Car dealers hit sales dead end

we are truly in a reccession,lets face it

the uaw are part of the problem.
AMERICA'S UNION, DESTROYING INDUSTRY ONE COMPANY AT A TIME.

All those years screwing people has finally caught up with them. LOL

Funny that Carmax was not mentioned in this article when they are part of the problem (at least in the Baltimore Metro area).

In my opinion Carmax is part of the solution. All of the prices are clearly marked on the cars and there are no dealer games played. I just bought a Nissan from Carmax in January. Originally was going to purchase a Ford but the dealer started his crap within minutes of me going into the showroom, they are inbreds and just wont learn how people want to be treated.

This started back in the so called gas crisis of the early seventies when foreign cars were already exceding EPA gas milage standards. Remember the bumper Stickers, "Buy a foreign car, put 10 americans out of work?" Of course american cars weren't coming anywhere near meeting EPA gas milage standards. Fast foward fourty years and the story remains the same. As long asour government,american car manufacturers and the oil companies wave the american flag and the public follows them like lemmings, nothing is going to change.
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I completely agree with MrEd. I just purchased a Mercedes from carmax(4500 below kelly blue book) and sold them my old one. As my wife and I left we both looked at each other and said "that was a pleasant experience"--how many times can you say that when you leave the other dealerships. Carmax knows how to treat customers with respect and until the other dealerships learn how to do the same they will continue to disappear. By the way I was in and out in 1hour and fifteen minutes and I have already sent 2 employees to carmax to shop for a car--I have never referred someone to a car dealer before in my life. Go get 'em Carmax! By the way the sales associate reek of cheap cologne either like the other cheeseballs!!!

I meant to say the sales associate Did Not Reek of cheap cologne.

GREAT, I love it! They are all thieves! I hate car dealers. They deserve it!

Hey Mr Ed, Know it or not, CarMax screwed you too! The "no haggle" pricing is just another trick of the trade! All of a sudden now we are to trust a car dealer to price a car fairly????? COME ON, HOW STUPID ARE YOU???? I took several cars to CarMax to be "appraised" they LOW BALL everyone! Then wanted their BOGUS fee on top of it, if I sold it to them!

I have another question! What is a "customer list" and what is it worth? I am not a loyal customer of any dealership when it comes to buying a car! I hate them all equally! Whoever i feel the least violated from (and you know what i mean) gets my business!!

Car buying has definitely become a upper class luxury now that we are heading into a recession. It is no one's fault that we are in a recession... This is the way the business cycle works. Didn't economics class teach you guys anything?

MOM to the rescue with his 6 percent tax increase. YUP! That will help sell cars.

I'm sorry to see people go out of business, but we have way too many car dealers. I always wondered how they all could survive. They're an eyesore to me (at least here in Montg. Cty, where they line Route 355). I don't like dealing with them and playing their games either.

Two points:

1. It's amusing to hear the Ford dealer say they "lost sight of the market" for smaller, more efficent cars. They lost sight of that market (and me) thirty years ago!!

2. I bought my last car (a 2001 Toyota Echo) on the Internet. It was a no-haggle deal, but, contrary to the cited Carmax experience, my subsequent research (in Consumer Reports) indicated that the price I paid was very competitive! It can happen (but it takes diligence)!

I LOVE IT wrote:

Hey Mr Ed, Know it or not, CarMax screwed you too! The "no haggle" pricing is just another trick of the trade! All of a sudden now we are to trust a car dealer to price a car fairly????? COME ON, HOW STUPID ARE YOU???? I took several cars to CarMax to be "appraised" they LOW BALL everyone! Then wanted their BOGUS fee on top of it, if I sold it to them!

absolutely correct! They lowball offers and thos ewindow no haggle prices are 5% higher than anything you'd negotiate.

John F Kestler wrote:

This started back in the so called gas crisis of the early seventies when foreign cars were already exceding EPA gas milage standards. Remember the bumper Stickers, "Buy a foreign car, put 10 americans out of work?" Of course american cars weren't coming anywhere near meeting EPA gas milage standards. Fast foward fourty years and the story remains the same. As long asour government,american car manufacturers and the oil companies wave the american flag and the public follows them like lemmings, nothing is going to change.
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you are absolutely correct. any time a board of directors and politicians get together things will stay screwed up.while i won't give the uaw a pass, they are not the reason buyers started going for more reliable and fuel efficiant japanese vehicles.pore design and materials throughout american cars since the seventies brought this on. i never heard of one dealer or group of salesman scream about the lack of quality in their products.i have worked on american vehicles for many years and the engineering and lack of quality materials is embarrasing.

Just like the Ford representative mentioned--it's largely the automotive industry's fault for not paying attention to market demands and being slow to react. Nobody wants to buy ugly, defective, gas guzzlers.

To the guy that got a great deal at Carmax: you can find the best deals online. And get more for your car selling outright. The Carmax route is easier though and that's why it's appealing.

To anyone that needs a car: NOW is the time to buy, anywhere! Now accepting low-ball offers at a dealership near you. If they say no, they're lying.

American cars are not made as well as similar Jap designs nor do the companies try to get market share by accepting lower profits for a few years to exstablish a new, better car. Add health care is paid by the American company but not Jap company and the final result is American car companies are history - the uaw has near zero impact on any of these factors.

UAW 1 wrote:

HEY consertative
you must be a jap lover

i expect value for my money. how many american made televisions are in your house?

$30 an hour to bolt on bumpers is the reason that GM cannot compete. and the cars they make are junk.. i love my 2 hondas.