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Those were the days.


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Ian Brown tells me that there are even more brand new cars parked now in vast numbers because they cannot be sold.

The world has gone mad, thinking that car production equates to a healthy economy, but it doesn't if huge numbers remain unsold.

At some point, there will be a collapse and then I will be able to acquire a new car for not very much.  However, if it has been sitting in a park for a year or two, would it then prove reliable?

Ian Cornish

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1 hour ago, ianc said:

Ian Brown tells me that there are even more brand new cars parked now in vast numbers because they cannot be sold.

The world has gone mad, thinking that car production equates to a healthy economy, but it doesn't if huge numbers remain unsold.

At some point, there will be a collapse and then I will be able to acquire a new car for not very much.  However, if it has been sitting in a park for a year or two, would it then prove reliable?

Ian Cornish

Here near Huntingdon we have RAF Witon which over the last two years has become a vast car park for unsold new cars, I am told that RAF Alconbury is also being used to store new cars

George 

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An even worse game here in France. Cars are being registered sometimes long before they get sold to customers just to impress everybody with (false) sales statistics. The French manufacturers (rather than the agents/dealers) have been doing it for years, but I was surprised recently to find out that the up market brands are playing the same game.

james

ps Doesn’t seem to bring the prices down very much though!

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1 hour ago, james christie said:

An even worse game here in France. Cars are being registered sometimes long before they get sold to customers just to impress everybody with (false) sales statistics. The French manufacturers (rather than the agents/dealers) have been doing it for years, but I was surprised recently to find out that the up market brands are playing the same game.

james

ps Doesn’t seem to bring the prices down very much though!

It also happens in the UK, I think to keep dealers sales figures up.

I bought a preregistered Citroen Relay in January that cost me just 2k more then the asking price of a two year old van, so it does have some benefits 

George 

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It's all part of a "musical chair" charade.

The registration of cars is only partly to do with keeping the publics confidence up in companies making them. The huge vehicle plants have to work on very high production levels to maintain their efficiencies, and I mean high, they talk of over 80% production levels just to break even. Any reduction of more than a couple of % immediately stresses the finely tuned "money in-money out" flows and cause their financial flow arrangements to go into crisis. A plant which shuts or is wound down laying off or sacking employees has the tiger by the tail. The unions immediately go into attack mode and pre conflict agreements are abandond causing even less liklehood of a successful restart in the near future. The supplying steel, paint,upholstery and other myriad component firms all bought on credit will be thrown into crisis probably affecting totally different manufactuerers who use the very same components (just branded differently) in their different vehicle ranges.   

 These companies are being cross subsidised by banks and finance houses who need and rely upon the continued flow of finance demanded and used by the vehicle manufactuers (many billions) and in turn the various organisations and trust companies who have mine and your pensions invested in them and through them these companies.

Will you be able to buy cars cheaper when they get around to disposing of them ? how much profit do you think a dealer makes on a car ? I've seen cars of £15k invoice price sold commonley for less than £100 profit on paper, and trucks with high value bodywork with an over £120k invoice for just over £250 profit (funny how monetary amounts ratchet to preset mind levels). Sooner or later the 700 or £800 million debts which these companies run and are their problems, will escalate into Billions and then the banks have a problem of how to retrieve it without bankrupting their own lending base. But I expect some of the lesser britched manufactuers will be very nervous. Because if and when they manage to somehow move their metal (because a loss isn't a loss until they sell the vehicle) and receive some...any money for it, the banks will be cross calculating as to how long they'll allow them to trade, very concious that when the manufacturer manages to bring the loss down to more acceptable levels, the smart thing is to close them down and take the hit limiting the banks exposure, rather than risk the firm wanting further increased borrowings . 

The various dealer groups have been reporting steady but low sales numbers from the market many hundreds of thousands down (and I hear millions of units down) and are hopeing/relying upon the public starting to use their savings made from working from home and their reduced costs, and not going out (where households spend the majority of their free income) coming to the fore, and buying vehicles and saving their bacon. I guess I'm glad to be retired.

Mick Richards  

Edited by Motorsport Mickey
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Over here during the Covid D travel restrictions, push bike sales went through the roof. 

Car sales - The tally of 100,005 new cars reported as sold across Australia during March 2021 represents a 22.4 per cent increase compared to the same month last year. However, the figure is still 3.8 per cent below the five-year rolling average prior to the pandemic. (7 Apr 2021)

(I'll get out of your way now.)

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On the question of how many cars is too many: I've explained to Mrs BN that you can only be justifiably accused of having too many cars when your collection includes one that you've had specially modified and prepped solely for eventual use as a hearse. 

Nigel

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24 minutes ago, Mick Forey said:

Electric car sales are going through the roof

According to the SMMT sales of pure electric cars have gone from 18256  at this point in 2021 to 31779 so far this year. A big increase in percentage terms but still small numbers which represent only 7.7% of the total cars sold. Petrol and diesel cars still account for over 60% of sales. The rest are hybrids of various sorts. 

Edited by RobH
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Youngsters not interested in driving, better to save for a house. Oldies too scared of C-19 to go out (I drove 500 miles in last 12 months). Millions working form home, no social driving, one car will do, no need for two. Difficult to see anyone needing to replace a motor when annual mileage was decimated by C-19. I get the feeling that C-19 has induced a sea-change in what we think is important: consumerism replaced with focus on family, friends. Bling and keeping up with Jones no longer important. Saving for a staycation with family more desirable than a new car sitting on the drive.  How long before another scrappage scheme is announced ?

Peter

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