Any GTAM'ers own an electric vehicle?

[GreyGhost]

Because of all the stock, I'd wager you can get a great deal on one ... find a used one on a Ford lot and offer what you can afford and see what happens. Worst case they say "no".

That's an interesting question. I wonder who is holding the liability on existing stock. I assume Ford eats drops in MSRP on new ones (even the ones unsold at dealers) but the dealer holds the bag on used stock. That may make your strategy pay off as they see the new supply keep building and know at some point ford will have to do something about it.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Dealers still in Covid mode. I bet they say no.

Dealers can go suck donkey balls and let their inventory sit and continue to accrue factory financing costs then.

A reckoning is underway in the RV world right now as well and a lot of those dealers seem to be slow to cluing into what's happening as well.

Both reaped massive profits during Covid and want that gravy train to continue. F em.

 

[GreyGhost]

Dealers can go suck donkey balls and let their inventory sit and continue to accrue factory financing costs then.

A reckoning is underway in the RV world right now as well and a lot of those dealers seem to be slow to cluing into what's happening as well.

Both reaped massive profits during Covid and want that gravy train to continue. F em.

Aside from financing costs, with RV's they are literally rotting in the parking lot. Need to sell them quick before they fall apart.

 

[PrivatePilot]

Aside from financing costs, with RV's they are literally rotting in the parking lot. Need to sell them quick before they fall apart.

True that, literally 100%.

I'll break out my tiny violin for them.

 

[PrivatePilot]

That's an interesting question. I wonder who is holding the liability on existing stock. I assume Ford eats drops in MSRP on new ones (even the ones unsold at dealers) but the dealer holds the bag on used stock

As I understand it when there's a price adjustment it's somehow worked out with dealers with stock that it's retroactive to them as well - financially I'm sure it all works out somehow as otherwise dealers would be reluctant to stock their lots the way they do.

 

[Evoex]

Dealers can go suck donkey balls and let their inventory sit and continue to accrue factory financing costs then.

A reckoning is underway in the RV world right now as well and a lot of those dealers seem to be slow to cluing into what's happening as well.

Both reaped massive profits during Covid and want that gravy train to continue. F em.

I'm very curious to see what happens to the used market, since as you alluded to...dealers made a killing.

Now we have all these older marked up vehicles on lots and people are feeling the financial pinch. If you`re the GM/owner of the a dealership, what are you gonna do?

 

[GreyGhost]

I'm very curious to see what happens to the used market, since as you alluded to...dealers made a killing.

Now we have all these older marked up vehicles on lots and people are feeling the financial pinch. If you`re the GM/owner of the a dealership, what are you gonna do?

You have to keep inventory churning. It doesn't look like covid prices are coming back anytime soon. Fast turns mean the price you paid for the trade can still be a profitable sale. Leave it sitting around and the cut keeps getting deeper.

 

[Evoex]

You have to keep inventory churning. It doesn't look like covid prices are coming back anytime soon. Fast turns mean the price you paid for the trade can still be a profitable sale. Leave it sitting around and the cut keeps getting deeper.

Well here's the problem I see. You just spent how long overpaying people for their used vehicles because demand was through the roof. Now you're selling used vehicles for almost new or higher than MSRP prices (*cough $136k for used 20k mileage C8 Corvettes that had $109k value new). If you drop prices you potentially take a loss on the sale X number of units?

 

[GreyGhost]

Well here's the problem I see. You just spent how long overpaying people for their used vehicles because demand was through the roof. Now you're selling used vehicles for almost new or higher than MSRP prices. If you drop prices you potentially take a loss on the sale X number of units?

Yup. Like some of the short-term owner housing sales we're seeing. At a certain point you need to acknowledge that you overpaid on the front end and unwind your position. It's going to hurt. Do you want the pain now or later? Every month you have the vehicles they are costing you interest, insurance, space, etc and there is nothing on the horizon that will get you MSRP for a used vehicle.

 

[PrivatePilot]

I'm very curious to see what happens to the used market, since as you alluded to...dealers made a killing.

Now we have all these older marked up vehicles on lots and people are feeling the financial pinch. If you`re the GM/owner of the a dealership, what are you gonna do?

In the RV world at least, the results of this are currently happening - people are massive upside down on what they owe vs what their units are worth. RV's depreciate like rocks to begin with vs cars, but since some dealers were jacking MSRP's 30-50+ or more in some cases, they royally hosed people. And banks were gleefully writing financing as fast as the unscrupulous dealers could inflate and push that junk out the door.

The worst part is that by the time a lot of these people finish paying off a lot of these units, many/most will be worth a pittance.

 

[GreyGhost]

In the RV world at least, the results of this are currently happening - people are massive upside down on what they owe vs what their units are worth. RV's depreciate like rocks to begin with vs cars, but since some dealers were jacking MSRP's 30-50+ or more in some cases, they royally hosed people. And banks were gleefully writing financing as fast as the unscrupulous dealers could inflate and push that junk out the door.

The worst part is that by the time a lot of these people finish paying off a lot of these units, many/most will be worth a pittance.

Like housing, expect more RV fires from desperate owners. It may even be towing the financed boat and have the SxS beside it in an stroke of extraordinarily bad luck for the insurance company.

 

[FullMotoJacket]

Like housing, expect more RV fires from desperate owners. It may even be towing the financed boat and have the SxS beside it in an stroke of extraordinarily bad luck for the insurance company.

Some times the 'hail Mary' falls flat. My house had a fire 10 years before I purchased it. Kitchen/living room were redone, new apliances etc. Owner's brother across the street + door down had a 'fire' shortly after. Insurance company sent out investigators, then politely told him he might want to think about withdrawing his claim. Ended up redoing the damage on his dime.

