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Where do never-sold new cars go?

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nota bene

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I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
 
nota bene said:
I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
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They sell current year models on clearance in the last quarter. If they don't sell them all, they might simply scrap them. Wasteful as that is.
 
nota bene said:
I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
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My educated guess is that car rental companies buy/lease them at a steep discount.

With fleet sizes in the six- to seven-figure range, it should be no surprise that rental car companies are the largest purchasers of cars and trucks in the United States.
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https://www.fool.com/investing/gene...sing-facts-about-the-rental-car-industry.aspx
 
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nota bene said:
I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
Click to expand...



Unsold stock ends up in wholesale auctions or rental fleets. Large NE auction outfit is Mannheim Auctions.


Edit: worlds largest auction (vehicle)
 
nota bene said:
I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
Click to expand...

Dealers mark them down until they are sold you aren’t going to find any 2016 new cars but the 2017s are and the end of being new with the 2019s coming out so you can get a steal there.
 
If nothing is wrong with them they sell them cheap. Either the dealer does and takes the loss or the manufacture gives a rebate to the dealer to get rid of it.

For cars, usually a 25% discount at the beginning of the next year (ie look for 2017 cars now for a great deal) would be enough to clear out old stock. Sometimes more of a discount is required

I purchased a 2015 Ford 150 XLT in early Jan 2016 with a 2.7 TT V6 for $36600 Canadian, MRSP for it was $48 000.

For the best deals look for cars that are really unpopular

Early last year in my city the Kia Cadenza had some new 2015 models in stock in 2017 at $33000, when the MRSP was closer to $50 000.

So eventually the cars will get sold, but they will be unpopular models, or in strange colours or with poor option packages. Dealers will generally want to get rid of a car in the first quarter of the next model year rather than wait for another year while having to make payments on a car that is losing value each and every day. I expect finding a new 2016 car in 2018 would be very difficult unless you went with some lesser known brands. Try looking at Kia, Hyundai, Mazda and perhaps VW, I doubt any of the major brands will have any new 2016's in stock

Motorcycles are a different story, I have seen plenty of 2 year old stock listed as new at a lot of dealerships, the discounts are good but not great
 
I never understood anyone would want to buy a new car that loses 10%+ of it's value as soon as you drive off the lot.
 
In the next few months expect great deals on

Jeep Wrangler JK models, as the JL rolls out

Ram 1500, as the new 2019 redesigned models roll out

Chevy and GMC 1500's as the new redesigned 2019 models roll out
 
Nilly said:
I never understood anyone would want to buy a new car that loses 10%+ of it's value as soon as you drive off the lot.
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Someone has to or their would be no used cars for people to buy
 
Lord Tammerlain said:
In the next few months expect great deals on

Jeep Wrangler JK models, as the JL rolls out

Ram 1500, as the new 2019 redesigned models roll out

Chevy and GMC 1500's as the new redesigned 2019 models roll out
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I’ll have to do that my fiancée is looking for a Jeep wrangler JK
 
Crovax said:
I’ll have to do that my fiancée is looking for a Jeep wrangler JK
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Jeep is building both for a period of time this year (June?) at which point Jeep will likely offer discounts to get rid of the old model

Given the high resale value and the increased price for the JL, dont expect to high of a discount
 
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nota bene said:
I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
Click to expand...

In general, used cars that don't get sold in 3 months or so go to auction. It might be similar for new cars.
 
Rexedgar said:
Unsold stock ends up in wholesale auctions or rental fleets. Large NE auction outfit is Mannheim Auctions.


Edit: worlds largest auction (vehicle)
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Of course. :doh I don't know why I didn't think of Enterprise and etc.
 
Crovax said:
Dealers mark them down until they are sold you aren’t going to find any 2016 new cars but the 2017s are and the end of being new with the 2019s coming out so you can get a steal there.
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I've pulled up some really good deals on 2017s, which is why I thought, well, if these are this good, how much better would a 2016 be?

I think you're right; I've found exactly one 2016, and I guess it's new if 7K+ miles is "new." :(
 
nota bene said:
I've pulled up some really good deals on 2017s, which is why I thought, well, if these are this good, how much better would a 2016 be?

