Edmunds Members - Cars and Conversations (Archived)

driver100

Drive by certain new-car dealerships, and you might think that they just wrapped up a “going out of business” sale. Strong demand combined with unprecedented microchip shortages has made new cars quite tricky to find.

According to Cox Automotive data, a few automakers still have above-average inventory, and some of the most popular SUV and pickup models are still relatively easy to find. The auto industry uses a term called “days’ supply” to measure the theoretical amount of time it would take dealers to be entirely depleted of certain models if factories cut off shipments entirely. Currently, the national average is at about 25 days, less than half of what industry analysts have traditionally considered a healthy supply of new vehicles and a steep decline from just a few months ago.

The 10 brands with the highest days’ supply include:

Alfa Romeo
Fiat
Infiniti
Genesis
Volvo
Ram
Buick
Cadillac
Dodge
Chrysler
Among the most 30 popular car models, 10 boast inventories at or above the national average. From highest to lowest days’ supply, regardless of model year:

Ram 1500
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Chevrolet Equinox
Ford Escape
Honda Pilot
Ford F-150
Hyundai Elantra
Subaru Outback
Ford Explorer
Nissan Rogue

roadburner

A while back we had some friends over for a dinner party, and I put together a playlist for the get together- in no particular order the artists were:
Blur
Nena
Gin Blossoms,
Merle Haggard
Lit
Everclear
Glen Campbell
Warren Zevon
Social Distortion
Weezer
Kenny Chesney
Ramones
Brad Paisley
AC/DC
Buddy Holly
The Records
The Highwaymen
Green Day
Eric Church
Frank Sinatra
The Dollyrots
Material Issue(of course)
Berlin
R.E.M.
Jason and the Scorchers
Poison
Blondie
The Rip Chords
Liz Phair
The Rubbers City Rebels
Sam & Dave
Jethro Tull
Sponge
The Cure
Third Eye Blind
The Jesus and Mary Chain
- plus a few more

My bride didn’t think it was anywhere near as brilliant as my son and I did...

henryn

oldfarmer50 said:

isellhondas said:

oldfarmer50 said:

isellhondas said:

So, where has everybody gone! Who is still here and what, exactly is going on?

I don’t see any cars listed on your tag line. Care to update us with stories of car purchases?

Oh my car buying stories are pretty boring now. For the first time in many years we are down to two cars. Both sit in the garage most of the time.

2016 Honda CRV EXL. Bought new has 17,000 miles.
2020 Honda CRV EX. Also bought new. Has a whopping 3800 miles on it.

No old beaters or collector cars now. Got burned badly with unexpected repair bills on the pristine 2017 Lexus ES that I bought from the original owner. With labor rates at 150.00 hr. Even a relatively "minor" repair is 1000.00 or more. Nobody " repairs" things anymore. Just replace at huge expense. Traded it in on the 2020 CRV. At this point my old high volume store has almost ZERO inventory. Never thought I would EVER see a market like this! Used cars are through roof now too!

I was driving past a big multi line foreign dealer today. Everything from Honda to BMW to Mercedes and more. They had recently bought the property next door and paved it to hold inventory. Maybe 1000 feet or more of road frontage.

Today there were probably less than 20 cars parked there.

------------end quoted material---------------------

To the best of my knowledge, the biggest used car lot in the greater Houston area is the CarMax location on the Southwest Freeway. I happened to drive by there last week and took a gander from the freeway. Their lot looked brimful. Which is surprising.

The really big Ford dealer just down the road from me, who usually has 150 to 200 new Ford trucks on hand, presently has less than 10. And they have zero used pickup trucks.

I wonder if Carmax has any used pickup trucks? The last time I was at Carmax, which was before the present madness, they had beaucoup cars (sedans, etc), but a lot fewer SUVs and almost no pickup trucks. Which is not a good idea here in Texas. And I think I mentioned, when I sold my Town and Country to Carvana in May of 2021 they had a zillion cars, very few SUVs, and no pickup trucks.

snakeweasel

@tjc78 said:

@snakeweasel said:

@ab348 said:
I seldom carry cash these days unless I am going to my barber or a handful of other places that only take cash. Aside from reducing exposure to losing it somehow, I feel less guilty when coming across the ever-present panhandlers at traffic lights and parking lots, which is a problem nobody here seems willing to deal with.

