Car Dealerships: The Good & The Bad

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jacobin.com

The Used Car Market Is Imploding

Huge bankruptcies for used car firms have exposed Wall Street’s entanglement with the sector. Far from derisking after the Great Recession, banks rebuilt the economy on obscure financial intermediaries that are now sinking.
jacobin.com jacobin.com
 
I'm not sure how we draw that conclusion. Are people all buying new cars, now? Because they're so cheap and reliable?

Or is it that people don't need cars anymore?

What's imploding, IMHO, is the overpriced chain-retailer model. Tricolor picked a market niche - Hispanics, mostly illegal (Hispanic-Americans could easily shop around and usually find a better deal elsewhere) and offering in-house financing. Their risk assessment was, Mexicans who were here illegally, nonetheless were reliable payment-makers. They needed their cars/trucks, both for work and for social status; so they paid.

The in-house financing model didn't predict a sudden enforcement of immigration laws, against people who've already jumped the border/been brought in by our helpful Elites. But disproportionate numbers of Tricolor buyers, either abandoned their cars when arrested, or took their cars across the border when self-deporting. Oops, big losses that were not factored in with their cost model.

Carmax is in trouble because, while they don't target an ethnic niche, they do look for the subpar credit risks. AND they overcharge. This is relatively new to them - when I needed a car in a hurry, three years ago, they had an old-but-sound Toyota with a price on it that was high, but not obscenely so. At least not compared to other used-car dealers' prices. Their in-house financing was lower than what my credit-union offered. I bought, and paid it off once I got the insurance settlement.

That's gone, now. Prices are insane. Interest ranges from 7 to 14 percent. You have to be DESPERATE to buy from them.

Carvana, they say, is doing all right, although that may be from Financializing their assets.

Prices may be dropping; but a used product is only worth what people will (can) pay for it. We're in a deep recession/depression, now.
 

New State Law Will Allow Used Car Returns Within 3 Days​

Oct 17, 2025
California has passed a law to allow returns of used cars within 3 days of purchase under most circumstances with licensed dealers. The law goes into effect in October 2026.

11:29
 
searcher said:
^
news.dealershipguy.com

Governor Newsom signs California’s CARS Act into law

The CARS Act represents one of the most sweeping consumer-protection laws to affect California auto retail in decades.
news.dealershipguy.com news.dealershipguy.com
Click to expand...
Sounds like a jackpot for slimball loy-yehs.

Law cannot take the place of integrity and personal morality. This is also complicating a basic issue: That dealers, new and used, are LICENSED.

A complaint after a sale, could and should be resolved legally. Complaints that were adjudicated in favor of buyers, should be used in periodical reviews of license-holders.

MOREOVER. A customer-draw, could have been allowing three days to cancel the sale, right on the sales contract. Carmax does that now - they allow 30 days to reverse the sale. Seems to have helped their business - seeing how their stock is overpriced and they won't negotiate.

But the Party of Chaos, which is the only party permitted in the Land of Fruits and Nuts...they never saw a problem that they couldn't turn into an opportunity by growing and interjecting goobermint into it.
 

State Shuts Dealer Saying It Sold Used Cars as ‘New’​


Nov 6, 2025
A dealer in Michigan was shut down by the state for allegedly selling used cars as 'new', contrary to the definitions found in Michigan's Vehicle Code.


15:50
 

Tesla is the most unreliable used car brand in America, even behind Jeep and Chrysler​

The big picture: Tesla has been at the forefront of the EV revolution, delivering blazing performance, advanced driver-assistance features, and an extensive Supercharger network. However, a new survey reveals that Teslas may not be the most reliable vehicles on the market and might fall short in terms of overall ownership experience.

According to Consumer Reports' 2025 used vehicle reliability study, Tesla is the most unreliable used car brand in the US. It placed last among 26 automotive brands with a reliability ranking of 31 – below Jeep (32), Ram (35), and Chrysler (36). The study evaluated the reliability of 5- to 10-year-old models on the second-hand market.

More:

 

BMW Patents New Screw Type Just to Make Cars Harder to Work on​

Dec 25, 2025
BMW filed for a patent on a new screw head type - which looks like their logo - but the application also says they're doing it to limit who can work on their cars.


11:34

Prefer to read:

BMW’s screw that no one else can turn​

BMW has never been shy about doing things its own way. Sometimes that results in clever solutions, like gaining access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. Other times, it produces ideas that sound brilliant on paper but prove far less friendly in the real world, like the glorious but famously temperamental S85 V10. BMW’s latest screw patent leans firmly toward the latter. While the new screw head design is undeniably clever and unmistakably BMW, it appears purpose-built to keep ordinary owners well away from working on their own cars. What makes this more frustrating is that the competition is moving in another direction. Mercedes-Benz, for example, has recently spoken about redesigning future vehicles to be easier to repair, not harder.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...ne-else-can-turn/ar-AA1SFqGV?ocid=socialshare
 
^^^^^

The simple solution to this, is to not buy a BMW.

