Chronic Car Buyers Anonymous (Archived)

benjaminh

Mazda is currently offering 0% financing for 5 years on the CX-5. The AWD CX-5 starts at about $31k. If you financed 27k of that the monthly payments would be only $450, which is probably about the same as a lease on a CR-V or RAV4. Good deal from my pov.

https://www.mazdausa.com/shopping-tools/special-offers-and-incentives


https://www.neilhuffmanmazda.com/new-Louisville-2024-+-Mazda+CX+5-25+S+Select+Package-JM3KFBBL8R0407482

kyfdx

@benjaminh That's an awesome promotion. Doesn't appear the dealership is losing any incentives by giving it to you, either.

nyccarguy

venture said:

roadburner said:

Yes- I already had my eye on it; over the weekend I saw the price had been cut by several thousand dollars so I called and put down a deposit on 12/19 and on 12/20 we drove up to Fort Mitchell and picked it up.

au1994 said:

Saturday was the day of the hunt. We looked at a lot online but went out to see the Q5, RDX, QX50/55 and X3.

Q5 was the first drive and our guy respected that it was just that. No pressure to come inside, meet my manager etc. Infiniti didn’t even progress to a drive. I liked the RDX. It was a white over chocolate brown but it just didn’t do it for her. Acura, as always, is the perfect blend of performance, luxury and value. Next was BMW. Spent a lot of time there as we are big fans. X3 is nice, probably not as peppy as the Q5 unless you got into the model with the 6. Out of several on the lot, no X3 had exactly the color and option combo she was looking for. She was also turned off by having to speak to the manager before leaving. Just didn't sit well with her.

So it came down the the incentives, willingness to deal and color/option combo being available on the Q5. Process was easy, he came back within 50 of my number on first pencil so we got there quickly. Finance process was slow but there was a power blip that played havoc with the computers.

Everyone is happy although I did squash a last minute request to look at Macans!

Very nice! At my BMW center we were low-key as well, especially to folks who were just starting to shop. I had several people come back and buy/lease from my center because we didn't push to close a deal.

As for the "meet the manager" Kabuki theater, that stunt lost a Nissan dealer a sale back in 2005. My wife really liked the Xterra but it was the first place we stopped and the manager put on a full-court press ands tried to talk me out of selling my E39 myself(I still sold it myself- for double what CarMax offered).

I'm not too swift. Why do they want you to meet the manager?

Big, fake smile, slicked back hair, laughs at your jokes no matter how bad they are?

au1994

venture said:

roadburner said:

Yes- I already had my eye on it; over the weekend I saw the price had been cut by several thousand dollars so I called and put down a deposit on 12/19 and on 12/20 we drove up to Fort Mitchell and picked it up.

au1994 said:

Saturday was the day of the hunt. We looked at a lot online but went out to see the Q5, RDX, QX50/55 and X3.

Q5 was the first drive and our guy respected that it was just that. No pressure to come inside, meet my manager etc. Infiniti didn’t even progress to a drive. I liked the RDX. It was a white over chocolate brown but it just didn’t do it for her. Acura, as always, is the perfect blend of performance, luxury and value. Next was BMW. Spent a lot of time there as we are big fans. X3 is nice, probably not as peppy as the Q5 unless you got into the model with the 6. Out of several on the lot, no X3 had exactly the color and option combo she was looking for. She was also turned off by having to speak to the manager before leaving. Just didn't sit well with her.

So it came down the the incentives, willingness to deal and color/option combo being available on the Q5. Process was easy, he came back within 50 of my number on first pencil so we got there quickly. Finance process was slow but there was a power blip that played havoc with the computers.

Everyone is happy although I did squash a last minute request to look at Macans!

Very nice! At my BMW center we were low-key as well, especially to folks who were just starting to shop. I had several people come back and buy/lease from my center because we didn't push to close a deal.

As for the "meet the manager" Kabuki theater, that stunt lost a Nissan dealer a sale back in 2005. My wife really liked the Xterra but it was the first place we stopped and the manager put on a full-court press ands tried to talk me out of selling my E39 myself(I still sold it myself- for double what CarMax offered).

I'm not too swift. Why do they want you to meet the manager?

It’s just another tactic to attempt to close. They may offer to drop another $XXX if you will sign right now, I’ve seen them push another model if your choice and options wasn’t available. And I believe it’s psychological. You are having to say “no” to an “authority” figure.