I like to have some cash on me especially in the summer. I get an insane number of holidays a year (13) and I get a week of vacation more than. my wife does. This leaves me with many more days off than my wife and a couple of them I just get out to the country to enjoy a day trip and I really don't want to explain to my wife why I was all over northern illinois

I worked with a guy who used cash for any purchase that didn’t involve his wife. He stated the same reason as you

Well it's like the one time I went to Galena and I was only there for like a 15 minute break I was out for the ride not the destination. But my wife would be upset that I didn't take here to Galena.

Plus a lot of places I end up take cash only.

oldfarmer50

snakeweasel said:

@oldfarmer50 said:

So it’s not just the CIA tracking you.

Hey I called the Cullinary Institute of America and they assured me that they are not tracking me.

Speaking of government agencies tracking me, I finished my taxes over the weekend, I owe the feds $200 and the state $50. That’s my sweet spot between not giving them a free loan and not triggering any underpayment penalties.

oldfarmer50

driver100 said:

Drive by certain new-car dealerships, and you might think that they just wrapped up a “going out of business” sale. Strong demand combined with unprecedented microchip shortages has made new cars quite tricky to find.

According to Cox Automotive data, a few automakers still have above-average inventory, and some of the most popular SUV and pickup models are still relatively easy to find. The auto industry uses a term called “days’ supply” to measure the theoretical amount of time it would take dealers to be entirely depleted of certain models if factories cut off shipments entirely. Currently, the national average is at about 25 days, less than half of what industry analysts have traditionally considered a healthy supply of new vehicles and a steep decline from just a few months ago.

The 10 brands with the highest days’ supply include:

Alfa Romeo
Fiat
Infiniti
Genesis
Volvo
Ram
Buick
Cadillac
Dodge
Chrysler
Among the most 30 popular car models, 10 boast inventories at or above the national average. From highest to lowest days’ supply, regardless of model year:

Ram 1500
Jeep Grand Cherokee
Chevrolet Equinox
Ford Escape
Honda Pilot
Ford F-150
Hyundai Elantra
Subaru Outback
Ford Explorer
Nissan Rogue

Interesting, that list pretty much mirrors what we are getting delivered at work except for Honda and Subaru which we have to buy used right off dealer lots.

oldfarmer50

henryn said:

oldfarmer50 said:

isellhondas said:

oldfarmer50 said:

isellhondas said:

So, where has everybody gone! Who is still here and what, exactly is going on?

I don’t see any cars listed on your tag line. Care to update us with stories of car purchases?

Oh my car buying stories are pretty boring now. For the first time in many years we are down to two cars. Both sit in the garage most of the time.

2016 Honda CRV EXL. Bought new has 17,000 miles.
2020 Honda CRV EX. Also bought new. Has a whopping 3800 miles on it.

No old beaters or collector cars now. Got burned badly with unexpected repair bills on the pristine 2017 Lexus ES that I bought from the original owner. With labor rates at 150.00 hr. Even a relatively "minor" repair is 1000.00 or more. Nobody " repairs" things anymore. Just replace at huge expense. Traded it in on the 2020 CRV. At this point my old high volume store has almost ZERO inventory. Never thought I would EVER see a market like this! Used cars are through roof now too!

I was driving past a big multi line foreign dealer today. Everything from Honda to BMW to Mercedes and more. They had recently bought the property next door and paved it to hold inventory. Maybe 1000 feet or more of road frontage.

Today there were probably less than 20 cars parked there.

------------end quoted material---------------------

To the best of my knowledge, the biggest used car lot in the greater Houston area is the CarMax location on the Southwest Freeway. I happened to drive by there last week and took a gander from the freeway. Their lot looked brimful. Which is surprising.

The really big Ford dealer just down the road from me, who usually has 150 to 200 new Ford trucks on hand, presently has less than 10. And they have zero used pickup trucks.

