Despite their foul mood, consumers are splurging on vehicles and may also be splurging on other products.
By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.
Sales of used vehicles at franchised dealers (such as GM or Ford or Honda dealers) and independent dealers to retail customers spiked by 12.8% year-over-year in March, to 1.66 million vehicles, after year-over-year increases of 2.8% and 3.8% respectively in February and January, according to data from Cox Automotive.
This is tax-refund season. Tax refunds make perfect down-payments for purchasing a vehicle. The whole industry salivates over them. And tax refunds were up.
Individual income tax refunds through April 4 rose by 5.0% from a year ago to $211 billion, according to IRS data. The number of tax refunds rose by 1.4% year-over-year, to 67.7 million refunds. The average tax refund to individual taxpayers increased by 3.5% to $3,116. Tax refunds paid via direct deposit rose by 5.3% to $206 billion, and they were available for down-payments essentially right away.
Consumers are splurging on both, new and used vehicles – the biggest category in retail sales – despite fears and fretting about consumer spending in Q1, and despite the ultra-foul mood consumers are in because they hate hate hate high prices and inflation, made worse by the hoopla in the media about tariffs.
New vehicles sales, as we saw earlier in April, jumped in March by 13.3% year-over-year, after having already increased in February and January, to produce the best Q1 for new vehicles since 2019.
Tax-refund season is an important factor in new vehicle sales as well. Plus, some front-running of the tariffs also played a role in the surge in new vehicle sales.
Used vehicles are not tariffed. And the surge in used-vehicle sales is more a factor of tax refunds and the sky-high prices of new vehicles that haven’t declined much off the spike, and those sky-high prices shift sales from new vehicles to used vehicles, often on the same dealer lot. In addition, as always, the urge to trade in an old set of wheels for something nicer, and the ability to do so, played a role.
Total retail sales, based on sales by all categories of retailers, could show solid gains for March (to be released on Wednesday), after unit sales of used and new vehicles booked these strong gains. There might have been a similar surge at other retailer categories as well.
But used-vehicle inventory is tight.
The number of used vehicles in inventory at franchised and independent dealers dipped to 2.14 million vehicles at the beginning of March, according to estimates by Cox Automotive. Supply was down to 39 days.
Used vehicle inventory is fed by vehicles that had been purchased new some time ago. They enter the used market via trade-ins, lease returns, fleet turnover at rental operations (2.5 to 3.5 million vehicles in a normal year), fleet turnover at other fleets, repos, etc.
During the period of the semiconductor shortages in 2021 and 2022, global vehicle production plunged, and as a consequence in the US, 6-10 million fewer new-vehicles were sold over the two-year period than might have been sold otherwise, and these 6-10 million missing vehicles are now not flowing into the used vehicle market.
In addition, leasing activity in 2021 and 2022 plunged, which has led to a sharp decline in the number of leases that are now maturing, and so supply of off-lease vehicles has plunged. And amid very solid demand and relatively tight inventory, retail prices started to rise again last September.
Used-vehicle retail prices started rising 7 months ago.
In 2021 and 2022, used vehicle retail prices, per the Consumer Price Index, had spiked by about 55% (seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted). Then in 2023 and 2024 through August, they gave up about half of that spike. But in September 2024, on solid demand and tight inventories, prices started to rise again (seasonally adjusted and not seasonally adjusted).
In March, prices continued to rise on a not-seasonally adjusted basis (blue), but that increase wasn’t as large as recent March increases, and so on a seasonally adjusted basis, prices dipped (red).
Enjoy reading WOLF STREET and want to support it? You can donate. I appreciate it immensely. Click on the mug to find out how:
The drunken sailors are sobering up. The sun is starting to rise. There is a WSJ article from yesterday titled ‘Wealthy Buyers Are Backing Out of Multimillion-Dollar Home Deals.’ Does this mean the party is over? Note: vampires do find a dark place to sleep when the sun comes up. I think the sun is coming up on the easy money casino.
That comment belongs on our housing articles, and yes, we’ve reported here for over a year that sales of existing homes have plunged across the board, 2024 was the worst year since 1995, and in many cities prices are beginning to sag.
I have no idea why it took the WSJ so long to finally see that?
