The Real Car Business

At auction the previous two weeks, the one trend that you here repeated is, "... man, there are just no cars out there...". What buyers are saying is they don't see the vehicles they want in the mileage brackets they (think) they want! The reality is that there are so many cars and trucks at auction in a mileage bracket many just plain old don't care to pay attention to. A 1998 Nissan Pathfinder is an "old" unit. Now add 203,114 miles! If you where under the gun at your Honda dealership or Ford store on a rainy Tuesday night and this looked like the last customer of the night (who is also tired because she has been shopping your competition all day), what would you put on this vehicle? Try again! You could miss that vehicles value by $1600 and may be thinking that it's not even worth $1600... and you would be right. But what did this unit sell for? $3,200 in Connecticut on 2-24-10 at wholesale auction. My point is that while we are all consumed ...

For years I had an ongoing debate with an auction executive about whether cars where bought or sold at auction. There where many conclusions involving this brain teaser, but the real issue escaped a true definition. * A vehicle deteriorates mechanically, physically, financially, and even emotionally. There is no order of importance here and there are others means by which a vehicles becomes less or more desirable within a live, competitive-bid auto auction. But how the actual cash value ( ACV ) is derived at is the most important component in defining and answering this critical question in today's market. * Consider this: you are a buyer at auction who has no limitation as to what you can spend on a car. Sixty days later, having removed your crown, you drop your cars out of the sky and return from the auction with a check for every vehicle, right? Wrong. You curtailed that vehicles future lifespan to severely when you got the ACV wrong and now are faced with factoring in that ...

It's not the northeast weather that is keeping the wholesale market in check, it is the overall blanket of slow retail sales at both new and used car retailers! * Subaru product is the most in demand at auction now, Hyundai another sought after product line. * Toyota shows increased prices on non-recall units, but not as strong as you might assume... more trouble ahead for the giant retailer? * The availability (or pure #'s of units) crossing the block is down at auctions overall; and the old economics 101... supply v. demand... is not at work right now. * As stated last post, large trucks are softening, luxury SUV's firm. * Honda Civic strong, Buick (yes, Buick) in demand: 2004 LeSabre LIMITED with 44K sells at an astonishing $9900. Compare that to a 58K 2004 Toyota Camry selling at $8900! Go Buick, go. * It is the economy, stupid. When it is all said, people are not grabbing out for another or new car. We are in a replacement mode at auction- that's it. Chat soon