I wonder if Carmax has any used pickup trucks? The last time I was at Carmax, which was before the present madness, they had beaucoup cars (sedans, etc), but a lot fewer SUVs and almost no pickup trucks. Which is not a good idea here in Texas. And I think I mentioned, when I sold my Town and Country to Carvana in May of 2021 they had a zillion cars, very few SUVs, and no pickup trucks.

CarMax near me looks pretty full too although I see some empty spaces.

benjaminh

Our clothes dryer that was about a dozen years old died. Got a Lowe's credit card to get a discount on a new Maytag. Problem is, since our last washer and dryer were put in we now have a new and larger water heater. It's a challenge to get the old machine out and the new one in without getting a plumber to move that. And so our plan is to take apart the old dryer to get it out, and do the same with the new one to get it in. In any case, our CR-V worked well for picking up the new dryer, which to my surprise is built in the US. We got a mid-level model Maytag that had an original list of about $700, but with the sale and credit-card discount that went down to under $500.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

@tjc78 said:

@snakeweasel said:

@ab348 said:

I seldom carry cash these days unless I am going to my barber or a handful of other places that only take cash. Aside from reducing exposure to losing it somehow, I feel less guilty when coming across the ever-present panhandlers at traffic lights and parking lots, which is a problem nobody here seems willing to deal with.

I like to have some cash on me especially in the summer. I get an insane number of holidays a year (13) and I get a week of vacation more than. my wife does. This leaves me with many more days off than my wife and a couple of them I just get out to the country to enjoy a day trip and I really don't want to explain to my wife why I was all over northern illinois

I worked with a guy who used cash for any purchase that didn’t involve his wife. He stated the same reason as you

Well it's like the one time I went to Galena and I was only there for like a 15 minute break I was out for the ride not the destination. But my wife would be upset that I didn't take here to Galena.

Plus a lot of places I end up take cash only.

I won't ask what kind of places you are going to......that take cash only

jmonroe1

@driver100 said:
I won't ask what kind of places you are going to......that take cash only

But I will.

I use my credit card for just about everything and if possible I avoid “cash only” places. They are saving the credit card fee but that isn’t reflected in their prices as far as I can see. So they are double dipping. Nice work if you can get it.

jmonroe

henryn

I have seen a few places that don't take cash, or only take an exact payment in cash (no change). They explain this is because of a coin shortage. I was in the lobby of a Chase bank recently, which happens very infrequently these days. I noticed a sign saying that rolled coins were not available. I asked the bank teller if they were equipped to handle loose coins, and they're not. I used to know where there was a machine that took loose coins, but that store has since closed and I have no idea where to take loose coins.

I have quite a bit of change stockpiled around here, it's not accumulating the way it used to, but there's still several containers full of pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. And they will never be rolled up, at least not by me. Which I suppose is why we have a coin shortage.

A quick internet search lead me to "Coinstar", they are the makers of the machines. And if you can find one, not easy, they are now charging 11.9%. Which is pretty d_____ high, if you ask me.

A little more searching online, and I found a location not too far away that has a Coinstar machine that will accept coins in exchange for an Amazon gift card with no fee. This might work.

explorerx4

They have a coin machine at the grocery store. I noted as I walked you can use it to buy Bitcoin!

snakeweasel

@driver100 said:
I won't ask what kind of places you are going to......that take cash only

Small restaurants and bars in the middle of farmland or in small towns on the middle off farmland.

driver100

We haven't had pennies in Canada since 2013. The Royal Canadian Mint stopped producing and distributing pennies in Canada due to rising costs relative to face value and the significant handling costs of the penny for retailers, financial institutions and the economy in general.

They could pretty well eliminate nickels and dimes too for all the good they do.......anything under a quarter weighs more than it is worth to carry around.

I basically don't bother carrying change with me....I rarely use cash....easier to use a credit card these days, especially with the tapping feature.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

@driver100 said:

I won't ask what kind of places you are going to......that take cash only

Small restaurants and bars in the middle of farmland or in small towns on the middle off farmland.

Right! Now tell us the real reason.