You can get all our housing articles right here: https://wolfstreet.com/category/all/housing/
it seems hardly surprising that people would run to the stores to buy up everything they can and anticipation of tariffs. I’m not sure that the noise and the data is going to say anything useful about what’s gonna happen in the next few months. if anything, you can predict that the increase in sales for shadows is significant slump down the road since demands seem to have shifted to the beginning of the year, which is not typical. Most consumers pay off their credit cards after Christmas and then do their shopping in the fall. Not this year
Hey Wolf, I believe the spike is across the board in big ticket items where people were expecting tariffs to hit the hardest. Give it a month or two and the figures should drop big time, worse than housing.
A big part of the boost in sales was due to the higher tax refunds, which are used as down payment (read the article!).
Sales of used vehicles, which are not tariffed, were already strong in January and February, and in December, and in October, and in September… They’ve been strong for months. New vehicle sales have been strong for six months as well. People are buying vehicles, tariffs or no tariffs.
If new car sales increase, prices are likely to increase because of increase in demand. That would likely increase the sales and prices of all cars, including used because inflation mentality is now entrenched, much to the dismay of the Fed. Tariffs increase the entrenchment. You know used car dealers are saying “You better buy now, we are selling a lot of cars, and car prices are going up next month.” Well, they always say that but will probably say that more than they used to. The difference is most purchasers will likely agree.
Mr. Wolf: In California’s central valley here is a big automall with every kind of main vehicle dealers. I get my car repaired there. I don’t see the 1980s people walking all over the lot, rooms of sales people closing deals, etc. Maybe they are buying online, texting, chatting etc. Went looking for a new car, many don’t have a single naturally aspirated engine or a transmission that isn’t scaled up from a rubber belt driven riding lawn mower or the electric golf cart side of the industry.
I’m surprised that anyone is even getting a tax refund these days.
Because you think that DOGE fired everyone at the IRS? Tax-return processing is automated, and tax refunds are automated, unless there is some kind of problem.
Got a personal call this last Saturday from the Sales Manager of the local Chevy dealer asking me if I was interested in coming in and trading my 2023 Bolt for a new EV or gas car/truck. I guess he feels it’s time for me to “Trade UP”, or they just have way too many leftover 2024’s and new 2025 vehicles on the lot.
I feel so special!
(but I passed on the offer).
I’m in the same boat, holding tight. For 2 years I was e-mailed and called from my last new purchase by sales reps.. After, repeated attempts to have my name removed and blocking the barrage it ended. Hope you have better luck.
Must be a new thing for car dealers. I get “Special Offer!” in my email every few months from the dealer I bought my last car from. They want me to trade in my 4 year old car for the latest model. With “Guaranteed Financing!”. You’d think with all the technology tracking my every move and thought pattern, they’d recognize they just wasting valuable bits.
I wonder how many people went on a purchasing binge because of -at the time- impending rise in tariffs.
I only know of some anecdotal evidence but it’d be interesting to discover hard data on it, if it exists.
The hard data is that $211 billion in tax refunds went out, up by 5% yoy, and that’s cash that consumer spend. When they spend it on down payments, they leverage that tax refund, so you can see the effect of that. That’s like $211 billion in stimulus checks going out.
Is the increase in tax returns an indicator of changes in tax structure or write offs, or weaker income?
Or something else I’m missing?
1. More income, therefore more taxes paid via payroll deductions, therefore higher tax refunds.
2. A larger number of workers: payrolls grew by 1.88 million year-over-year.
People with any intelligence have nearly zero refunds as they have adjusted their quarterly payments to align with their incomes so they do not overpay the IRS during the year.
@SoCalBeachDude To quote George Carlin “Think of how stupid the average person is, and realize half of them are stupider than that”. I bet most Americans don’t even know they can adjust what their employer withholds…
Probably a lot of people look forward to getting those “bonus” checks, as it gives them a large lump sum all at one time. Whereas they would actually need to have enough savvy to save a little of each paycheck to achieve the same result.
That’s way too much work and budgeting for most people.
I was thinking the same thing, Dude. $3,500 average? Why?! The IRS charges us interest if we underpay, not the other way around…
It used to be nice to get a refund and purchase additional $5000 of paper Ibonds.
The only problem is that, when I learned that you can get paper Ibonds using tax refund, they stopped offering that option the following year (2024) lol
Frontrunning and tax refunds. Next inflation and retail sales reports should be banging up.
NYT had an article on how young people feel encouraged to spend because of how bad their financial situation is. They can’t afford housing and don’t see retiring to be a thing so they just doom spend instead.
Combine that with the covid era policies of giving away money the second things get bad and this is what you get.
