Car Dealership help.

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JFM92_GTRacer

JFM92_GTRacer

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I just wanna know what happens to the new "old" cars that stay at the Dealership. Like for example, a dealership gets a new batch of cars for the new year but over time (lets say about 2 years) half of the cars were sold and half are still left. What do they do with the cars they have left that was never sold over that period of time? Do they just throw it away? Or are they sold cheaper so they can get rid of them?

I'd like to know because in two years I'll get my car for college and all. My price range that my parents gave me was up to $25K-ish and I'm looking for older versions of the 350z and Evo RS in the future but I highly doubt it'll be around by then. I also would like to know how to find a good condition used car. I don't know what to look for such as (Mileage and previous owners).

Obviously I need help :lol:
 
Most dealers who can't move product have two options:

- Discounts, discounts, discounts, more discounts, and maybe one more discount.
- Send them back to the source, where occasionally they will be updated and re-tagged as a newer model. Ford did that with Mustangs in the past, but I'm not completely sure if it still happens today...

If I were you, I would attempt to stay away from a used car dealer when in search of a used car. While there are good options for doing so such as the "Factory Approved" whatever used models (BTW: Keep an eye out for those if you do go to a dealer, they are going to be the best you can get), person to person is going to get you the same car for less money. The good thing about person to person is that you can talk to the previous owner about how the car drives, if it has any quirks, etc.

The last car I bought, a 1996 Jetta Wolfsburg was bought at a used VW/Audi lot. It was an independant lot, which is a good thing, and given the guy only sells VWs and Audis, he knows what he is talking about with the cars there. He grave me a great deal on the car, and I can't complain about that.
 
Thanks for the quick help man. I'm not sure about person to person but I'll keep that in mind. Also about the discount thing, do you think a late 03 model of any car would go for sale today as new? The thing I'm doing right now is going through a bunch of dealership websites to see what they got right now and all I see is 06 models :(
 
I'm sure a lot of them get sent back to auto auction lots, that's a very underrated way of getting a car, you should take a look. I know people who've saved thousdands through these places.
 
Dealership websites may not be best. It could give the impression that the dealership can't sell off cars very well if they shown new cars from previous years. Have you tried going to your local dealerships?

I can't really comment on how Plano does it. Usually, when our dealers want to get rid of cars, we discount them, and sell them of on deals with customers. But being Plano is more home to the "higher-up" manufacturers, they aren't generally too worried. The ones like Toyota, Dodge, and small GM dealership (conviently placed 6ft from Ewing Mercedes....) just offer deals. I've never seen them re-ship the cars back to the factory. But as said, Plano just usually gets them off the lots as fast as they can with deals.

I also have a feeling these cars are the ones that people don't want because of the options and features. Say ugly color, no options you want, etc. etc.

I just suggest asking your local dealers what new cars they have from previous model years and what the policy is on them if they aren't sold.
 
YSSMAN
The good thing about person to person is that you can talk to the previous owner about how the car drives, if it has any quirks, etc.
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They can also lie or ignore any quirks it has, too.

Really, used cars and dealers are a mixed lot. Some factory dealers are shysters; some independent dealers are great, straight-up guys. Same goes for individual owners. You really need to talk to the people and hopefully get references from others who have done business there.

I bought my used 325 from a BMW dealer. It was Certified Pre Owned (CPO) meaning it has some additional levels of warranty protection (though not a comprehensive additional warranty). The other thing is, at least in NJ where I bought the car, there were a bunch of legally-required disclosure documents they had to give me. This is how I found out that they had repainted the back bumper, when a private seller could easily have just relied on me not noticing (I probably wouldn't have).

Unsold, out-of-date cars are called leftovers. They usually sit on the back lot, sometimes for a couple years. I know in 1999 I was very tempted to buy one of several brand new, 1997 Neon ACRs that a local dealer had on his back lot. As late as last fall I saw a big PA Acura dealer advertising new 2004 TSXs, which had to have been on his lot for a year.

These cars can be a great bargain, since the dealership has capital tied up in them. They're often getting big holdbacks from the manufacturer, too, who don't want their old stock clogging up lots that are trying to sell new models.

I do most of my looking on www.autotrader.com - if you specifiy "used and new" and give a few years' range, you'll find lots of new leftovers.
 
I've never got to talking with dealerships right now because it's way too early from the time I get my car which is 2 years from now. Plus that actually does make sense about the website thing where they don't want to show they have cars they didnt sell yet.

