Posted on 07/10/2022 3:30:26 PM PDT by RomanSoldier19
Used car businesses in the 1970’s tried to not hold cars in inventory over 90 days, but now who knows.
My daughter was working a part-time job at a car wash. The 22 year-old supervisor was lamenting how he had his car repoed because he couldn’t afford it.
She told him “Well - you shouldn’t have bought such a fancy car!”
I asked her “What do you mean by ‘fancy’”?
“It was a Cadillac Escalade! But there was another kid at the car wash that had also bought a fancy car, so I’m guessing he thought it was the thing to do too. Of course the other kid lost his car as well!”
For once I hit a sweet spot: my son through no fault of his own, got his car hit,
flipped, and destroyed. Could easily have been killed but instead was uninjured. The carrier paid me 32% more than I paid for it, three years and $50,000 miles ago. No one wants stick shifts, which my son can drive. Got one for well under blue book, and pocketed about $5K on the whole deal
The used car market was thrown out of balance, by cash for clunkers. I hated the whole program, because I knew it was going to hurt poor people the worst. Just like inflation does.
I shall not cause harm to any vehicle, nor the personal contents thereof, nor through inaction let that vehicle or the personal contents thereof come to harm.
The Repo Code
I had three low end rentals who got onto the government’s free covid rent support. Two of the three ran into serious financial trouble. Suddenly they didn’t have a cent to their names. This is after between a year and three years of paying their rent with their existing income with no problems. Having seen drug problems before I realized that instead of going paycheck to paycheck, they suddenly had the money they would have paid in rent burning a hole in their pocket. When that’s the case, the answer is meth.
These are all women. White women, in case you’re curious. The other is a black woman, married with children and she manages her money well. The one was 38-ish, a single mother with small boy and a job in a local prison.
The other was retired and 74. The 74-year-old just up and vanished. She sent me a text apologizing. But she’d stiffed the cosigner relative on her car loan, not paid the insurance and lost her tag and driver’s license. She moved back to the Tennessee hills where I imagine she doesn’t need insurance, valid tags or a driver’s license. The other just up and moved but I’d had to post four three-day notices to make her pay the rent and I think she found other accommodations which will take the new landlord about six months to get her out. (I’ve been had by this scam before. They pay cash moving in, but never pay again. If you don’t catch it fast and take immediate action, all by-the-book, it will take six months and the place will be trashed.)
My point is the sudden infusion of unnecessary cash destroyed these lives.
If you’re interested. I’ve had to evict two families with small children because the woman...the woman, mind you, went to prison. I followed both cases, and the judge did handsprings to keep those women from going to prison. I spent six months trying to evict a drunk (and probably drugs) and father of God-knows-how-many. Before leaving the entire gang peed in every corner and cabinet. And, in case you’re keeping track everyone was white. I’ve had virtually zero problems with my black renters.
I recognize that movie quote.
THIS right here, FRiend. If only poor / middle class folks had access to those cash for clunkers cars... Several makes and models would run forever. They could have been building wealth instead of paying interest and repairs on throw-a-way cars.
Are you anywhere near Destin?
[I don’t think the chip production “kinks” are ever going away. EVs don’t seem to have any problem with chip availability, and they use (on average) 2X the chips an ICE vehicle does. This tells me the chip shortage is yet another way they are trying to nudge the public away from ICE cars.]
Based on cues from their customers, they see lower chip demand down the road, even as new supply is coming online. That’s how the kinks are getting straightened out.
https://www.kbb.com/car-news/is-the-end-of-the-chip-shortage-in-sight/
Some carmakers are saying they want to constrain supply indefinitely. Good luck with that. Car companies are like drug dealers - you get better margins by literally killing the competition. Of course, these being legit businesses, no blood actually gets shed. But red ink, at companies that hope others will keep prices high by restraining production voluntarily, and discover, to their dismay, that the strong haven’t lost their appetite for culling the weak? You betcha.