Michaell

My local Chase branch will supply me with the coin rolls so I can wrap my own loose change and return it to them, in exchange for paper money.

I used to go several times a year, but now it's maybe once or twice.

The center console of the Outback has a bunch of loose change in it.

stickguy

we have a change bucket. about time to roll it up again. Early in the pandemic some places were giving perks for bringing change rolls in. Stuff like a free coffee at WaWa. I think I just took ours to the bank last time.

stickguy

I prefer to use cash places that I don't want to give them a card. Gas stations (notorious for skimmers) and restaurants (taking it away who knows where, and adding tips with no paper trail).

that and for small purchases places that don't need to pay the fees, street vendors, stuff like that. If I am in the city and stop at a food cart for a pretzel and soda, I don't expect to use a card.

and zero chance in a dive bar I am giving my credit card to the bartender to just keep in a jar by the register. Open tabs, not happening.

[Deleted User]

I imagine the skimmers only work when swiping the card, not tapping, but that's probably not too far away. We have a local Burger King where an employee was apparently writing down credit card numbers when used through the drive thru and doing a little shopping after work!

snakeweasel

@driver100 said:
Right! Now tell us the real reason.

Because the Filling Station (a restaurant) the Moonshine store (another restaurant with great hamburgers) and the Physco Silo (a real interesting bar) all are cash only. Plus I only by gas on these trips 2.25 gallons at a time.

stickguy

dad23 said:

I imagine the skimmers only work when swiping the card, not tapping, but that's probably not too far away. We have a local Burger King where an employee was apparently writing down credit card numbers when used through the drive thru and doing a little shopping after work!

We still have full serve gas only in NJ. so the cards still get stuck into the slot (actually, even in NY when I am visiting, a lot of stations still only have that kind of reader). A minor detail too is not all my cards have the tap capability (and one that does just never works at Aldis!).

though when I get gas in NY sunoco and Mobil stations are common, and I have those branded gas cards. I don't really care about those! But they do give me a nice discount.

28firefighter

I use cash for tipping. That’s it. Almost everywhere else I go takes card and uses tap-to-pay

stickguy

speaking of gas, been dropping around here. many places below $4.00. New low today for name brand (Amoco) was RUG for $3.89. Must have just dropped, because it was a huge delta for more octane. Mid-grade was $4.79, and PUG wasa $4.99! $1.10 upcharge for premium, that is steep.

henryn

stickguy said:

speaking of gas, been dropping around here. many places below $4.00. New low today for name brand (Amoco) was RUG for $3.89. Must have just dropped, because it was a huge delta for more octane. Mid-grade was $4.79, and PUG wasa $4.99! $1.10 upcharge for premium, that is steep.

Around here (Houston), the major brand stations, Chevron, Mobil, etc, usually charge around $1.00 more for premium. Sometimes only 90 cents, but still. The HEB (supermarket with gas pumps) and Murphy (at Walmart) are usually only 35 to 40 cents more for premium, 93 octane. I saw RUG for $3.57 this week at a Murphy. On the other hand, a Shell station right on the freeway was at $4.29.

driver100

snakeweasel said:

@driver100 said:

Right! Now tell us the real reason.

Because the Filling Station (a restaurant) the Moonshine store (another restaurant with great hamburgers) and the Physco Silo (a real interesting bar) all are cash only. Plus I only by gas on these trips 2.25 gallons at a time.

.......and no paper trail for Mrs snakeweasel to follow.....smart!

venture

28firefighter said:

I use cash for tipping. That’s it. Almost everywhere else I go takes card and uses tap-to-pay

When we were at Camden Yards last year to see the Orioles they did not accept cash anywhere in the stadium.

kyfdx

venture said:

28firefighter said:

I use cash for tipping. That’s it. Almost everywhere else I go takes card and uses tap-to-pay

When we were at Camden Yards last year to see the Orioles they did not accept cash anywhere in the stadium.

That's just about every stadium, now.

sda

The price difference between regular and premium recently was .40-.50, now it is .60-.75.

kyfdx

sda said:

The price difference between regular and premium recently was .40-.50, now it is .60-.75.