Also the car auction thing sounds pretty good. I dont know where they hold them out here near San Francisco or if I can get my parents to go to one.
 
exigeracer
I'm sure a lot of them get sent back to auto auction lots, that's a very underrated way of getting a car, you should take a look. I know people who've saved thousdands through these places.
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Be careful with auto auctions. Many cars are police seizures. I'm not sure I'd want to buy a criminal's car. Who knows when he'll get out of jail and want his car back, or if his enemies are still looking for him (if they see his car, they might get the wrong idea) :scared: In one auction lot near my high school, there was once a primer gray Lamborghini Diablo. Money says that car was not used to deliver ice cream to school children.
 
That's true though, ain't most car auctions selling cars that got "re-po'd".

Back on topic...
Leftovers is exactly the right term for what I'm looking for. I'll get researching on that.
 
kylehnat
Be careful with auto auctions. Many cars are police seizures. I'm not sure I'd want to buy a criminal's car. Who knows when he'll get out of jail and want his car back, or if his enemies are still looking for him (if they see his car, they might get the wrong idea) :scared: In one auction lot near my high school, there was once a primer gray Lamborghini Diablo. Money says that car was not used to deliver ice cream to school children.
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You've seen too many episodes of The Simpsons. I know of at least 3 car auctions in my area, each have thousands of cars. I can guarantee you those aren't all police seizures. I'd think that they have their own auctions, along with impound lots etc.
 
I don't remember the town, but a fellow neighbor had taken his '98 GS300 to a place somewhere out in Texas to get rid of it (lease was up). He said most of the cars out there were lease cars the dealers had shipped out there because no one wanted them.
 
In fact, the vast majority of auction cars are dealer trade-ins that are too old or odd for the dealer to flip easily. Most new-car dealers don't want used stuff more than a few years old on their lot; they also don't want anything weird or uncommon. So anything that is unlikely to move in a month or two gets wholesaled out at auction.

That's where most used-car dealers get their inventory.
 
Sakiale
I think police impound cars have their own auctions. Theyre real cheap, but I still wouldnt want one.
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Actually it is a good way to find pretty nice cars for pretty decent prices. Most of the Michigan police departments around here are funded pretty well, so the cars are well maintained, and are often dumped off with well below 100K miles on the clock.

I was tempted to buy a 9C1 a few years back, and the same can be said of a P71 even a few months ago. They are great cars that run well on the highway, and quite frankly handle quite well...
 
YSSMAN
I was tempted to buy a 9C1 a few years back, and the same can be said of a P71 even a few months ago. They are great cars that run well on the highway, and quite frankly handle quite well...
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Compared to what, a ferry? They're Crown Vics with more weight.
 
And far better suspension and tires (well, tires depends on the engine. The supercharged ones around here have low profile rubber). You'd be surprised with how well they handle considering they weigh two tons.
 
I wasn't aware they got better suspension. The tires are good, but the police force replaces millions of dollars worth of rubber a year, so that point (as far as personal ownership) applies to all cars.
 
Duke
In fact, the vast majority of auction cars are dealer trade-ins that are too old or odd for the dealer to flip easily. Most new-car dealers don't want used stuff more than a few years old on their lot; they also don't want anything weird or uncommon. So anything that is unlikely to move in a month or two gets wholesaled out at auction.
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That's pretty much what happens at my dealership; we only sell new Lexuses, certified pre-owned cars (any make and model, as long as there's current market interest in them), and a few "Value" cars that meet maybe 95% of the criteria of a CPO car (clean, no accidents, but it's too old, or has too many miles, or a few too many silly warranty claims).

The remainder of the cars get stuck in the back lot, we call them "wholesale" cars. They go to auction, or if someone working for the dealership wants it, they sell 'em to us dirt cheap (how I got my GS), but in as-is condition after a basic safety check.

Any car over 10 years old, a rotory-powered car, anything riced-out, or too exotic (we've had Ferraris, Aston Martins, Rolls-Royces, etc. that have been traded in...we can't sell a "used car" that more expensive than the new cars) is brokered to aother dealers or wholesaled to be sold at auction to other independent dealers.
 
Honda, Ford, and Nissan (since I worked at these dealerships) just discount them as much as it takes until they are sold. Most of the previous models that have been there more than 3-6 months after the next year model has come out usually has more than 1200 miles which qualifies it as a "Demo" in most of the dealerships that I'd seen. I think it's a great way to save a whole hell of alot of money. If you wait until after the next year model comes out you could get a great deal. Especially if it's an American car...they seem to discount them the most. I once saw a fully loaded 2005 Focus ST go for $18k when the 06's were out already for a few months. The normal sticker was around $23k. That's a hell of a discount...**** that's below invoice!
 
We got our 2004 TSX just before the 2005s were due to ship. It had ~300 miles on it and we effectively got free satnav and a dealer-added option package on it.
 
Do sellers want the customer to visit the back lot in the dealership? Or do is that their last option if the customer isn't satisfied with any of the new cars? Because that's exactly where I'm going when I get my car.
 

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