Thanks much
[I had three low end rentals who got onto the government’s free covid rent support. Two of the three ran into serious financial trouble. Suddenly they didn’t have a cent to their names. This is after between a year and three years of paying their rent with their existing income with no problems. Having seen drug problems before I realized that instead of going paycheck to paycheck, they suddenly had the money they would have paid in rent burning a hole in their pocket. When that’s the case, the answer is meth.
These are all women. White women, in case you’re curious. The other is a black woman, married with children and she manages her money well. The one was 38-ish, a single mother with small boy and a job in a local prison.
The other was retired and 74. The 74-year-old just up and vanished. She sent me a text apologizing. But she’d stiffed the cosigner relative on her car loan, not paid the insurance and lost her tag and driver’s license. She moved back to the Tennessee hills where I imagine she doesn’t need insurance, valid tags or a driver’s license. The other just up and moved but I’d had to post four three-day notices to make her pay the rent and I think she found other accommodations which will take the new landlord about six months to get her out. (I’ve been had by this scam before. They pay cash moving in, but never pay again. If you don’t catch it fast and take immediate action, all by-the-book, it will take six months and the place will be trashed.)
My point is the sudden infusion of unnecessary cash destroyed these lives.
If you’re interested. I’ve had to evict two families with small children because the woman...the woman, mind you, went to prison. I followed both cases, and the judge did handsprings to keep those women from going to prison. I spent six months trying to evict a drunk (and probably drugs) and father of God-knows-how-many. Before leaving the entire gang peed in every corner and cabinet. And, in case you’re keeping track everyone was white. I’ve had virtually zero problems with my black renters.]
What you missed is that the BEV companies use different chips and most had significant chip stockpiles due to lower production volumes, lower production rates and lower take rates. EV sales rates are currently up as high as they are only because in many markets they’re the only thing left on the lots to buy. Once the existing stock sells through on a BEV model, they’re having restocking problems just like all the other cars.
Case in point - the Chevy Bolt BEV plant had to shut down due to lack of chips: https://www.thedetroitbureau.com/2021/08/gm-idles-bolt-ev-plant-for-lack-of-chips-as-semiconductor-shortage-threatens-wave-of-battery-car-launches/
Tesla’s had to cut features and systems due to the shortage: https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/07/tesla-cut-a-steering-component-to-deal-with-chip-shortage.html
Tesla also postponed new models that were supposed to premiere this year because they can’t get the chips to build them: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chip-shortage-delays-tesla-cybertruck-new-models-2022/
speaking of carvana... the father/son duo that owns it have lost 80+% of their billions..
as a small used car dealer all I can say is ‘oh... darn. What’s for dinner?”
I hope they crash and burn.
they threw all sorts of OPM at the used car market thinking they would take over...
they are just the new Denny Hecker (a Minnesota dealer who went to jail)
you just described every car loan pre-covid..
until the shortage very very few cars are worth more than the day you bought it.
maybe things are starting to return to normal.
It’s not just fast food..
Retail is having the same problem.
Crawfordville, Fl. 32327.
The rush-hour going home traffic around sevenish is particularly dangerous. My guess is because so many people stopped and picked up a twelve pack at the local gas station. I’ve seen the men down two whole beers before reaching their truck.
That is correct. It’s also what happens when a loan repayment period so long that it is impossible for the car value to ever be equal to the loan.
or worse. the loan is so long the car will never make it to the end. I had someone trying to trade a car with a 7 year loan on it. it was 3 years old with 295,000 miles on it. “I have to uber to pay bills!” ya, well, GLWT cuz your 3 year old car is used up and I can’t help you. the car failed ubers rather easy inspection. basically everything was shot.
I never suggest letting the bank have it, but I did mention he better bank some cash because when it dies and is unrepairable cash is the only way he’s buying the next one.
We’re probably headed for a depression in 2023. There’s more and more talk of it.
that is why they will let republicans take the house and/or senate..
they will then blame it all on them and few will put up a fight.
You’re right. I should have included retail in my post.
The rest of this year is going to get progressively worse and BANG! in 2023.
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