Wolf–Do you have any information on buyer demographics, e.g. what percentage of cars are purchased by working folks and what percentage are purchased by retired folks? Retirement accounts did well last year–so plenty of money available for new toys. This year so far, not so much–yet. Different types of drunken sailors to my mind.
1. The article is about USED vehicle sales — not Ferrari sales. Used vehicle sales go across the income spectrum and age spectrum. Young people are huge buyers of used vehicles. Poor people almost exclusively buy used vehicles. People with money for whom a vehicle is just a way to get to work buy recent-model-year used vehicles because it makes financial sense. Parents buy used vehicles for their kids.
2. In the US, nearly every household has at least one vehicle (92%). Everyone who has a vehicle has to eventually replace it or give up driving it. The young generation is the one that is buying vehicles for the first time, and they’re huge buyers because they don’t have a vehicle but want one. But there is a small subset of people who live in big urban centers with dense populations, decent mass transit, lots of walkable stuff, that don’t have a vehicle, such as people who live in Manhattan, and central parts of San Francisco, Boston, etc. and that has been the case for eons. Some old people get too old or too sick to drive, and they give up their vehicle, which is a hit to their independence that everyone dreads.
My first question was poorly formulated. Sorry. I went to the BLS government site to find what I really wanted. Roughly speaking, about 13% of income in the USA is spent on transportation–a pretty healthy sum. I suspect that if that percentage stays the same for the drunken sailors, we’re fairly safe. But leverage certainly makes that percentage far more brittle.
Wolf wrote:
“But there is a small subset of people who live in big urban centers with dense populations, decent mass transit, lots of walkable stuff, that don’t have a vehicle … “
Anecdotally, that precisely describes one of my older brothers – single – before he retired to a warmer area. He would rent a car if he needed one.
Howdy Folks. ” Individual income tax refunds through April 4 rose by 5.0% from a year ago”
Never let Uncle Sam hold onto your $$$$ so you get your hard earned $$$$ as a tax refund. Ridicolus says Bubba Squirrel….
Some undisciplined people use it as self-forced savings. They can’t help but spend it all as it comes in, but by letting the IRS hold it then give it back at tax time they have a lump sum to spend.
Why give the IRS an interest-free loan? On April 15, it’s best to owe the IRS as much as possible without incurring a penalty.
and some, like me, made too high estimated payments each quarter…because the alternative is paying 7%…believe me its not the fact I use it as self-forced savings.
I attest to that. Self employed can get away with this “interest year loan” for one year maybe two (if your profit/loss are significantly different). The following year, you will be asked to explain, how come you failed to make estimated payments for each quarter. Miss a deadline by a day and interest starts counting.
I claim single and zero ,my return pays property tax . More proof you will own nothing and be HAPPY
It really makes sense for a lot of people
You all make it sound so easy to do all the calculations to make this work exactly the way you want it to. Maybe someone’s income is variable….maybe they’ll have a crapton of medical expenses one year. Maybe they’ll make less this year than last year. And maybe…just maybe…the government will change the formula mid year, or end year, or beginning next year. What magical fairy dust makes it all so easy for you to do this?
Miss calculated in December when I took my RMD for 2024 and get $16 less interest after filing Friday. Would have been 16.42 but had to use Turbo, due to K-1s, and it rounds everything.
Howdy Folks. Even if you owe Uncle Sam $$$$ and are penalized, smile and feel better. Uncle Sam is a blood sucker and who better to owe $$$ too?????
“Individual income tax refunds through April 4 rose by 5.0% from a year ago to $211 billion, according to IRS data. The number of tax refunds rose by 1.4% year-over-year, to 67.7 million refunds. ”
Fed tax refunds? Oh yeah, I filed at start of Feb. IRS asked me to verify who I was in early March. I am told I might get see my refund by first week of May. So here is what I wanna know. If I owe(d) on my taxes more than a certain amount I’d owe interest. You’d think that after April 15th that the IRS would be made to pay interest on the additional time they owe filers $$. I’m owed not alittle but alot (yeah I am fortunate, but made a mistake paying too much quarterly, that won’t happen again)…but why shouldn’t they refund in a reasonable timeframe or be made to pay interest.
Hey Ryan,
IRS actually does pay interest sometimes, or did.
We have had a couple situations where we made mistakes on our return, and it took a while to get it worked out, and received refunds with interest.
Sorry I don’t remember exact circumstances, but you can likely find it out if you care to study the instructions thoroughly.