Basically its an old school BS tactic like hitting you with a ridiculous number on the 4 square.

venture

The only time I was coerced into meeting the manager was at the local Honda store. Twice.

I've never owned a Honda.

oldfarmer50

ab348 said:

oldfarmer50 said:

I heard that the Hyundai-Kia 2.4 as well as the 2.0 (which I have in my car) are very susceptible to less than meticulous oil changes. To be fair though, most modern engines won’t take poor maintenance like in the old days. Kia sent an advisory to reduce OCIs to 3750 miles due to this. I’ve been changing mine at 5k but I’m thinking of changing that as I hear more stories like this.

Hyundai-Kia are cheaply made cars designed to meet a price point and that’s why they sell so many. By the time mine mine reaches 116k miles I’m pretty sure oil changes won’t be my concern.

Keep in mind that the H-K 4-bangers suffered from the "metal shavings left in the engine" QC problem from new which caused many of them to grenade prematurely and up here led to a recall IIRC.

Yeah, they had a recall to make the knock sensor more sensitive so you had warning of a pending grenading. There were stories of the Korea built engines not being subject to the poor machining but who knows. Mine only has 23k miles so I’m just worried about the GDI carbon problem.

oldfarmer50

nyccarguy said:

venture said:

roadburner said:

Yes- I already had my eye on it; over the weekend I saw the price had been cut by several thousand dollars so I called and put down a deposit on 12/19 and on 12/20 we drove up to Fort Mitchell and picked it up.

au1994 said:

Saturday was the day of the hunt. We looked at a lot online but went out to see the Q5, RDX, QX50/55 and X3.

Q5 was the first drive and our guy respected that it was just that. No pressure to come inside, meet my manager etc. Infiniti didn’t even progress to a drive. I liked the RDX. It was a white over chocolate brown but it just didn’t do it for her. Acura, as always, is the perfect blend of performance, luxury and value. Next was BMW. Spent a lot of time there as we are big fans. X3 is nice, probably not as peppy as the Q5 unless you got into the model with the 6. Out of several on the lot, no X3 had exactly the color and option combo she was looking for. She was also turned off by having to speak to the manager before leaving. Just didn't sit well with her.

So it came down the the incentives, willingness to deal and color/option combo being available on the Q5. Process was easy, he came back within 50 of my number on first pencil so we got there quickly. Finance process was slow but there was a power blip that played havoc with the computers.

Everyone is happy although I did squash a last minute request to look at Macans!

Very nice! At my BMW center we were low-key as well, especially to folks who were just starting to shop. I had several people come back and buy/lease from my center because we didn't push to close a deal.

As for the "meet the manager" Kabuki theater, that stunt lost a Nissan dealer a sale back in 2005. My wife really liked the Xterra but it was the first place we stopped and the manager put on a full-court press ands tried to talk me out of selling my E39 myself(I still sold it myself- for double what CarMax offered).

I'm not too swift. Why do they want you to meet the manager?

Big, fake smile, slicked back hair, laughs at your jokes no matter how bad they are?

Yes, that’s true. When I bought a Mitsubishi years ago the salesman was trying everything to close so the owner came out and razzle dazzled me about the great deal I was getting. Eventually I got the price I was looking for within a hundred or so.

breld

I didn't share this earlier, but we had a frustrating experience at the Land Rover dealer last week. After looking at X5s, we stopped to browse at Land Rover and my wife ended up liking a Defender they had in the showroom. After test driving one and deciding that the ride was maybe 90% as nice as the BMW and any deficiency was made up for by the fun character, we talked numbers.

Trade offers were fine, and the dealer claimed to be at MSRP on their vehicle, which appears to be a fair deal these days on the Defender. But then they add their $895 dealer handling, $995 "stargard" theft protection, a $1,250 clear bra (I could get it done for $200) and a $250 tint ($80 of value).

I mention my displeasure with all the add-ons, to which the salesperson replied, "but these are things that are already on the car...if I wanted to buy a house from you and you had a washer & dryer already installed, would you want to give them to me for free?"

We had to leave to go take care of our puppy, but then called back with a counteroffer. Instead of going through the brain damage of talking specifically through the stupid add-ons, I simply said we're $3,000 off and if they found that in the deal then we'd come by and purchase the car.

He said he'd check with his manager. I never received a response at all.

oldfarmer50

breld said:

I didn't share this earlier, but we had a frustrating experience at the Land Rover dealer last week. After looking at X5s, we stopped to browse at Land Rover and my wife ended up liking a Defender they had in the showroom. After test driving one and deciding that the ride was maybe 90% as nice as the BMW and any deficiency was made up for by the fun character, we talked numbers.