It's been $0.70-$0.90 spread here for so long, that I'm shocked when I see $0.60. Only Costco is tighter than that (and, I'm not a member)

driver100

kyfdx said:

venture said:

28firefighter said:

I use cash for tipping. That’s it. Almost everywhere else I go takes card and uses tap-to-pay

When we were at Camden Yards last year to see the Orioles they did not accept cash anywhere in the stadium.

That's just about every stadium, now.

It makes it harder for employees to rip off their employer.

snakeweasel

Remember a few weeks ag we were discussing ketchup? Well This started airing here in Chicago.

https://youtu.be/BNQL2GzsYbo

driver100

It seems that Chicago is leading the fight against ketchup on hot dogs!

Heinz merged with Chicago-based Kraft in 2015, tried to convince people to try its new “Chicago dog sauce” for National Hot Dog Day on Wednesday.

People featured in Heinz’s promotional video liked the condiment they tasted, until they were told the “new” sauce was actually their nemesis in disguise (ketchup). People on the internet didn’t even bother to give the product a try before ridiculing Heinz’s promotion.

One person tweeted: Never in a million years will you find such a condiment on my hot dog. Nice try Heinz, but it’s a huge no for me.

Another person tweeted: You got a lot of damn nerve trying to hoist that crap on our Chicago hot dogs. #HotGarbage #Columbusing

stickguy

Go Chicago!

They are on a mission from god.

kyfdx

When I was a child, I liked ketchup on hot dogs..

ronsteve

@kyfdx said:
It's been $0.70-$0.90 spread here for so long, that I'm shocked when I see $0.60. Only Costco is tighter than that (and, I'm not a member)

When the spread went to 60 cents here in Louisville a few years ago, that’s when I got a Costco membership. Lately my premium has been about the same price as others’ regular.

I think my membership pays for itself 2 or 3 times over each year.

kyfdx

I love Costco, but the closest one is 17 miles away, in a direction that I rarely travel. I only joined to buy hearing aids in 2020. And, a set of tires needed during that year.

explorerx4

On Friday, the dishwasher worked normally. On Sunday, it was dead.
I confirmed there is power to the machine, so it isn't a breaker issue.
There is a manufacturer app(LG) for problem diagnosis, but the machine needs to be able to turn on to use it.
We will be calling a repairman when we get back from moving some stuff to Ohio..

tjc78

I like having the choice of condiment for my hot dog. Sometimes ketchup, sometimes spicy brown mustard, sometimes just relish. Combinations of the three. The choices are endless.

Re:Costco. I wish I would get one close to me, but for now BJs will have to do.

stickguy

I thought about joining Costco but too big a hassle to get to the ones down here. I’ve never even been in one.

ab348

kyfdx said:

When I was a child, I liked ketchup on hot dogs..

You probably liked Pablum and strained peas too. Fortunately one's tastes evolve as you mature. Except for people who put ketchup on hot dogs.

I hesitate to ask, but I had either missed or forgotten about the Heinz-Kraft corporate marriage. That strikes me as unfortunate. I have never been a big fan of Kraft anything, while Heinz always seemed a good old historic standby company with lots of Pittsburgh roots.

kyfdx

ab348 said:

kyfdx said:

When I was a child, I liked ketchup on hot dogs..

You probably liked Pablum and strained peas too. Fortunately one's tastes evolve as you mature. Except for people who put ketchup on hot dogs.

I hesitate to ask, but I had either missed or forgotten about the Heinz-Kraft corporate marriage. That strikes me as unfortunate. I have never been a big fan of Kraft anything, while Heinz always seemed a good old historic standby company with lots of Pittsburgh roots.

KHC is the stock ticker. Pays a great dividend!

jmonroe1

@kyfdx said:
I love Costco, but the closest one is 17 miles away, in a direction that I rarely travel. I only joined to buy hearing aids in 2020. And, a set of tires needed during that year.

Did I hear you right?