(I should add to be clear, both times were decades ago, so policies may have changed since then…)
I have, over the last 2 yrs, had refund back (lots of reasons, mainly because I am now retired and do investing that requires quarterly payments which makes estimation sometime difficult. Anyway I never want to be on the end of the short stick because of the 7% IRS charge. But I have NEVER received any interest related to IRS late refund. They needed me to verify my ID. Next yr I will use a TIN as well…that is their security measure, in addition to SS #. I guess cause my SS# is on the dark web anyone can file a fake return and claim a big refund. I do get it…pity our society has come to this.
The IRS has always paid interest on overpayments, though 20+ years ago there was differential between what they paid and what they charged. That was changed in one of the tax reforms back then. From the IRS website today:
“When does the IRS pay interest?
Stop and Start Dates for Overpayment Interest
In general, we pay interest on the amount you overpay starting from the later of the:
– Tax return filing due date
– Late filed tax return received date
– Date we get your return in a format we can process
– Date the payment was made
We stop paying interest on overpayments on the date we refund your overpayment (and interest) or offset it to an outstanding liability.
Exception: We have administrative time (typically 45 days) to issue your refund without paying interest on it.”
So, assuming your return is in a format that can be processed you should receive interest if the refund isn’t issued by May 30, 2025 (45 days after the due date of the return on April 15, 2025, due to the exception).
They do. I have received a whooping $27 dollars of IRS interest during Covid 2020 pandemic (when deadline to file was moved).
Don’t forget that the interest that the irs pays is taxable. Uncle Sam won’t…
ryan,
Some fifty years past when I filed in Illinois and Missouri I over paid Missouri. Well Illinois caught the mistake and sent me a dun plus interest. Filed an amended MO return asking for a refund. They agreed and refunded the amount plus interest. About a year later IL did the same. A friend worked revenue for IL so ask him what I should do? He said never claim the state made a mistake, just keep it in a savings account. Well I took his advice and IL hasn’t ask for it back.
If ONLY the IRS felt their online filing via Intuit was safe enough where they didn’t have to have me validate my ID. Net year I will request a TIN and use it as part of the security filing measure. I just found out about it. Anyway, I’m waiting on $32k refund from IRS…it ain’t chump change.
‘DETROIT, April 10 (Reuters) – A new analysis by the Center for Automotive Research has found that President Donald Trump’s 25% auto tariffs imposed in early April will increase costs by about $108 billion for automakers in the U.S. in 2025.’
The above was published April 10, so who knows what the tariff deal is now, or next week. Under the regime as of 4 days ago, the prices of new cars would rise.
I don’t give one iota about costs for automakers after they incinerated tens of billions of dollars on share buybacks, and invested many billions of dollars in production facilities in Mexico, China, Canada, and elsewhere, to produce vehicles and components to be sold in the US. They have plants in the US already. They can shift, and are already shifting, production to existing US plants, including for components. And they can build more US plants, and some have already announced that they would expand existing plants and build new plants in the US, which is what tariffs are supposed to accomplish, and they need to bring components manufacturing back from China and Mexico and Canada, and then they’d save $108 billion or whatever.
All true, you CAN do all the above. but shouldn’t you warn your industry this is coming in say a year instead of next week?
Second: the long standing Auto Pact with Canada says simply: For every car you sell here (Canada) you have to build one here.
Under the proposal (if it is) that all auto production is now mandated to be USA, you will NEVER sell a car in Canada.
Lots of countries make cars: Japan, South Korea, Germany.
We’ll just buy our effing cars elsewhere.
BTW: I’ve owned many cars: Incl from GM. Ford,. Volvo. Benz ,Audi. V.W. I don’t even consider any now but Japanese.
Less screw ups and they do manufacture in Canada.
I’ve been thinking something similar. It takes a while to build and retool factories (though some are easier than others). Wouldn’t it be preferable to ramp up tariff rates over time? You want companies to have ample funds now to invest in new production facilities, not have those funds taxed away as tariffs. So maybe have a tariff start at 2% next year and go up 2% every year for the next 10 years. That gives businesses plenty of time to properly plan and ramp up production, with the incentive to do so. And I’m also a huge Honda fan. Best cars for the money.
Considering the ‘effing’ I appreciate the tolerance of my divergent view.
That pact seems like they are trying to relocate manufacturing to Canada. Isn’t that kinda like what tariffs do?
The same automakers we bailed out?
CAR is hardly an unbiased authority since
they recieve a portion of their funding from
automakers. Take their finding with a grain of
salt.
I just bought a used car,tis boring(grey man car),a 1998 a Oldsmobile Intrigue.
