5x a year and other than that it'll will mostly be babied. Feel free to flame away.

BOUGHT this:

PS: My son-in-law just leased a Granite Gray California Edition. It's pretty bare bones. I traded him the 255/70 Falken Wild Peak AT3's I had on my '17 JK two door and we put them on his black rims. I'll be selling the JK very soon. It's set up as a toad so I assume someone will want it for this "1st-in-2 years" RV getaway summer. He's very happy with the more aggressive appearance.

 

[93civej1]

This thread is getting dangerously close to talking politics but I'll offer my two cents.

We have ALWAYS "...allowed others to tell us what's necessary or 'cool'"

From Hula Hoops, to the way Kookie combed his hair, to cigarettes, marketing has always been aimed at convincing consumers that one thing is cooler or more necessary (or both) than what someone else is selling.

Anyway, back to the original subject. I just took delivery of a used 2020 Gladiator Rubicon in Sting Gray and so far I'm tickled as hell with it. I sold my 2014 GMC 2500HD Denali which was in perfect condition with only 82,000 miles and had hardly ever done any work for the EXACT same price I paid for it used in 2016!! Couldn't 't pass that up.

SOLD this:

The dealers I was talking to about leasing a Gladiator couldn't find what I wanted, a Sport S or a California Edition with the Max Tow option. They found a few Rubicons with Max Tow (well, 7,000 lbs) but I didn't want all the other things they came with and they wanted thousands down and a much bigger monthly payment than I wanted. End result is I dropped the new lease idea (I've never leased & a bad idea anyway) and bought this one with 15,000 miles on it. It's spotless in and out. Yes, has stuff I didn''t really want: Leather, expensive stereo, colored roof and fenders (now I love them) and it's costing me about the same as a lease would have gotten but I get to KEEP this one! I'll tow my 22 ft wakeboard boat probably 3-5x a year and other than that it'll will mostly be babied. Feel free to flame away.

BOUGHT this:

PS: My son-in-law just leased a Granite Gray California Edition. It's pretty bare bones. I traded him the 255/70 Falken Wild Peak AT3's I had on my '17 JK two door and we put them on his black rims. I'll be selling the JK very soon. It's set up as a toad so I assume someone will want it for this "1st-in-2 years" RV getaway summer. He's very happy with the more aggressive appearance.

Congrats on the truck but they didn’t find rubicon’s with max tow. No such thing. Maybe just the standered trailering package.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Thankfully no one is talking politics - not on this end, anyway. I'm talking marketing, especially today. Sure it's always been around, but now it's on social mediocre, in your face on your cell phone, "download now for free" and then shove ads in your face and track your every move and every click.
Madison Avenue has always been about psychology, but now you have tech giants involved.
And people follow along like sheep - apparently the younger as that's what Apple always aims their marketing at. Those aren't middle-age over-weight guys dancing and prancing around to their buds and iPhone LOL.

Anyway, back on the empty dealer lots - drove by the big guns on the highway south of Ankeny again, they have a few more trucks and SUVs than they used to last summer and fall. (it was at its worst last fell) and Karl has a few more, but there's still acres of bare concrete. I was driving trying to merge into traffic - wish I would have thought to have my wife take the pic - it was crazy seeing all that bare concrete and blacktop at Iowa's largest Chevy dealer. And the Jeep and Ford places weren't much better.
By now things should have let up, gotten a bit better, but we add in a chip problem to the mix.
On the other hand I can see how it's down to only a handful of facilities and companies - it takes incredible resources, very deep pockets, to make what we demand. No start-up could possible put into those teeny packages what the big companies with billions behind them do. So I guess in a way, it's a necessary evil?

 

[Hootbro]

Talked it over with the wife as we have a rarely driven third vehicle a 2018 Colorado Z71 we bought from Carmax Feb 2020 for $24K. Taking it in on Monday to Carmax as they gave us a tentative online $34500 buy quote. Told the wife even if they kneecap us a few thousand on the tentative quote, we still would be making quite few thousands selling it back. If it holds to plan, that gives us enough equity to pay off another vehicle and have $12K to stick in the bank. Crazy times.

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Talked it over with the wife as we have a rarely driven third vehicle a 2018 Colorado Z71 we bought from Carmax Feb 2020 for $24K. Taking it in on Monday to Carmax as they gave us a tentative online $34500 buy quote. Told the wife even if they kneecap us a few thousand on the tentative quote, we still would be making quite few thousands selling it back. If it holds to plan, that gives us enough equity to pay off another vehicle and have $12K to stick in the bank. Crazy times.

My wife would be all over that - I finally sold my 2004 WJ because - it rarely got driven, we were paying to insure it and licence it (although that part was cheap) and we could use the money elsewhere.
So down to 2 Jeeps and 2 cars now.
The goofy thing was that when I looked up NADA, KBB and so on for that WJ - the numbers were higher than when I looked them up to buy it in 2018.
So I had it all this time - got more than I paid for it.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Rubicon doesn’t have “Max Tow”. It’ll “only” tow 7000 lbs. I wanted the true maximum tow rating of 7650 lbs offered by Sport and Sport S.

 

[Kch]

This thread is getting dangerously close to talking politics but I'll offer my two cents.

We have ALWAYS "...allowed others to tell us what's necessary or 'cool'"

From Hula Hoops, to the way Kookie combed his hair, to cigarettes, marketing has always been aimed at convincing consumers that one thing is cooler or more necessary (or both) than what someone else is selling.

Anyway, back to the original subject. I just took delivery of a used 2020 Gladiator Rubicon in Sting Gray and so far I'm tickled as hell with it. I sold my 2014 GMC 2500HD Denali which was in perfect condition with only 82,000 miles and had hardly ever done any work for the EXACT same price I paid for it used in 2016!! Couldn't 't pass that up.

SOLD this:

The dealers I was talking to about leasing a Gladiator couldn't find what I wanted, a Sport S or a California Edition with the Max Tow option. They found a few Rubicons with Max Tow (well, 7,000 lbs) but I didn't want all the other things they came with and they wanted thousands down and a much bigger monthly payment than I wanted. End result is I dropped the new lease idea (I've never leased & a bad idea anyway) and bought this one with 15,000 miles on it. It's spotless in and out. Yes, has stuff I didn''t really want: Leather, expensive stereo, colored roof and fenders (now I love them) and it's costing me about the same as a lease would have gotten but I get to KEEP this one! I'll tow my 22 ft wakeboard boat probably 3-5x a year and other than that it'll will mostly be babied. Feel free to flame away.

BOUGHT this:

PS: My son-in-law just leased a Granite Gray California Edition. It's pretty bare bones. I traded him the 255/70 Falken Wild Peak AT3's I had on my '17 JK two door and we put them on his black rims. I'll be selling the JK very soon. It's set up as a toad so I assume someone will want it for this "1st-in-2 years" RV getaway summer. He's very happy with the more aggressive appearance.

Don't want to derail the thread, but extra style points for mentioning Kookie. Norm Grabowski, who built the Kookie car, was a very good friend of mine. He was also a world class wood carver. His hand carved wooden skulls are highly sought after. We have the world's largest collection of his skulls. I miss him very much. Now, back to our regularly scheduled program.

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