Trade offers were fine, and the dealer claimed to be at MSRP on their vehicle, which appears to be a fair deal these days on the Defender. But then they add their $895 dealer handling, $995 "stargard" theft protection, a $1,250 clear bra (I could get it done for $200) and a $250 tint ($80 of value).

I mention my displeasure with all the add-ons, to which the salesperson replied, "but these are things that are already on the car...if I wanted to buy a house from you and you had a washer & dryer already installed, would you want to give them to me for free?"

We had to leave to go take care of our puppy, but then called back with a counteroffer. Instead of going through the brain damage of talking specifically through the stupid add-ons, I simply said we're $3,000 off and if they found that in the deal then we'd come by and purchase the car.

He said he'd check with his manager. I never received a response at all.

Evidently you didn’t look like a baby seal.

roadburner

My local LR dealer group also sells Alfa, Audi, Jaguar, Maserati, and Porsche. With the exception of the Alfa and Porsche stores I never got a good feeling vibe from dealing with them. Couple that with the fact that their cheapest Defender 110 was $24,000 more than my 4xe ($22,245 taking into account the extended warranty) and the Jeep was an easy choice.

nyccarguy

I believe it’s psychological.

Just like everything else in the sales process, I 100% agree.

"Let's meet in the middle on your trade."
"Listen, you are in luck because..."
"Go pick out a key chain and hat."
"OK! We'll throw in the all weather floor mats."
"If you take the extended warranty, the pre paid maintenance, the paint sealant, interior scotchguard, wheel & tire protection package... it will only cost you $5,999 instead of $12,000. It is only and extra $100 per month wrapped up into your payment so you don't have to worry about anything except puttin gas in it."

stickguy

I’ll take it!

stickguy

I’ve met plenty of sales managers. Almost always it’s been fine and they did not go hard sell. And I collected some cards of people to call if I wanted to haggle

benjaminh

Back in early 2018, when I was buying my wife's new CR-V, the dealer wanted to charge 2k over list for pinstripes, mud mats for carpets, fabric protection, theft protection, etc. Told him we didn't want any of it, and that it was a dealbreaker, but it took a while to talk the manager down from it. At first I wanted just front wheel drive instead of awd, and was willing to wait for one like that to get in stock. But he kept coming back to what can I do to get you to drive home today (they wanted our loaded low mile Accord in trade, which was part of it), and finally he just threw in the awd too. Finally ended up with a great deal, but it took a while. If we ever buy a new car again I might try something like this buying service:

https://caredge.com/how-it-works

nyccarguy

Put in a call to the Jeep dealer since I haven't heard anything since I dropped it off. I get a call back from the service advisor. They found the source of the leak. They have ordered me a new "Sky Slider" that will take a week to 10 days to arrive. So i can come pick it up and they will call me when the part comes in.

stickguy

Lately I have had the best luck just dealing with the internet department. For the mavericks that was a name of the guy in philly that was posted on their website and on the maverick forum. He is the guy with the special deals, super easy process.

The others I put in an online “get our internet pricing” request and then dealt with the internet person that contacted me. Excellent deal offered and in writing before I even showed up to finish with a sales person.

jmonroe1

au1994 said:

benjaminh said:

Congratulations! Beautiful interior. Bet it's fun to drive too.

It sounds like you were able to get a good deal during that classic good deal month of December, but during which is hasn't really been possible to get good deals for the previous few years. If you feel like sharing any numbers, such as how much off of msrp, we'd be interested.

It was 56,190 of the sticker and he came off 6k plus there was a 2500 incentive. Pretty good for what we’ve seen in the past few years.

————————————————
Nice looking car. Thanks for the pics.

I’ve heard dealers complain that buyers are trying to steal their car. I heard that a couple times myself. Now I know where that phrase came from. You can sit at the negotiating table with me anytime.

Good luck with it.

jmonroe

au1994

My first ‘meet the manager’ experience was far too many years ago and was quite intimidating and embarrassing. As a newly minted grad and holding down a job at a whopping $18.5k per year I, of course, decided I had to have a new ride. I was looking at Mazda B Series trucks and we got down to numbers and I realized I was WAY over my head payment wise. I just wanted to get out of there and lick my wounds.

