Missed the boat

[Coyote machine]

What Wampum said!
And things will undoubtedly get much worse before they get much better. Latest report out says from 1999 to now we had 0% job creation. ZERO! % when each decade going back 50 years had a job creation rate of 20% or more MINIMUM. - so what does that mean for big ticket items with rapid depreciation- I would have to say, hold onto your hat it may blow away waiting for the good times we are now enjoying.
I hope I'm wrong, but I'd be willing to bet we're in for a very rough road ahead. {Thanks banks and hedge fund guys and everyone else out there who sold us down the river, only to beg us to bail you out for some more fat bonuses you don't deserve}.
Sorry for the rant, but let's get real- 0% financing or not we will need to look further into the future to survive the present.

 

[Punk]

So all who didn't buy missed the boat, hey.
Like some others said, and then some. Sounds a little smug to me, also. Kinda reminds me of that movie Titanic. When the boat was leaving the port, all the Messicks of that age were hee hawing at the poor miserable wretchs who missed the ride.

 

[IslandTractor]

What Wampum said!

I think you guys are two years too late with your analysis and recommendations. Yeah, the economy is down but that just means that those who make decisions to take advantage of the situation BEFORE it starts to rise again will be the ultimate winners. Economic indicators do not forecast deepening recession and jobs growth always lags in recovery. It makes sense to purchase a tractor at favorable terms before everyone else who is sitting on the fence shows up in dealer showrooms (where there is little stock as dealers have cut back orders due to the economy and manufacturers have similarly cut back production capacity).

I'd say that this is still a pretty darn good time to be shopping for a CUT especially if you are flexible and buy something that has been sitting on the dealers lot for a while. If you want to be a real pessimist then consider that one of the only ways for the USA to claw its way out of the current deficit combined with a severe allergy to tax hikes is to allow depreciation of the dollar and inflation to occur. That means those foreign made CUTs will become more expensive and interest rates will soar in the future. Nothing like a zero percent finance on a discounted leftover tractor to take advantage of that scenario.

 

[JoelD]

As usual tough to argue with island.

From my perspective, until unemployment improves significantly (i get that it is a trailing indicator) we've got a log slog.

Our current economy is consumer driven, I struggle to understand how meaninful improvement can occur, until they are working and therefore spending.

This post is raising the critical question to me of what is a recovery? To me a meaningful recovery is jobs, where will they come from???

For me, long story short, until we make stuff or provide a service that others are willing to pay for, we are stuck in a circular reference of government printing and distributing money and not sure how long that can work nor the long term ramifications in this global economy.

I'm definately not optimistic either way.

 

[bp fick]

When your drive is filled with a foot of snow, you need to plow it out.
When your grass is a foot tall, you need to mow it.
When your gravel needs raking, your fields need plowing, when the manure piles up........

You need a tractor. Timing is what it is.

 

[ovrszd]

I heard on the news last week that we (taxpayers) gave another $4B to GMAC. We gave them $7.1B in November. They are still making bad housing loans. HOUSING LOANS!!!! What the H???

Until we stomp our foot and tell our government we ain't bailing out poor finance managers anymore our economy will not recover. That mentality bleeds into other areas that are even more critical to recovery.

P.S. Did ya know GMAC is owned by Chrysler??? Chew on that. Baaaa Humbug!!!!

 

[bp fick]

I heard on the news last week that we (taxpayers) gave another $4B to GMAC. We gave them $7.1B in November. They are still making bad housing loans. HOUSING LOANS!!!! What the H???

Until we stomp our foot and tell our government we ain't bailing out poor finance managers anymore our economy will not recover. That mentality bleeds into other areas that are even more critical to recovery.

P.S. Did ya know GMAC is owned by Chrysler??? Chew on that. Baaaa Humbug!!!!

Feel your pain, but it's a stretch to post this here. And no, Chrysler doesn't own GMAC. Chrysler owns nothing but debt at this point. GMAC merely offers financing to Chrysler purchasers, using bailout money. Government arm twisting all the way around, no doubt.

 

[IslandTractor]

As usual tough to argue with island.

My wife would be only too happy to give you a tutorial.

The real challenge for a consumer in this setting is to neither be too optomistic (irrational exuberance etc) nor too pessimistic (China is taking over and all we do is complain about our government). Somewhere in the middle is reality even if it is veiled. There is opportunity and in the microcosm of the CUT world, I suspect a lot of people will be looking backwards at the deals available now and wish they'd made a purchase. Not a time for a vanity purchase or an indulgent present to ones self but for those who really need to buy a CUT or upgrade in the next couple of years, this still seems a good time to do so. I recall an old teacher of mine who used to say that there was never a really right time to buy a new car, it was something you just needed to do occasionally and then figure out how to make it work.

 

[jenkinsph]

This is a good time to buy a new tractor with low fixed rate financing, and as Island tractor suggest, if inflation is in the near future then it makes for a better deal. BUT, I strongly recomend that people make sure they can continue to make the payments, as I for one am tired of bailing out those who are failing. On a local level and in the present I am paying attention to who is making a real effort to work and be productive, these people get my business and support.

 

[two_bit_score]

I'd like to just see the prices come down and the so-called 0% to go away. Get your own financing or save up the money and pay cash.

I have been shopping for a truck and just this week got a 'offer' from a dealer for "72 mo at 0%" .....further investigation revealed that the price would be $4,000 LESS if I paid cash or got my own financing.

People gotta wake up.....that 0% financing ain't no bargain.