Trouble is, that's already where I'm at. When I was a kid - the era where BMW was exiting its Isetta era, and learning how to build sports sedans - BMWs were drivers' cars, but only if you didn't want to drive it for overly long. The 2002s and later models would rust so fast they'd even shock Ford owners.

While Toyota put its engineers onto the job of slowing/stopping terminal corrosion, BMW put ITS people to work, turning Planned Obsolescence into an art form. Already BMWs fail early and expensively.

Now they want to make DAMN sure that nobody EVER thinks of going to an independent shop. Not that a first-owner of a BMW ever would. But BMWs tend not to age much better than fresh milk - and used ones can be had for cheap.

Another way of driving the aftermarket value down. I wish BMW, along with the Rich People's Car Company (misnamed Volkswagenwerk) and whatever Mercedes' parent company is calling itself this year (had about six name changes in the last 30 years)...I wish them every failure. Along with Woked-Up Germany.

Die, you thieving bastids. Go broke, with no energy to even manufacture.

That's the way the Mercedes bends.
 

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation​

  • Stellantis is resurrecting a gas-powered Ram pickup truck with a V-8 engine called the TRX as it faces fewer federal emissions regulations.
  • The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available in late 2026 for around $100,000.
  • The return of the TRX is the latest move for the brand under Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, who has been leading a turnaround plan since unretiring from the automaker a year ago.
DETROIT — Stellantis is resurrecting a V-8-powered Ram pickup truck called the TRX as the company faces fewer federal emissions regulations and enacts a U.S. sales turnaround plan for its brands.

The automaker said Thursday that the 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late in 2026 for around $100,000. It was first produced for the 2021-2024 model years before being canceled as the company de-emphasized V-8 engines.

The TRX is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter “Hellcat” gas engine capable of 777 horsepower and 680 foot-pounds of torque. The automaker is calling it the “fastest and most powerful production gas pickup truck in the world,” capable of 0–60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 118 mph.

More:

www.cnbc.com

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation

The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late next year after a roughly three-year hiatus for around $100,000.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
 
searcher said:

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation​

  • Stellantis is resurrecting a gas-powered Ram pickup truck with a V-8 engine called the TRX as it faces fewer federal emissions regulations.
  • The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available in late 2026 for around $100,000.
  • The return of the TRX is the latest move for the brand under Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, who has been leading a turnaround plan since unretiring from the automaker a year ago.
DETROIT — Stellantis is resurrecting a V-8-powered Ram pickup truck called the TRX as the company faces fewer federal emissions regulations and enacts a U.S. sales turnaround plan for its brands.

The automaker said Thursday that the 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late in 2026 for around $100,000. It was first produced for the 2021-2024 model years before being canceled as the company de-emphasized V-8 engines.

The TRX is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter “Hellcat” gas engine capable of 777 horsepower and 680 foot-pounds of torque. The automaker is calling it the “fastest and most powerful production gas pickup truck in the world,” capable of 0–60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 118 mph.

More:

www.cnbc.com

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation

The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late next year after a roughly three-year hiatus for around $100,000.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
Click to expand...
Yah.

I'll rush right out and buy one...with my gig income.

These C-Suite midwits are going to learn, the Globalist-Banker Complex is no moar their friend than they are of the unwashed masses. They, too, will have nothing and be made to love it.

It will just take awhile. American car companies are now the target for Transformation. Which will involve bankruptcy, maybe Chinese purchase, and ultimately, abandonment of the market. Third World chaotic hellholes don't have thriving auto industries. Few people have autos - those who do, also need drivers and a security team.
 
searcher said:

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation​

  • Stellantis is resurrecting a gas-powered Ram pickup truck with a V-8 engine called the TRX as it faces fewer federal emissions regulations.
  • The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available in late 2026 for around $100,000.
  • The return of the TRX is the latest move for the brand under Ram CEO Tim Kuniskis, who has been leading a turnaround plan since unretiring from the automaker a year ago.
DETROIT — Stellantis is resurrecting a V-8-powered Ram pickup truck called the TRX as the company faces fewer federal emissions regulations and enacts a U.S. sales turnaround plan for its brands.

The automaker said Thursday that the 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late in 2026 for around $100,000. It was first produced for the 2021-2024 model years before being canceled as the company de-emphasized V-8 engines.