Michaell

au1994 said:

My first ‘meet the manager’ experience was far too many years ago and was quite intimidating and embarrassing. As a newly minted grad and holding down a job at a whopping $18.5k per year I, of course, decided I had to have a new ride. I was looking at Mazda B Series trucks and we got down to numbers and I realized I was WAY over my head payment wise. I just wanted to get out of there and lick my wounds.

Occurs to me that two of your three vehicles are now grey over beige - was that by design?

au1994

Michaell said:

au1994 said:

My first ‘meet the manager’ experience was far too many years ago and was quite intimidating and embarrassing. As a newly minted grad and holding down a job at a whopping $18.5k per year I, of course, decided I had to have a new ride. I was looking at Mazda B Series trucks and we got down to numbers and I realized I was WAY over my head payment wise. I just wanted to get out of there and lick my wounds.

Occurs to me that two of your three vehicles are now grey over beige - was that by design?

Living in a democratic household . I would have opted for a more bold combo on the Jeep as I think they are one of the few vehicles that can pull off a bright blue, yellow, orange etc.

Audi dealers tend to stock grays, white and black in larger numbers than other colors. We loved this combo as neither of us are huge fans of black interior and my wife is not big on gray interior. She is not a fan of bold exteriors. Dealer had a red over tan RDX that was really, really sharp but a no go combo for her.

The X1 was a demo that was a good deal over a new one so that’s how that came about. Still a pretty classy looking combo. I just hope it survives the next few months in the HS parking lot before graduation.

jmonroe1

oldfarmer50 said:

breld said:

I didn't share this earlier, but we had a frustrating experience at the Land Rover dealer last week. After looking at X5s, we stopped to browse at Land Rover and my wife ended up liking a Defender they had in the showroom. After test driving one and deciding that the ride was maybe 90% as nice as the BMW and any deficiency was made up for by the fun character, we talked numbers.

Trade offers were fine, and the dealer claimed to be at MSRP on their vehicle, which appears to be a fair deal these days on the Defender. But then they add their $895 dealer handling, $995 "stargard" theft protection, a $1,250 clear bra (I could get it done for $200) and a $250 tint ($80 of value).

I mention my displeasure with all the add-ons, to which the salesperson replied, "but these are things that are already on the car...if I wanted to buy a house from you and you had a washer & dryer already installed, would you want to give them to me for free?"

We had to leave to go take care of our puppy, but then called back with a counteroffer. Instead of going through the brain damage of talking specifically through the stupid add-ons, I simply said we're $3,000 off and if they found that in the deal then we'd come by and purchase the car.

He said he'd check with his manager. I never received a response at all.

Evidently you didn’t look like a baby seal.

————————————————
Correction: They THOUGHT he looked like a baby seal but they were dealing with an experienced wolf.

jmonroe

tifighter

@breld said:
I mention my displeasure with all the add-ons, to which the salesperson replied, "but these are things that are already on the car...if I wanted to buy a house from you and you had a washer & dryer already installed, would you want to give them to me for free?"

This stuff makes me crazy. Trying to say a washer and dryer is equivalent to “dealer handling” and is “already installed” is pretty rich…

kyfdx

I'm pretty good at ignoring everything a salesperson says.

Michaell

Any battery nerds in the audience? Member wants to know what kind of battery they have in their truck

breld

Yeah, all in all, we probably dodged a bullet thanks to the Land Rover dealer's attitude, not to mention the potential ownership experience. The BMW dealership is one where we bought our last X5 and the wife's M340...my offer was $3,500 dealer discount plus $2,500 in rebates (including loyalty), and they accepted that, and they have no additional add-ons at all. Plus the 2.9% financing is very valuable these days.

nyccarguy

"Finder's Fee."

"Finder's Fee?"

"It was on the lot, we had to go and find it."

stickguy

@Michaell said:
Any battery nerds in the audience? Member wants to know what kind of battery they have in their truck

Without looking, I’ll guess 12v

kyfdx

stickguy said:

@Michaell said:

Any battery nerds in the audience? Member wants to know what kind of battery they have in their truck

Without looking, I’ll guess 12v

You're required to look..

venture

breld said:

Yeah, all in all, we probably dodged a bullet thanks to the Land Rover dealer's attitude, not to mention the potential ownership experience. The BMW dealership is one where we bought our last X5 and the wife's M340...my offer was $3,500 dealer discount plus $2,500 in rebates (including loyalty), and they accepted that, and they have no additional add-ons at all. Plus the 2.9% financing is very valuable these days.

You definitely dodged a bullet.