I think you're right; I've found exactly one 2016, and I guess it's new if 7K+ miles is "new." :(
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Depends on the model... A FIAT 7000 miles is halfway to major repair. A Volkswagen 7000 miles isn't even the first oil change.

It probably was a finance job that didn't go through.
 
nota bene said:
I'm beginning to think about replacing my beloved "Sir" at some point but don't want to pay 2018 prices. My car is a 2010, and I would be very happy with a brand-new 2016, but I can't find any new ones (despite Googling and being lured to various sites on the premise that they have a 2016).

So where do new cars that never sold go? Are they sold overseas or something? Is there some trick to searching online? I've been to Car Gurus and etc.

Thanks in advance to anybody who knows the answers to my (probably dumb) questions.
Click to expand...
Contrary to ZeroHedge's misleading article from a few years ago
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/unsold-cars/

very few cars remain unsold at year's end. And, those that do are heavily discounted early in the following production year. For example, I bought a brand new 2015 Toyota Avalon in early 2016. It was heavily discounted because it lacked the "upgrades" present in the '16 model. But it worked for me, especially since I got it for about the same price as a Camry.

My guess is that the last of the 2016 cars that went unsold by mid-year 2017 were dumped to rental car companies or other fleet users at 30 cents on the dollar. But, I'm guessing. What I do know is that they never build too many cars. It's basically a just in time market, but with maybe 2-months of excess stock instead of a month of backlog. It's better to have 100 cars too many than to fall even 10 cars short of demand.
 
nota bene said:
I've pulled up some really good deals on 2017s, which is why I thought, well, if these are this good, how much better would a 2016 be?

I think you're right; I've found exactly one 2016, and I guess it's new if 7K+ miles is "new." :(
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My best story.

Looking for basic transportation.

Walk onto a Hyundai lot. I lay out the basics. Small, light, cheap and manual transmission.

Accent the dealer says. Points me at a no AC, no frills, gun metal gray hatch.. Says 10,500.

I hem and haw a it and ask if there are any incentives.

He goes in the door. Comes back out and says 3,000 rebate...

New car in 2003 for $7500....

Loved the little thing.
 
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LowDown said:
In general, used cars that don't get sold in 3 months or so go to auction. It might be similar for new cars.
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A Ford dealership I went to looking for a truck had a few on the lot for 8 months or so (was providing 20% discounts to move that selected inventory. Took that offer to another dealer and they matched the price and added 3M coating and running boards at the same price
 
Fledermaus said:
Depends on the model... A FIAT 7000 miles is halfway to major repair. A Volkswagen 7000 miles isn't even the first oil change.

It probably was a finance job that didn't go through.
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My mother used to call my father's Fiat Spider his "bastard child." I learned to drive a stick on it, but it spent more time in the repair garage than it did at home and parts had to be found in Italian junkyards. One of my sisters inherited it and promptly gave it to the garage. ;)
 
nota bene said:
My mother used to call my father's Fiat Spider his "bastard child." I learned to drive a stick on it, but it spent more time in the repair garage than it did at home and parts had to be found in Italian junkyards. One of my sisters inherited it and promptly gave it to the garage. ;)
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Smart sister! She would not have been out of line to give the garage some cash in the bargain.........
 
Rexedgar said:
Smart sister! She would not have been out of line to give the garage some cash in the bargain.........
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If she'd had to, she would've! I wonder what fortune my father spent over the decades. I have one of the vanity "Fiat60" license plates, and she has the other. Good enough! (But it really was a beautiful car--dark green and a ragtop. I remember the snaps!)
 
Fledermaus said:
Depends on the model... A FIAT 7000 miles is halfway to major repair.
Click to expand...

Most honest commercial ever made was the first half of the Fiat commercial where they're plunging en masse into the Mediterranean.
 
nota bene said:
If she'd had to, she would've! I wonder what fortune my father spent over the decades. I have one of the vanity "Fiat60" license plates, and she has the other. Good enough! (But it really was a beautiful car--dark green and a ragtop. I remember the snaps!)
Click to expand...


I opened my first business in 1980. Car repair. Could not have been a year later that Fiat pulled out of the American market. The cars were much too hi-maintenance and the parts network was not nearly able to keep up with demand!
 
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