What happens to unsold new cars at the end of the model's year?

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by acercode

I just saw 2014s being advertised.

I would be curious who still has new 2014s still in stock, and what make/model? That's going to be a very rare circumstance.


Most 2014 models were sold out over a year ago. Are you sure they are new? Some dealers in my area are notorious for buying rental returns in bulk at auction, and advertising the daylights out of them. They may be current or prior model year, but they aren't brand new.

[acercode]

Originally Posted by ged_782

I would be curious who still has new 2014s still in stock, and what make/model? That's going to be a very rare circumstance.


Most 2014 models were sold out over a year ago. Are you sure they are new? Some dealers in my area are notorious for buying rental returns in bulk at auction, and advertising the daylights out of them. They may be current or prior model year, but they aren't brand new.

[ged_782]

Originally Posted by ged_782

I would be curious who still has new 2014s still in stock, and what make/model? That's going to be a very rare circumstance.


Most 2014 models were sold out over a year ago. Are you sure they are new? Some dealers in my area are notorious for buying rental returns in bulk at auction, and advertising the daylights out of them. They may be current or prior model year, but they aren't brand new.

As I posted, that's going to be a rare circumstance. In this case it is only two 2014 Insights, a discontinued model that didn't sell well (4,802 us sales for the 2013 model year). Are there any more new 2014s in your area for sale other than just hose two Insights?


I just did a quick online inventory search of all the Honda dealers in my area. Only one new 2014 model comes up, a single CRV with 11,385 miles on it (but somehow, this is "new"?). No price posted, as most local dealers will not provide anything other than MSRP, unless it is in-person.

[robr2]

Originally Posted by ged_782

I've noticed a trend in the last 12-15 years or so, and that is that the new vehicle inventory tends to churn pretty quickly at most dealers. Aside from some of the slow-selling models, most appear to sell within 2-3 months of receipt from the manufacturer. That's also good business practice for the dealers, as they don't have to pay a lot of interest on unsold inventory, and the manufacturers don't have to pay as much in incentives to move leftover stock. Most 2015 model year vehicles stopped rolling off the assembly lines last July or August, so you would be talking about something sitting in inventory at least 4 months, or longer.


I recall another thread here recently, where a poster was looking for a bare-bones rock-bottom price pickup truck, and another poster boasted of having just purchased a brand-new stripper 2014 model year F150 regular cab work truck, for thousands below invoice. But few dealers are going to have such previous year "one-only" vehicles that late in the game. That particular truck sounded like one of the "bait-and-switch" vehicles that some dealers like to advertise as a "loss-leader", knowing that very few retail customers are going to want a bare-bones vehicle like that.

Dealers do a very good job of ensuring their inventory turns. After 120 days or so, the floor plan costs exceed the holdback and then it does start to cost them money to keep the car.

As for that bare bones stripper model, the dealer was probably forced to take that truck in order to get more King Ranch or Platinum trucks that sell much faster. Often those leftovers are bought by the dealership themselves in order to collect any rebates that may be expiring. That in turn allows them to discount those leftover cars below invoice. In that case the vehicle is "used" as it's been titled in the dealer's name.