It hadn’t occurred to me until recently that the expiration date of my leased Honda was unfortunately timed. Obviously, this wasn’t something Honda could have planned, or that anyone could have expected without the ability to detect the minute perturbations and fluctuations in space-time heralding the coming alterations in the probable future paths that would lead one into a realty where my current circumstances are a statistical “1.0″ But I have no such capability (at least that I am cognitively aware of), nor do I know of anyone with this sensitivity. Therefore it is understandable that the arrangement of events that resulted in the Cash for Clunkers program occurring just when I needed to legitimately purchase a new vehicle was, is, and had to have been, beyond my control.
Regardless, it was bad timing. So many people purchasing so many vehicles has resulted in a reduction in inventory right at peak car buying season. Yes, it’s that time of year when the dealerships usually have their big sell-offs in order to get ready for the next years models. It’s time to clear the lots. Problem is, they’ve already been cleared. And that’s a problem for everyone – including the dealerships. They don’t have a lot of inventory to entice buyers, and so they’re selling less again. Sales have been flat since last year when the economy dropped into the black hole left behind by the Bush Administration. The new Administration’s “Cash for Clunkers” program has basically been a huge shot in the arm. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the right time to do it. The “right time” would have been about four or five months ago. Then the dealerships would have been able to get rid of the old and order plenty of the new. Now, since they didn’t know they were going to have so much room on their lots, a large number of the dealerships haven’t ordered enough inventory. As a result, the factories haven’t had enough orders.
People need to make stuff for other people to buy in order for the people who make things to be able to get paid so that they can buy things from other people who make stuff. And while some people don’t make anything, they still get paid to buy stuff so that the people who make things will have more money. The bottom line is, when nobody buys anything, nobody gets paid, then nobody buys anything, and then nobody gets paid. You get enough of this cycle and you eventually spiral down into recession, depression and compression.
I think the bottom line is, it’s not a good time to buy a new car. It is, in fact, a crappy time. Unless, of course, you had a clunker to trade in. In which case, it was an awesome time, and you got a car that I helped pay for with my taxes. Not the taxes I’m paying this year though. Your car was paid for with the taxes I’ll pay in about seven or eight years (assuming the country/planet is still around).
Enjoy your new car, and don’t forget to thank me.
Fucker.
Filed under: Bitching, Daily, Economy | Tagged: Buying Car, Cash, Cash Clunkers, Clunkers, Economic, new car, Stimulous
Cash for Clunkers is a bad idea now, it would have been a bad idea 5 months ago, and it will be a bad idea if anyone is stupid enough to try it again.
Let’s think about this for a second. People are trying to get rid of used cars correct? So, you trade these cars in for cash, your “clunker” is crushed at some junk yard, no parts are taken from it, and the crushed car sits somewhere until its melted down for scrap metal. So since less used cars are on the market now because of this, when they would normally be resold to someone willing to fix it up, replace a part or two, or just settle for a less efficient or shiny car. Since there are now less used cars on the market, what happens to the price for a used car? It sky rockets leaving a puddle of gas for people to light themselves on fire with.
Let’s see who buys used cars? Young people looking for something to get to and from work or school in and the lower and middle class who can’t afford anything better. So what happens to them? They have to settle for an even crappier car or they have to use that $4500 of our taxes for a down payment, get a car note, and fall into debt. The same kind of behavior that got us into this mess!
It’s fairly obvious our administration didn’t think this, among almost everything else they’ve done so far, through.
Thank you for your response. As with anything done by the government, there advantages and disadvantages. I agree that this is a disadvantage for young people looking for their first car. Something tells me, though, that there will still be plenty of shitty cars out there for them to buy.
The total number of clunkers turned in was around 700,000. Here are some stats from the DOT: http://southflorida.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2009/08/24/daily39.html
According to the DOT census in 2006, there are around 250,851,833 passenger cars in the US. Cash for clunkers wasn’t even a pin prick.