The body/interior mint,great tires/have run it over 400 miles,no weird/bad things/gremlins(so far!).
I paid 5000 grand but the car has only 47,000 miles,has the 3800 engine which has a good track record.
Time will tell whether I was a slightly sober sailor or really drunk and made a error.
This is a daily runner/point A to B car and in no way means the classic 4×4’s are out of me life!
It’s always risky buying a 27-year old car. Hopefully it will work out for you. I’ll keep my fingers crossed.
It is also a little more risky when the 27 year old car was made by a car brand that died in a corporate BK a couple decades ago. If you want a unique car and dont plan to put a lot of miles on it you should be fine (since parts for the GM drivetrain will be east to find). If you plan to drive more than 1K a month you should detail it and try to flip it on Bring a Trailer (where one with 28K miles just sold for $8K) and buy a newer Honda or Toyota.
I had a ‘98 Oldsmobile Aurora (with the Northstar engine) from 2001 through 2012. I really enjoyed that car, though it went through an inordinate number of water pumps and I did have to replace the transmission. Eventually it got to the point where it was becoming “prohibitive to repair” so I moved on. Currently driving a 2011 Chrysler 300C that I bought in 2014 — not sure how much longer I can make it last, like the Aurora I really enjoy driving it …
Coming from a former mechanic whose newest car is a 2006, you made a wise decision by picking up a GM 3800 V6. The only worries you have is the simple age of the car and any Oldsmobile specific parts.
Basic transportation is worth at least $3000 so depreciation is almost a non-issue. Every month that the car runs well with nothing but maintenance is a win.
James, I am aware that the 3800 is one of the best engines ever made.
Maintenance parts are still widely available those cars. Trim and body panels might need to be found on eBay or a wrecking yard. But I am sure you already know this. Sounds like a great score and a smart move to me!
Maybe used cars will become the next Nvidia…
🤔🤔☹️🙁
Thanks for positive comments folks,while not a “tech”have been a brush mechanic for decades so feel can keep the little beasty running!
I would love a Toyota,but……..,a old one with the 20/22R motor,those little beasties run forever with good maintenance,a old Honda Prelude would also be nice!
I do have the 81 3/4 ton 4×4 van and a 85 F-150 built to the hills 4×4 so no matter what happens will be fine motor vehicle wise(excepting gas mileage!).
Wish we could get the Toyota Hilux here in the US,would go with a .50 caliber option mounted in the bed/20m.m. anti tank gun would also be acceptable!
No mater what you drive/ride happy motoring!
The entire US car industry is due for a mega shift (downsizing). I have no doubt it will happen. May take a few more years but it’s coming.
Cars and trucks are much too complex, overly large and expensive and there is a totally missing segment for much cheaper, simpler cars.
Of course, it will take some major rollback on regulations (that will happen too). Things like airbags, ultra emission controls. third brake light (yes the third brake light that is required by Fed regulations but NOT state regulations….total BS), on and on.
I restored a 1966 Volvo (122S model). This is a reliable, easy to work on and actually nice driving little car. And safe. Something like this could be made en mass with an upgraded small fuel injected engine and computer engine controls (for higher efficiency). Wouldn’t even need ABS brakes with simpe 4 disc brakes and driver that pays attention to road conditions. This car could be made for $20-25K today and could be made to be inexpensive to maintain.
That is one example of where things are headed. The entire US auto manufacturing is just but one example of how bloated and entitled we have become. Oh and did I mention how stupid we have become??
122S
Had one too. Body style like a ’49 Ford. Had a synchronizer for the dual SU carbs. Car could do 120 mph solid and stable with the European gearing. Good on gas 4 cylinder R22 motor and 4 speed stick
I’m getting a lot of e-mails and promotions like this :
“Bet the tariff increase sale”
Me favorite was the in the past real estate ads,”Buy now or be priced out forever”,I laugh at fear porn!
There is a lot of ruin in a country. Why not front run consumption if you have money? Plus the usual bump from tax refunds. Just thing about how fast things went from happy to sad in the last big financial crisis. Now, as we start down that road again, the big backstops are not going to work.
The number of total bust outs in America is growing, and those homeless are not getting houses, handouts, or anything that really helps. Just told “No Camping”, and move along.
What a stupid society. We keep dreaming of prosperity while the reality is serious degradation. Kicking out millions of working marginal immigrants and moving people into those marginal jobs (which may soon not exist) is not going to work.
But hey, we are just accelerating the crisis. It was inevitable, but now we will eventually have the Fed pushing on a string, a DOGE response, and our system will have to change.
