The 2016 Malibu needed some service. Decided to change the spark plugs at 150,000 miles. A bit overdue but if you don’t change them at some point, when they actually wear out, you might not be able to get them out after 200-300K miles to replace them.
So…off to the Chevy dealer this morning. Usually their lot is full of new cars and trucks - maybe 100-120 of them. Sorry state of affairs. There were a total of THREE new cars in the new car area. Maybe 1 or 2 of them demo units. Maybe some inside the show room, but it is a sad state of affairs to not have dozens of new cars to sell. Very strange looking dealership.
Lots of folks getting repair work/routine maintenance done but it still looked like that, too, was not as much as usual.
Gas jumped to $4.89/gal yesterday here in DFW area. Was $3.99/gal just 3 weeks ago! Some stations over $5 now.
Recent trip to OH and back last month - never saw gas over $4.50 and most was right around $3.90.
Got electric bill. Half of electric bill comes from natural gas. Gas up 150% over last year. Bill naturally - a LOT HIGHER and peak a/c months are July/August. Ouch!
Needless to say, food going up, creeping up and up, and my favorite restaurants are going up 10+% or more.
So…my advice…keep your old cars running…right now till the wheels fall off. No discounts on cars… if you can even find a reasonable price on. Most available are top end models, $45K pickup trucks up to $60K, etc, and might not even have all the safety options due to lack of chips.
2016 Malibu LTD gets 28 mpg on trips so not sweating it like the folks with 16-18 mpg vehicles.
Dealers have ‘some’ new cars but it’s not a buyers market.
Usually their lot is full of new cars and trucks - maybe 100-120 of them. Sorry state of affairs. There were a total of THREE new cars in the new car area. Maybe 1 or 2 of them demo units. Maybe some inside the show room, but it is a sad state of affairs to not have dozens of new cars to sell. Very strange looking dealership.
Only strange because we are used to seeing lots of prime real estate parked with cars that have been, on average, sitting there (many being washed everyday) for 2 months or more.
Just so your once every 3 to 10 year new car can be picked up the same day or next day when you buy it rather than waiting a week or two (in normal times).
And for this you pay the extra markup the dealer tacks.
Only strange because we are used to seeing lots of prime real estate parked with cars that have been, on average, sitting there (many being washed everyday) for 2 months or more. Just so your once every 3 to 10 year new car can be picked up the same day or next day when you buy it rather than waiting a week or two (in normal times). And for this you pay the extra markup the dealer tacks.
I talked to a VW dealer about this recently. He’s loving it. Basically, the cars that are due to be shipped in are all available online. You pick out the one you want and pay for it however you are going to pay for it. And you pick it up when the truck delivers it. They only keep a few new cars on site for demos, everything else is trade ins. It looks funny because we’re used to seeing dealerships surrounded by cars instead of vast, empty, parking lots. But that’s the way the sales model has evolved.