My son backed into his brothers-in-laws car quite a few months ago. He got everything fixed after multiple trips since "the parts have to come from England". He still doesn't have all the letters he needs. He said they received the DISCO, but still don't have the VERY.

When they come here to visit from Maryland, they almost always use his wife's Jeep GC with 125k miles on it because they "want to get home".

cdnpinhead

Just remember that he who cares least wins the negotiation. Whenever I bought a vehicle I always had a fallback plan. It's worked so far, and I don't anticipate more than one or two vehicles for me and my wife before. . .

kyfdx

Across the street neighbor has a Defender. Fairly base 4-door model. It's sweet!

Not sure why you have to dodge the bullet, when you can just trade it, after a month or two.

tifighter

kyfdx said:

Not sure why you have to dodge the bullet, when you can just trade it, after a month or two.

Shots fired.

tifighter

I was sort of interested in the current Discovery when it came out a few years ago. Low range with an available locker, and lots of interior space for the footprint made it interesting. I stopped by the local dealer to ask some questions about what the off road package could be combined with as the website was unclear. The salesman comes out wearing the craziest three piece plaid suit you've ever seen, with glittery glasses on, all without a hint of irony, and was immediately confused about my wanting to take a Land Rover off road. Told me everything about who their customer is, in the US anyhow.

kyfdx

Local Land Rover dealer has an off-road “track” to demonstrate the 4WD capabilities. I’ve seen it in use a number of times. Must be a coastal thing. 😂😂😂

oldfarmer50

stickguy said:

Lately I have had the best luck just dealing with the internet department. For the mavericks that was a name of the guy in philly that was posted on their website and on the maverick forum. He is the guy with the special deals, super easy process.

The others I put in an online “get our internet pricing” request and then dealt with the internet person that contacted me. Excellent deal offered and in writing before I even showed up to finish with a sales person.

I never had a satisfactory experience dealing online. Just trying to get a price for a vehicle has been a hassle.

oldfarmer50

Michaell said:

Any battery nerds in the audience? Member wants to know what kind of battery they have in their truck

That one is over my head. I never realized there were that many different types of battery. My son and I were cleaning off his battery today and I had never seen so much blue corrosion on a terminal in my life. It was a Delco which makes sense seeing we bought his Ford from a Chevy dealer. That means it’s about 31/2 years old.

breld

kyfdx said:

Across the street neighbor has a Defender. Fairly base 4-door model. It's sweet!

Not sure why you have to dodge the bullet, when you can just trade it, after a month or two.

True enough. Only real concern is how the vehicle holds its value, which the Defender seems to do just fine.

tifighter

VW today announced they are joining the supercharger network. Finally.

28firefighter

@tifighter said:
I was sort of interested in the current Discovery when it came out a few years ago. Low range with an available locker, and lots of interior space for the footprint made it interesting. I stopped by the local dealer to ask some questions about what the off road package could be combined with as the website was unclear. The salesman comes out wearing the craziest three piece plaid suit you've ever seen, with glittery glasses on, all without a hint of irony, and was immediately confused about my wanting to take a Land Rover off road. Told me everything about who there customer is, in the US anyhow.

I think they missed the Pacific Northwest mark. Guessing they didn’t last long.

tjc78

@tifighter said:
VW today announced they are joining the supercharger network. Finally.

Mercedes is joining Tesla next year from what I read

stickguy

I would leave the Name as Disco. Skip the very.

roadburner

A stock Sahara 4xe can apparently run the 1/4 in 13.8 seconds. That's about as quick as my modified Mazdaspeed 3- but still 1.2 seconds slower than the C43.

Sandman6472

Sat in a new Ford Maverick at the dealer today, an XLT model. Liked it, had plenty of interior room plus, the bed out back. See why they are selling so many as one can haul stuff in the bed and sit in comfort in the interior. Shame I have no need for such a vehicle and doubt it would fit on my side of the garage. Also saw some new Bronco's and never realized how big they are! Thought they were a lot smaller to be honest.

Size wise, hate to say it but the Mini Cooper is looking to be winning in the size category right now. Think I'd definitely go with the Countryman but do need to drive the regular Mini to see if it would just be too small. Since it's just me 90% of the time, think it could work. Think size is going to be a big factor this time & now think maybe I should've just got a Kona like my wife did, a 2023 model in the smaller size. But think I'd miss the new tech in the 2024 model.

