What happens to new cars that don’t get sold in the year that they are made?Who gets them?Were do the cars go?
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Maddy A asked:
I travel all over the U.S. and see thousands of cars sitting on lots that are in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see those people even selling 1/3 of those cars. What happens to them? It’s a mystery to me. There are just too many, I don’t believe that they are all being sold each year, as many as there are produced. Anybody ever wonder? Does anybody know?
KELLEY
I travel all over the U.S. and see thousands of cars sitting on lots that are in the middle of nowhere. I can’t see those people even selling 1/3 of those cars. What happens to them? It’s a mystery to me. There are just too many, I don’t believe that they are all being sold each year, as many as there are produced. Anybody ever wonder? Does anybody know?
KELLEY
June 14th, 2005 at 5:59 am
sold the next year as demo cars at a reduced price with full warranty
June 16th, 2005 at 4:22 am
generally the dealer keeps trying to sell the vehicle. I remember when we had a BRAND NEW 1998 FORD ESCORT ZX2 on the lot in 2001. The car had less than 50 miles on it. All the other ZX2’s sold early in the year. This one was black, alloy wheels, sunroof, power windows and locks, cd player (yes it was still optional back then), cruise, tilt wheel, and an automatic transmission.
i doubt i will ever forget that car.
The car finally sold and we had a nice little going away party for it.
June 16th, 2005 at 2:45 pm
They are all eventually sold. As the year goes on, the manufacturer’s start to offer rebates to help sell them. Eventually, it is the responsibility of the dealership to sell any remaining units on their lot, and unfortunately often at a loss. Manufacturer’s will give the dealership a specific amount of money, which is usually equal the the last customer rebate, in the form of dealer cash which the dealership can do with what they please. Ideally, it should be used to reduce the price of any remaining units so they don’t have to keep paying floor plan. This also is considered a price reduction, so the buyer gets to save alittle bit of money in taxes.
Dealerships pay floor plan on any vehicle on their property after a certain duration of time, typically 45 days. I have also seen dealerships with vehicles 2 years or older, still brand new, yet not sold.
They are NOT sold as demos. Demo vehicles do not have the same warranty guide lines as stock units if they have already been put into service. If a dealership chooses to put vehicles into demo service, the warranty starts and the car is essentially sold to the dealership, but not titled. When a customer buys one, they do not get the full factory warranty from their date of purchase, rather the date the dealership categorized it as a demo. I hope this helps!