FWIW, the closest Costco to me is in the Burgh, maybe a 10 mile drive. Sam’s is less than 4 miles away. TP is TP as far as I’m concerned.

jmonroe

jmonroe1

@tjc78 said:
I like having the choice of condiment for my hot dog. Sometimes ketchup, sometimes spicy brown mustard, sometimes just relish. Combinations of the three. The choices are endless.

Re:Costco. I wish I would get one close to me, but for now BJs will have to do.

You’ve gotta make better choices more often. Even always not to chose ketchup on a dog.

jmonroe

pensfan83

roadburner said:

A while back we had some friends over for a dinner party, and I put together a playlist for the get together- in no particular order the artists were:
Blur
Nena
Gin Blossoms,
Merle Haggard
Lit
Everclear
Glen Campbell
Warren Zevon
Social Distortion
Weezer
Kenny Chesney
Ramones
Brad Paisley
AC/DC
Buddy Holly
The Records
The Highwaymen
Green Day
Eric Church
Frank Sinatra
The Dollyrots
Material Issue(of course)
Berlin
R.E.M.
Jason and the Scorchers
Poison
Blondie
The Rip Chords
Liz Phair
The Rubbers City Rebels
Sam & Dave
Jethro Tull
Sponge
The Cure
Third Eye Blind
The Jesus and Mary Chain
- plus a few more

My bride didn’t think it was anywhere near as brilliant as my son and I did...

That's quite a stellar list you put together.

kyfdx

jmonroe1 said:

@kyfdx said:

I love Costco, but the closest one is 17 miles away, in a direction that I rarely travel. I only joined to buy hearing aids in 2020. And, a set of tires needed during that year.

Did I hear you right?

FWIW, the closest Costco to me is in the Burgh, maybe a 10 mile drive. Sam’s is less than 4 miles away. TP is TP as far as I’m concerned.

jmonroe

What?

We had a Sam's that was about 8 miles away, and we were in that neighborhood, often. But, they closed up. Nearest one is 16 miles, now.

I didn't see a lot of difference between the warehouse stores. Now, we just don't bother.

henryn

The nearest Sam's Club was about 2 miles from my house, and I used to get by there regularly. Until they closed that location. Now it's about 10 miles, and I let my membership lapse for several years. I just signed up again a few months ago, as they were running a promotion that made it almost free. I may not go often, but for almost free, why not?

Costco is about 12 miles away, and they never seem to have any promotions for low cost memberships, so I have never joined.

driver100

kyfdx said:

When I was a child, I liked ketchup on hot dogs..

....and then you grew up and developed taste buds.

oldfarmer50

jmonroe1 said:

@driver100 said:

I won't ask what kind of places you are going to......that take cash only

But I will.

I use my credit card for just about everything and if possible I avoid “cash only” places. They are saving the credit card fee but that isn’t reflected in their prices as far as I can see. So they are double dipping. Nice work if you can get it.

jmonroe

I was an all cash business because I didn’t want the extra hassle of the credit card companies. I like to think I kept my prices as low as possible regardless, at least some people thought so and told me my stuff was a bargain. Some folks gave me funny looks when I wouldn’t take credit card but the best were the ones who wanted to use their phones and couldn’t understand when I told them I didn’t have a phone, smart or dumb.

If driver100 showed up with $1 dollar bills I would welcome that because we always ran our of change.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

My local Chase branch will supply me with the coin rolls so I can wrap my own loose change and return it to them, in exchange for paper money.

I used to go several times a year, but now it's maybe once or twice.

The center console of the Outback has a bunch of loose change in it.

My wife rolls all our change for occupational therapy. Also it makes her feel rich. Then I have to drag it to the bank.

stickguy

our dog rescue sells merchandise at a lot of local street festivals to raise funds. I help out with those local to me. used to be al cash (as most of that type of vendor are (or were)) but last couple of years, the woman who runs the booth had to get set up to take cards. SquareD I think (a swiper gizmo plugged into her phone). Usually a giant pain. time consuming, depends on getting a good signal, etc. and she does charge them the fee to use it I think. Might also have to charge sales tax on card purchases.

that is someplace I definitely would want to bring cash to (and the large majority of people do)