Tariffs will be paid, profits will decline, and at least one big car company will most likely go broke again (pick one, and yes they will survive in some form after another reorganization). In short, we will survive, some of us will thrive, and assets will find new price levels that reflect how much they can return, instead of constant speculation.
Increased anxiety can cause some people to shop more. Seems like something out of an advertising textbook.
Looking at a new BMW X7 with the inline 6.
Last week, an on the lot sample was $95k at the local dealership.
Same car (same VIN) this week is $103k.
This is happening in real time, folks. And we are gonna get hit by huge inflation in coming months
Tariffs are NOT INFLATION. They are simply TAXES.
Just read an article about a guy who bought a used car around Thanksgiving, and got a call from the dealer in March, asking to buy it back from him for more money than he paid for it. Inventory in used cars is declining rapidly as customers shift down to used cars as being more affordable, and that is driving up the price due to lower supply and higher demand. People were already trying to get ahead of the post-tariff rush, moving that up to a pre-tariff rush. I did the same thing, advancing my purchase of a used vehicle by a year over my plans because I have no idea how long the shortage in used cars and the tariff-inflation on new cars will last. Might as well get one now when I was able to still find a good price on a low-mileage Jeep in my area.
Reality,
1. BS. I just checked and even here in the uber-expensive Bay Area, the 2025 BMW X7 with inline 6 is advertised all over the place between $89K and $94K.
2. Don’t buy it. If no one buys it, it’s just a fantasy price, and never enters into inflation. People should simply refuse to get ripped off like this.
3. That car was in the US long before any tariffs applied. That dealer is trying to f***k customers — if what you said is actually true, which I doubt. If it’s true, don’t ever go back. If you go back, it’s you who is stupid and you deserve what you get. But don’t come around here complaining about it.
4. Your conclusion, based on BS, is therefore total BS. You’re just trying to rile people up with BS. I frown upon that.
This country is filled with 5 to 15 year old cars that mostly sit. Second, third vehicles that are paid off and kept around for whatever reason. I’m guilty as charged – I have three cars.
I think these increased tariffs on imported cars and parts, along with a general economic downshift after 15+ years of credit fueled overconsumption should get some of those vehicles back on the road where they belong. Cars need to be driven – they deteriorate when they sit unused. Maybe a spike in used car prices will get a few more vehicles on Craigs list or whatever and the “fleet miles” will be on using these vehicles up while the US based factories get going. 99% of cars should be driven 200k+ miles and then recycled, almost none are truly collectables that are worth keeping around after 20 years. Like the guy above with the Oldsmobile – drive it then scrap it.
Non-dealership mechanics and auto parts stores could see good business for a while.
There is a shortage of auto technicians. Every major service department struggles with that. It has been that way for decades. We hired young people, sent them to school and specialized training, we trained them in the shop, we mentored them in our team system, we got them certified, we paid them well — top techs were among the best-paid people at the dealership — we tried, and we mostly succeeded in staffing our huge shop (two shifts, six days a week), but it was hard and expensive.
If young people have any affinity at all for cars, and don’t care much for college, I recommend that route. It’s nice to work in a field where there is a near-permanent labor shortage. But they have to be smart and not be afraid of computers and high-tech equipment, and not mind having to wash their hands BEFORE they go to the bathroom.
Yep, I live in a high cost area. The dealers here are booked solid for service. They have hired the most incompetent baffoons on the planet in their service departments and get away with it. I recently had a routine oil change botched because they did not put the plug in the oil pan tight enough and it fell off and all the oil dripped out on the highway. I believe it caused engine damage as I drove a mile or so with no oil in the engine. On another occasion they tried to charge me $400 to rotate my tires because they said the lug nuts were frozen. Even with this terrible service there is a line of cars waiting every day for service.
B,while I agree many cars not worth keeping up with after a certain point you take really good care of em 200 is a easy goal.
Everyone has a different taste in autos,at least us “older “folks!
Like Mike with his classic Volvo(would love a old Bertone Coupe!),me with me 4×4’s/hot rodders/muscle cars and just any older stuff with a personality..
I am hopeful that with good maintenance this little Olds gives me a lot of good service.
I hope the good techs and ones coming up open their own shops,beat dealer overhead and can give a little more personal service/really know their local customers ect.,all trades need new blood and folks willing to get them started and pass along knowledge.
A 79 year old woman I know just told me she bought crypto this week, upon advice from somebody. You can’t make this shit up.