The TRX is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter “Hellcat” gas engine capable of 777 horsepower and 680 foot-pounds of torque. The automaker is calling it the “fastest and most powerful production gas pickup truck in the world,” capable of 0–60 mph in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 118 mph.

More:

www.cnbc.com

Stellantis resurrects $100,000 Ram TRX V-8 pickup truck amid industry deregulation

The 2027 Ram 1500 SRT TRX will be available late next year after a roughly three-year hiatus for around $100,000.
www.cnbc.com www.cnbc.com
Click to expand...
Now we need a good $20,000-25,000 base truck...
 
Fatrat said:
Now we need a good $20,000-25,000 base truck...
Click to expand...
Over on Barn Finds, they had a 1979 LUV pickup up for sale. Well preserved.

That, basically, is what we need. Only made with Zincrometal instead of Quick-Corrode Japanese steel.

Everything else about those little trucks was fine. Indestructible drivetrain. VERY cheap. Full-size truck bed, with a 1400-pound capacity.

They don't meet gynocrat SAAAF-TEEE!! standards or Obombahregs on fuel consumption, so WE CANNOT HAVE THEM.

That is not an unintended result. It's what they wanted - OWN NOTHING, AND LIKE IT.
 
searcher said:

BMW Patents New Screw Type Just to Make Cars Harder to Work on​

Dec 25, 2025
BMW filed for a patent on a new screw head type - which looks like their logo - but the application also says they're doing it to limit who can work on their cars.


11:34

Prefer to read:

BMW’s screw that no one else can turn​

BMW has never been shy about doing things its own way. Sometimes that results in clever solutions, like gaining access to Tesla’s Supercharger network. Other times, it produces ideas that sound brilliant on paper but prove far less friendly in the real world, like the glorious but famously temperamental S85 V10. BMW’s latest screw patent leans firmly toward the latter. While the new screw head design is undeniably clever and unmistakably BMW, it appears purpose-built to keep ordinary owners well away from working on their own cars. What makes this more frustrating is that the competition is moving in another direction. Mercedes-Benz, for example, has recently spoken about redesigning future vehicles to be easier to repair, not harder.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/new...ne-else-can-turn/ar-AA1SFqGV?ocid=socialshare
Click to expand...


More

Here's why BMW's proprietary screw patent is a terrible idea​

It doesn't even matter if you're a BMW fan or not, because a move like this is bad news if you're any kind of do-it-yourself person.​

It's only January 2nd, you guys, and already I'm tired. Not because I stayed out too late partying and didn't get enough sleep, but because I really want folks to just collectively agree to be cool and not try to screw each other over in every possible way.

Sometimes, even literally. While I've definitely been known to waffle on about screws in the past, fair warning, I'm about to do it again. And this time, it's about a screw you probably don't have the corresponding driver for, which is precisely the point. For the record, I don't either, and if BMW has anything to say about it, only the folks they deem 'authorized' ever will. Yep, BMW is introducing a new security screw where the driver will likely only ever be owned by BMW.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/mot...-a-terrible-idea/ar-AA1TFmme?ocid=socialshare
 
2026 will be the year Cybertruck dies: Tesla CEO Elon Musk overpromised sales of 250,000 Cybertrucks annually by 2025. The company has reached barely 8% of that target. (Fast Company)
 
searcher

Post in thread 'Business, Commodities & Shipping News 2026'

uaw.org

UAW Reaches Tentative Agreement with Volkswagen in Chattanooga, Marking Historic Breakthrough for Southern Autoworkers - UAW | United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America

Autoworkers at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant have won a historic tentative agreement with the company. After making history as the first Southern autoworkers outside the Big Three to join the UAW, the 3,200 workers at Volkswagen Chattanooga have won a tentative contract deal that provides 20...
uaw.org uaw.org
 
Sounds like Stellantis. With their Belvidere Assembly plant...they went on strike at the height of COE-Vidd...they got a MASSIVE raise...and then that arrogant, simple test-track-driver who was promoted to heading the new company, immediately ordered a handful of American plants closed. To expand assembly in Mexico, China and Eurostan.

The (rich) People's Car Works of Germany, is now having discomfort in its new role offering six-figure throwaway cars to a shrinking female Yuppie base. They're closing German plants, due to many factors...but many of those same factors are at work here.

Work seems headed to China. In the Americas, VW has a company town in Puebla, Mexico...where workers make a few dollars an hour; and shipping product over is relatively easy. Or has been when the Grand Plans were probably drawn up a few years ago.