 

[GreyGhost]

Some times the 'hail Mary' falls flat. My house had a fire 10 years before I purchased it. Kitchen/living room were redone, new apliances etc. Owner's brother across the street + door down had a 'fire' shortly after. Insurance company sent out investigators, then politely told him he might want to think about withdrawing his claim. Ended up redoing the damage on his dime.

Can't fix dumb. Glad their stupidity didn't hurt my premiums.

 

[SunnY S]

Dealers still in Covid mode. I bet they say no.

Not really.

Inventory is solid now.

look carefully you will see incentives on the comeback

Never saw that during covid

 

[backmarkerducati]

During COVID dealers were desperate in 2020 to move inventory, no traffic at the dealers and even fewer people were buying. That is when we bought our car, 0% and they asked if we want a bag of money in the trunk or just knock it off the price (deep discounts abound).

Fast forward to 2021 or so and they were desperate FOR inventory. They offered us 10K over what we paid to buy our now used car....no thanks we need a car. I should have bought 10 cars...

 

[Mad Mike]

Like housing, expect more RV fires from desperate owners. It may even be towing the financed boat and have the SxS beside it in an stroke of extraordinarily bad luck for the insurance company.

Think carefully before lighting your toys on fire.

Insurers payout trade-in value at best if you torch your toys. The cheque goes to the finance company. Once the security is gone, the finance company will automatically call the loan. You better have a ready source of CASH to cover the shortfall as it's due on demand. If you're strapped and need some time to get the cash together, that no-money-down and 0.99% 10 year special finance rate likely goes to 29.99%.

 

[GreyGhost]

Think carefully before lighting your toys on fire.

Insurers payout trade-in value at best if you torch your toys. The cheque goes to the finance company. Once the security is gone, the finance company will automatically call the loan. You better have a ready source of CASH to cover the shortfall as it's due on demand. If you're strapped and need some time to get the cash together, that no-money-down and 0.99% 10 year special finance rate likely goes to 29.99%.

I don't borrow for toys so I thankfully am not in that mess. Interesting that they try to pay out trade-in value not retail value. That's a prick move (but probably written in the policy somewhere).

 

[SunnY S]

What’s the general consensus on the Mach-E here?

To me it’s one of the best looking in the bunch.

Looking at state of the Lightning battery after heavy use, I'd say Ford's battery tech is looking promising, esp for a first gen product.

I like to think the Mach should be no different?

2022 Ford F-150 Lightning Owner Drove Almost 100,000 Miles. Battery Health Is 97%

A Ford F-150 Lightning with 91,000 miles on its odometer still has 97 percent battery capacity remaining.

insideevs.com

 

[PrivatePilot]

insurers payout trade-in value at best if you torch your toys

Yep, unless you pay extra for non-depreciated/replacement cost coverage....which most people don't, because they want the cheapest possible insurance they can get instead of insurance that actually covers their butts if there's a loss.
This is why I pay literally an extra hundred dollars a month or so on our monthly 2 cars and 2 bikes insurnace bill - I have all of our accident benefits and coverages cranked to the max. All that same stuff that we used to get that the government removed a number of years ago to "save consumers money" (Which it didn't really do) are now available again as an upcharge item, which sure seems to me to be way more than any "savings" we ever received from them being removed to begin with.

Anyhoo......another government boondoggle from 2016 that's still just costing us money instead of saving us anything.

And everyone might want to read up on the latest "cost savings" scheme the government allowed to come into effect this January 1st which may actualy hose you rather than save you money. This one seems to have snuck past most peoples radars.

 

[Priller]

Anyone here with a RWD EV? Looking at some of the options, it's RWD or AWD. I've always avoided RWD as a four-season vehicle, but maybe it's less of a factor with the more even weight distribution in an EV? It's definitely a preference in dry/warm conditions, but I've spent enough time in RWD vehicles in the winter (pickups and a Dodge Charger rental) to know it's not worth the trade-off when grip is limited...

Focus on the product, disregard who runs it. Trust your GM instincts

Currently, the Tesla is simply the best EV on the market for the masses today,

No thanks. It could make me breakfast and give my dog a bath and I still wouldn't buy one. Where I direct what little discretionary spending I have left is the last scrap of power available to a peon in our increasingly hyper-capitalist and anti-democratic world, and I'm definitely not giving a penny of that to a blowhard egomaniac. I prefer my evils old-school and banal, not bloated grandstanding oligarchs confusing their revolting wealth with broader intellectual capacity.

Buy the EVSE yourself. If you're a data junkie like me, buy a connected one like a Chargepoint. Otherwise there are lots of options out there. Sounds like the actual connection should be reasonably simple honestly so if it were me I'd get a few quotes and not go with just the first one you get.

I have a couple sparky neighbours, so would get them to do the install. I assume the car itself can handle most of the details around utilising ULO rates, but it would be good to have a way to double check.

We had a Hyundia EV and it was a great car. And they've got better since - they'd be top of the list for me honestly for our next EV, I really love the Ioniq5 for example.

Good to hear. The Kona is definitely the front runner at the moment in terms of value and useful size, even if the hippo-meets-Geordi LaForge look definitely isn't my preference. At least the cabin is okay...

Most manufacturers are a nightmare when it comes to minor ev battery damage. Nobody wants to assume the liability so they all trigger replacement of an expensive component for a hit that would be ignored on an ice vehicle. On the other hand, MP's moms ICE car also got written off for a minor collision so maybe all cars are becoming disposable.

Crumple zones are a manufacturer's dream, that's for sure. Still, the above case involved the drivers running over something relatively small in the road (one was a bit of exhaust pipe), and what appeared to be minor dings in the underbody resulted in a total write-off. More concerning was Hyundai seeming to be unclear about their own parts costs and obfuscating at every opportunity.