Not a good time to buy a car

[NoTrespassing]

Well, it's been almost 10 months since we bought the 2019 Ford Edge ST. It's a very nice vehicle and it's awesome in the snow, even with the low-profile summer tires. I was quite surprised how sure footed it was on slick roads and how well it went up our steep hill. It's much better than my old 93 full sized Bronco was on our hill, and I'd say it's got better traction than my wife's old awd Honda Crosstour had. We did overpay (cash) for it but a few thousand dollars gets less painful every year you own it. It's very nice looking, fast, and fun to drive. The stereo is premium and it's got every option I could dream up and some I didn't know existed. My wife really likes it and that's the most important thing I guess. Next fall we will put some winter rated tires on it and it will be a beast in the snow.

 

[fruitcakesa]

My mother has been leasing a 2019 Buick Encore and when the lease was up we decided to buy it and were pleasantly surprised to find the buyout price was below average "blue book". It has low miles [29k] and was dealer serviced for the lease period.
Should last her the rest of her life.

 

[Tomtint]

Local dealers here ( ford/chevy) have inventory on the lots. Their parking lots are filling up again. Not to the levels of pre covid..But there's definitely options.

 

[Oaktree]

Local dealers here ( ford/chevy) have inventory on the lots. Their parking lots are filling up again. Not to the levels of pre covid..But there's definitely options.

Dodge/Ram too. Mostly full size trucks, not much else.

 

[Gem99ultra]

My wife’s 2006 SUV blew its tranny in Dec so we went shopping for a 2022 Chevy Silverado in Jan. Most dealers were several thousand over MSRP. But our local dealer that we have bought all our cars from since 1991 was $2000 under MSRP. He said it was about building relationships, not making a quick buck. Glad I have been a loyal customer for all these years. Still waiting for the truck to arrive, was told it started being built last week.

Hurray to your dealer! He's that 1 in a mil. I'd make it a point to buy every car I ever needed from that guy. He's the kind of dealer (and good man too) that I've been looking for for a lot of years, with no luck.

 

[RustyA]

Well, it's been almost 10 months since we bought the 2019 Ford Edge ST. It's a very nice vehicle and it's awesome in the snow, even with the low-profile summer tires. I was quite surprised how sure footed it was on slick roads and how well it went up our steep hill. It's much better than my old 93 full sized Bronco was on our hill, and I'd say it's got better traction than my wife's old awd Honda Crosstour had. We did overpay (cash) for it but a few thousand dollars gets less painful every year you own it. It's very nice looking, fast, and fun to drive. The stereo is premium and it's got every option I could dream up and some I didn't know existed. My wife really likes it and that's the most important thing I guess. Next fall we will put some winter rated tires on it and it will be a beast in the snow.

When it's time for tires see if Goodyear offers their winteready tires in your size. They are a winter rated tire you can leave on all year. Not cheap but great in snow and no fall/spring tire swap.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I was thinking about these @ $400 per tire:

CROSSCLIMATE2 - SIZE: 265/40R21​

Grand Touring All-Season

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=CrossClimate2&partnum=64VR1CC2XL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Ford&autoYear=2019&autoModel=Edge%20ST%20AWD&autoModClar=Standard%20Brakes

 

[Tomtint]

My wife’s 2006 SUV blew its tranny in Dec so we went shopping for a 2022 Chevy Silverado in Jan. Most dealers were several thousand over MSRP. But our local dealer that we have bought all our cars from since 1991 was $2000 under MSRP. He said it was about building relationships, not making a quick buck. Glad I have been a loyal customer for all these years. Still waiting for the truck to arrive, was told it started being built last week.

That's nice to hear that you have a dealer who wasn't a ***** during the last few months of "irrational exuberance " in the frothy auto market.
For close to 20 years I have been a loyal customer to a Ford dealer.. probably bought 15+\~ vehicles from them in those years and inevitably gave them front line ready High quality trades in that time. The past 18-24 months we bought 3 vehicles.. went to them first to buy out a lease that was ending.. they tried to stick us for an extra 4K over the residual ..citing "market value" ..I politely them no and the process was done with a friend who is a used car dealer. Then we were buying a 90k+ sticker price F450.. I get it, they are somewhat hard to find, I was willing to pay him sticker for it..they said they needed 20k over... I then not so politely told them to F off. Last straw was another lease they tried to bend me over on when we were trying to buy it out. They wanted 4500 plus their 699.00 "doc" fee over the original residual that was on the lease contract. ..That was the final straw and they have lost a customer, My advice is to remember who these dealers were that were ****** during this time, it's going to change.. don't reward their bad behavior with your hard earned dollars.

 

[CloverKnollFarms]

This year will be different. Dealers of all vehicles will be brought back to reality

 

[Oaktree]

Last straw was another lease they tried to bend me over on when we were trying to buy it out. They wanted 4500 plus their 699.00 "doc" fee over the original residual that was on the lease contract. ..That was the final straw and they have lost a customer, My advice is to remember who these dealers were that were ****** during this time, it's going to change.. don't reward their bad behavior with your hard earned dollars.

Those doc fees stick in my craw too. Didn't realize that those had gone sky high recently. Dunno about your state, but in mine the title application is done thru the DMV, total ripoff for them to charge that much money just to type up the application...might take them all of 5 minutes to do. Last 2 vehicles I bought were in a neighboring state where they didn't even have my state's forms, tried to charge me anyway. Told them it was a deal killer if they didn't drop those fees. This was pre-covid, and it was still a buyers market so they folded. I would have walked if they didn't.

This year will be different. Dealers of all vehicles will be brought back to reality

We can only hope. Dealers are slimy enough in the best of times, the last couple years have brought out the worst. Used car lots are even worse.
Unfortunately, the game is rigged, and if the manufacturers intentionally keep the supply low customers don't have a lot of choice.