Vehicle shopping "Crazy"

[jb]

Looking to upgrade next spring, from my 17 Explorer, so started my research on the four SUV's I'm interested in.
Lincoln Aviator, GMC Arcadia Denali, Audi Q7, and BMW X5
Audi will not make any advance orders, Audi recently told them they are overwhelmed, well their out !
BMW close to the same, can order, but maybe 6 months to delivery, and they turned out to be the most expensive of the 4
GMC Denali, 3 months out on an order, but our dealership is a big time seller for them so they get a good inventory sent in each month, can wait and see if they get in something close to what I want.
Lincoln, 3-4 months out, but they can promise you want you want.
Don't want to drive the new one through the winter, so I can order after the first of the year and take delivery in the Spring.
No deals, very few incentives, Military, brand loyalty, family & friend, are about the only things going. I told them I've been buying new cars for 55 years and have yet to pay sticker price, they say there's ways around that.
One dealer gave me a nice trade in price and said they can work with me on that when the time comes to order. Another would look at adding Ceramic Coating, ($850 option)
My 17 Explorer has 53K and in excellent condition, they all wanted it as they sell more used cars than new one right now.
I trade them off about every 5 or 6 years while they mileage is still in the 50k to 60k range as this seems to bring in the best trade. Don't like to sell outright as I don't like to put up with the BS if something goes wrong 30 days after sale.
We'll see how serious I get in another 3 months.

[Hombre]

I have a buddy who buys at the auction and trade-ins and he said he use to buy 30 to 40 a week, now maybe 5. I sure like those aviators.

[Thumper]

The used car market is much hotter than the new car market right now due to the chip shortage for new cars. I just traded my 2016 for what I paid for it in 2015! Try buying a motorhome right now. You can pay through the nose for a used one, or order a new one and take delivery a year and a half from now.

[quercus alba]

I don't know how we ever survived with points and plugs or adjusting the fuel mixture with a flat head screwdriver

[Thumper]

My go-to feeler gauge for points adjustment was usually a matchbook cover.

[DeputyDog]

I ordered a new boat the first week of June with a supposed August delivery date. Still have no idea when it will be in. No hurry now, actually hope it’s not til Spring so I do t have to start paying before I can start using it.


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[Chicken Dinner]

Same with furniture. We ordered a new sofa for our living room in March with the idea of redecorating the whole room once it got here and we could see how it fit in with the current stuff and colors. Still nothing on when it will actual sky show up.


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[Hombre]

Bought an F250 in August and it was painful

[BarryBobPosthole]

I’m surprised you can get a date for a new vehicle right now. From what I’m reading that chip shortage is still clogging up the process.

BKB

[Penguin]

This is the kind of shit we used to make fun of the Russians for enduring. Blue jeans? Only on odd numbered years and the limit is three per customer...

What with the Chinese shutting down factories for lack of coal for generating electricity and the Europeans warning of non-existent natural gas supplies? I'm wondering if things really are getting serious.

Can we finally agree that the politicians and economists really don't understand how to feed and clothe a nation? That free trade was always a con job to change the power balance between workers and employers? That you manufacture necessities in country and only trade for luxuries if you wish to remain a free country?

God what a mess...

Will

[BarryBobPosthole]

Next thing you know, Kribbs will be posting pics of hos new Yugo pickup.

BkB

[DeputyDog]

I swear the shelves at the two big grocery stores in my town haven’t been full since this whole Covid shit started. I’m not talking mom and pop stores. One is Wal-Mart and the other is Meijer, which is a big Midwest chain.


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[BarryBobPosthole]

Same here. At least part of the issue has to do with the lack of manpower to offload ships at major port cities. From what I’ve read, it sounds like that process is majorly fubared.

BKB

[DeputyDog]

Where did they all go? It never seemed to be a problem before? Was it all longshoreman and truck drivers that died from Covid? We’ve got some serious issues if the supply chain is that fragile.

I see that they are instituting item limits again at some stores. I’ve got a ration book from WWII that I got from my Dad. Starting to look like they will be making a comeback.


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[BarryBobPosthole]

As far as chips go, I think there were some pauses in manufacturing due to covid and piled on top of that was a big surge in demand for electronic devices during covid. They’ve just never been able to catch up. As far as the container ship situation I’ve seen everything from Covid to labor disputes to the trade wars blamed. It may be a little of each but it sure is bad.
We may have to give up our strawberries in January. The silver lining to what I think is terrible economic news is it may end up driving wages (along with prices) up for a segment of the population that has been behind in wage growth. But that remains to be seen.
BKB

BKB

[DeputyDog]

The only issue with that is unless wages go up more than prices do, no one benefits.

If I make 10K more this year than last, but the stuff I have to buy goes up 12K, then I’m in worse shape.

If my business’ payroll cost goes up then I have to find a way to make it up with revenue or else I won’t be in business very long.


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[Chicken Dinner]

One thing for sure is that our economy, business model, whatever you want to call it will be forever changed due to CV. Whether CV initiated the changes or just accelerated things already in the works remains to be seen.


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[Thumper]

We went to Sam's yesterday to pick up some (fresh) chicken. They had NOTHING but legs! there was a sign apologizing for the shortage, but TBH, I forgot the reason given. We left and went to the grocery store across the street (major chain) and they were very limited. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to what we're short of these days ... if it's not one thing, it's another.

[quercus alba]

looks that doe and two yearlings hanging around my persimmon tree might be if grave danger if this keeps up

[BarryBobPosthole]

Fryers!

BkB

[Chicken Dinner]

https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/29/business/supply-chain-workers/index.html?fbclid=IwAR1ctlvxvtnpXDkYt2nYx6wbTctLkN k-o4ZlNanBbJpc0vPUEEfJuJm3CC8

Topical article from the view of the organizations who represent workers involved in the global supply chains.


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[DeputyDog]

Good article. I’d say it’s similar in the medical profession right now.


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