I'd make book that those Chattanooga workers are gonna be the highest-paid in the Unemployment line, soon.
 
searcher

Post in thread 'Motor Heads: Cars, Trucks, Tractors & Hvy Equip.'

EPA ends credits for automatic start-stop vehicle ignition, a feature Zeldin says 'everyone hates'​

DETROIT (AP) — The Environmental Protection Agency announced an end Thursday to credits to automakers who install automatic start-stop ignition systems in their vehicles, a device intended to reduce emissions that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said “everyone hates.”

In remarks with President Donald Trump on Thursday at the White House, Zeldin called start-stop technology the “Obama switch” and said it makes vehicles “die” at every red light and stop sign. He said the credits, which also...
 
First of all, it made those cars - even if they didn't have hybrid power-packs - they had to carry another one, or two, batteries.

Second, when one of them goes dead, it would require a dealer-repacement because the computer-brain requires rebooting, and NO they are not gonna allow Joe, from Joe's Tows, to get the module that can communicate to the Mothership and reboot.

There are simpler ways of doing it. I knew someone who had a Honda scooter, a PC150...and it didn't have a starter motor. It would reverse-wire the alternator, and crank the engine that way. Remarkable - no gears or clutches in the starter drive.

FWIW, General Electric locomotives also started that way, using the main alternator as a crank. It was remarkable...you turned the start control, all the lights would flicker, and slo-o-oly, the big Cooper diesel engine would crank, slowly, and then with more speed. So, with enough battery power, it could be scaled up.

You probably couldn't start your VW Tiqxwahz with an alternator that cranks - not cold; but why didn't they try a separate system when the engine was warm and with a "government shutdown" condition? The alternator could spin it fast enough to get it to restart. Hell, you could do it yourself with a ratchet wrench.

But over the last six years, NOTHING about car design is making any sense. Almost like the managers and engineers were, I dunno, brain damaged or something. Seemed it happened right after these places Virtue-Signalled their Compliance by mandating the Holy-Majik Jab.
 
searcher said:

Mercedes-Benz Recalls Nearly 12,000 Electric Vehicles, Says Battery Packs Could Ignite | ZeroHedge

ZeroHedge - On a long enough timeline, the survival rate for everyone drops to zero
www.zerohedge.com www.zerohedge.com
Click to expand...
Imagine that.

It's not like we've been inundated with Tesla fires, Electro-Jeep fires, F150Lightning fires, battery-bus fires...electric bicycle fires, even computer fires, lo these last eight years.

And, who buys these things? Why, the koledge-ejumakayted ELITES! The same one having giggly texting sessions with Jeffy, about how they dream of getting back to his playpen.

These are the people running our world. Running it like a new Boeing model, into a mountain.

And we deserve it, because we're LETTING them run our world.
 
I'm sure many other dealers and chains were equally guilty; but now that Carvana has discovered New Age Bookkeeping and political connections...CarMax is fair game.

The reason their quarterly reports have looked so bad is, unlike Carvana, which has a criminal family running it with subsidies to slough off loan losses...CarMax is trying to play it straight.

Which cannot be easily done in this market. Their prices are way too high. They're too high because their costs are too high; and they'd gotten used to obtaining inventory without careful selection for (wholesale) price.

I actually like CarMax...bought one of my cars there. Because I couldn't find a good solid car I wanted, elsewhere. I overpaid by about $1500; but when you really need a car NOW...they'll probably have it, and without a lot of hassle.

But...what this shows is, the business is not rewarding of honesty.
 
There are like 2/500 companies that don't use creative accounting these days. Accounting is DEAD as any sort of reality disclosure anyway.

But there are some like CVNA that have taken it to a whole new criminal level. No doubt. But then consider that's well known and then they were added to the S&P 500.
 
searcher said:
www.navytimes.com

CarMax to pay at least $420K to settle allegations of illegal repossessions of troops’ cars

Affected troops will receive $15,000 each, plus any lost equity in the repossessed vehicle, according to the settlement agreement.
www.navytimes.com www.navytimes.com
Click to expand...

More

CarMax to Pay Wrongful Repo Service Members $15,000 Each​

Feb 28, 2026
The Justice Department reached a settlement with the lending side of CarMax to pay $15,000 each to service members whose cars were wrongfully repossessed - and to work to get the action removed from their credit reports.


10:36
 
The cost of doing business.

Either accept a probably-corrupt ruling, or be liquidated.

I think this is the Garcia family (Carvana, Drive-Time, several other shadier businesses) calling in political chips.

Maybe I'm wrong, but this smacks of political payback.
 
...I'm not buying this "illegally-repossessed from military-members" Narrative.