Again at work today, someone asked me if my Golf was a new vehicle as it looks so good. Told her it was a 2015 model which I've owned for over nine years now & she was amazed. But with all the rain last week, does look clean and that blue color is very striking in the sunlight.

stickguy

don't worry Sandy, only the last 2 feet or so will hang out of the garage!

jmonroe1

stickguy said:

don't worry Sandy, only the last 2 feet or so will hang out of the garage!

————————————————
Easy fix, just cut a hole in the door and tarp it.

jmonroe

mjfloyd1

Could also back into an immovable object to shorten the Maverick😳

ab348

Interesting and rather bizarre situation emerging in Canada with Kia Canada allegedly withholding deliveries of vehicles being stored in large holding lots in order to keep internal budgets for marketing and promotion safe next year. Meanwhile customers wait and wait. The odd part here is that it was apparently revealed by a (soon to be unemployed, no doubt) regional manager:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kia-canada-car-sales-1.7063216

"All of you are gonna be very unhappy with me today," said Kia's central region manager Vince Capicotto as he outlined the plan, which he said would roll out nationally.

Instead of shipping all the vehicles to dealerships, Capicotto told the dealers only some will be released — the rest will remain on various compounds until the new year.

The reason for this, he explained in the call, is to avoid appearing too successful in the eyes of headquarters in Korea.

"With the global slow down, Kia Canada wants to control wholesale and retail performance in 2023 to not show high over-achievement," he said.

"There's a high risk with over performance that Kia headquarters will not provide Kia Canada resources necessary in our budget for 2024 to have a successful year if we over perform for the balance of 2023 at too high a rate."

According to Capicotto, Kia Canada has hit its target of selling 84,000 vehicles for 2023. He said there was concern that if sales continued to go well, headquarters would decide Canada didn't need marketing support in the new year and would cut back on that.

sda

ab348 said:

Interesting and rather bizarre situation emerging in Canada with Kia Canada allegedly withholding deliveries of vehicles being stored in large holding lots in order to keep internal budgets for marketing and promotion safe next year. Meanwhile customers wait and wait. The odd part here is that it was apparently revealed by a (soon to be unemployed, no doubt) regional manager:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kia-canada-car-sales-1.7063216

"All of you are gonna be very unhappy with me today," said Kia's central region manager Vince Capicotto as he outlined the plan, which he said would roll out nationally.

Instead of shipping all the vehicles to dealerships, Capicotto told the dealers only some will be released — the rest will remain on various compounds until the new year.

The reason for this, he explained in the call, is to avoid appearing too successful in the eyes of headquarters in Korea.

"With the global slow down, Kia Canada wants to control wholesale and retail performance in 2023 to not show high over-achievement," he said.

"There's a high risk with over performance that Kia headquarters will not provide Kia Canada resources necessary in our budget for 2024 to have a successful year if we over perform for the balance of 2023 at too high a rate."

According to Capicotto, Kia Canada has hit its target of selling 84,000 vehicles for 2023. He said there was concern that if sales continued to go well, headquarters would decide Canada didn't need marketing support in the new year and would cut back on that.

I would guess his days are numbered as that information has become public as
a wave of Kias suddenly become available.

jmonroe1

ab348 said:

Interesting and rather bizarre situation emerging in Canada with Kia Canada allegedly withholding deliveries of vehicles being stored in large holding lots in order to keep internal budgets for marketing and promotion safe next year. Meanwhile customers wait and wait. The odd part here is that it was apparently revealed by a (soon to be unemployed, no doubt) regional manager:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kia-canada-car-sales-1.7063216

"All of you are gonna be very unhappy with me today," said Kia's central region manager Vince Capicotto as he outlined the plan, which he said would roll out nationally.

Instead of shipping all the vehicles to dealerships, Capicotto told the dealers only some will be released — the rest will remain on various compounds until the new year.

The reason for this, he explained in the call, is to avoid appearing too successful in the eyes of headquarters in Korea.

"With the global slow down, Kia Canada wants to control wholesale and retail performance in 2023 to not show high over-achievement," he said.

"There's a high risk with over performance that Kia headquarters will not provide Kia Canada resources necessary in our budget for 2024 to have a successful year if we over perform for the balance of 2023 at too high a rate."

According to Capicotto, Kia Canada has hit its target of selling 84,000 vehicles for 2023. He said there was concern that if sales continued to go well, headquarters would decide Canada didn't need marketing support in the new year and would cut back on that.

————————————————
Does that mean Kia is too smart for their own good?

jmonroe

benjaminh

https://www.autonews.com/dealers/buick-dealer-network-shrinks-nearly-half-through-buyouts