I did my Navy time. PART of that time, I did have a car note.

And I was forward deployed. To Allah's great-big sandbox.

I MADE DAMN SURE that my payments were taken care of. Long before it was mandatory, I had Direct Deposit into North Island FCU. And I had my car note out of there and it was on automatic scheduled payment.

I had the car responsibly stored and I had insurance on it, with proof provided to the credit union.

It was tedious, but not hard. Guys who couldn't figure it out shouldn't have owned a car, IMHO.

This idea that everything STOPS just because you're sent where military troops get sent (an expected event for someone in the military) is total BS.

An auto lender, whether bank or captive financier (CarMax's finance arm) does this to make money. Get the loan repaid with interest. You don't like it? Borrow from the First Bank of Mommy and then you won't have this problem.

IMHO, the Blondie Department of inJustice is looking to reward the Garcias by putting their competitor out of business.
 
Best deal on a new car in South Florida is the last of the 2025 leftover Kia Soul LX's @ $18,500 +++ or around $22k OTD. The model is being discontinued.

I am tempted to buy one, but would need to sell a silver bar or two to pay cash which could make it very expensive 2 years from now.
 

Dealer Sued for Reporting Car Stolen: They Wanted it Repossessed​

Mar 1, 2026
The lawsuit alleges a used car dealer reported a car as stolen when they should have simply repossessed it themselves.


13:02
 
^

Lawsuit claims Honda of Downtown Los Angeles used police as repo agents​

Los Angeles resident Christine Simpson never imagined her dream of driving a sleek 2022 BMW X5 would turn into a nightmare involving armed police officers and a lawsuit against a major Honda dealership.

Her nightmare started in September 2025 at Honda of Downtown Los Angeles, part of the Brandon Steven Motors group with locations across California and Kansas. Simpson walked in looking for a luxury SUV and spotted the BMW X5 on the lot.

Excited, she put down a $5,000 down payment and drove the vehicle home that day, believing the deal was solid. The dealership handled the financing paperwork, and she left feeling triumphant—until the cracks appeared.

More:

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crim...e-as-repo-agents/ar-AA1WGhrJ?ocid=socialshare
 
Fatrat said:
Bad reputation, I'll stick to used toyotas...
Click to expand...
Ditto that.

A pre-Jab (preferably pre-Brandon) Toyota is the way to go. Remember, Hussein launched air-pollution and fuel-economy standards to Fantasy Island, his last year; and the standards kicked in five years hence. Brandon's handlers' first year.

The '00s-early-'10s Toyotas are close to Peak Toyota. They had perfected Car - a 120k-mile model is just broken in.

Now they're older cars. Find one owned by an older DRIVER, one NOT a RAV4 or popular poseur-model with 4wd, and you may get a deal. Prices are coming down.

Not a Camry - the word is out, those are loveable road roaches, last forever. But Corollas and other car models are appearing at reasonable prices.

I just sold my 2000 Tacoma - what with health and hips, I can't ride; so I didn't need the truck bed. My Arizona trip showed that camping in the back was not practical; and the thing needed a clutch (which hurt my bum leg to work) and a windshield.

I sold it at a moderate loss; but the interesting thing was, I later found a Toyota minivan, newer-but-higher-mileage, garage-kept, very-nice shape, for $1500 less than I sold the truck for. Because, of course, minivans are not popular. They're mommymobiles - and America's wombynz, the persons who now have the good jobs and drive the markets...they all wanna pretend they're Lara Croft. They need Mall-Rated RAV4s with lift kits.

Meantime, my micro-mini Scion, that I had to buy in a hurry when an auto accident put me on foot...that I paid $9500 for in the heat of the Jab Follies...is now showing a market value of between $2000 and $4000. That sucks for me. That's great for anyone willing to buy a similar car, now. Because it's economical and reliable.

I'd stay away from the Soul. I had rented one, for a week, ten years ago - the seat hurt my hip and leg, with the internal airbag; and the car wasn't all that wonderful to drive. NOW, with the CVT they started using, and Kia's tendency to last exactly half the miles of a Toyota...that deal posted is no bargain.
 
searcher said:
Euronews

www.euronews.com

Volkswagen axes 50,000 jobs after profits collapse by nearly half

Volkswagen Group profits slumped by almost half in 2025. Trade conflicts, difficulties in China and the change in strategy at Porsche are putting Europe's largest car manufacturer under pressure.
www.euronews.com www.euronews.com
Click to expand...
Europe is entering the Age of Ludd.

De-industrializing. NO ENERGY.

No agriculture, either...but we'll only tell them that after harvest-time comes and there's nothing to harvest.
 
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