Your Survival Guy

Preparing your investments and family for when disaster strikes.

Disclosure

  • Home
  • Your Survival
    • Special Report: FOOD SHORTAGE: Crazed Hoarding Is Not Preparing
    • Your Survival Guy’s Super States
    • Constitutional Carry
    • EMP Threat
    • Tucker Explains
    • Newport Gas Outage
    • Water
      • Emergency Water Storage
      • Let There Be Water
    • Get Your Gun and Your Training Now
    • Satellite Phones
    • Navy SEAL Survival Kit
  • Your Money
    • Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • Looking for a Better America
    • You Invest, They Win
    • Where to Keep Your Cash
    • Paris
    • How to Buy a Boat
    • Dead or Alive? The Future of Long-Term Investing
    • Is Vanguard too Big?
    • Cryptocosm and Life After Google
    • The Last Intelligence Report
    • The Truth Behind the S&P 500
    • RAGE Gauge
    • How Many “Retirees” Will Keep Working?
    • Your Retirement Life
    • You’ll Love This if You’re Dreaming of an Active Retirement Life
  • Weapons
    • Self Defense
    • Every Family Should Own at Least One Shotgun: Here Are Three
  • About Me
    • Your Survival Guy: “Life on Main Street Hasn’t Been This Hard in a While”
    • Preparing for Times Like These
    • My Videos/Pics
    • Music
      • RIP Neil Peart: You Will Always Be Remembered as a “Modern-Day Warrior”
    • Your Survival Guy: Make Your Bed and The Hero Code
  • You
    • Our Cabin on Kodiak, Alaska
    • If You Are in Pain, this May Help. It Helped Me.
    • How to Save for a Grandchild
    • FIRE! Financial Independence, Retire Early
    • Compound Interest
    • Arithmetic of Portfolio Losses
    • Maximum Portfolio Withdrawal Rate
    • An Efficient Frontier
    • Retirement Compounders
    • Counterbalanced Total Returns
  • Survive & Thrive
    • January 2023: Stacking Wood and Compounding Money
    • December 2022: Your Survival Guy Prefers Bombardier’s Global Express 7500
    • November 2022: Arriving in Style at Le Bristol Hotel, Paris
    • October 2022: Sink Your Teeth into These Bond Yields
    • September 2022: Do You Have the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
    • August 2022: “Watch This Boat off Our Stern,” My Dad Said “He’s Coming in HOT”
    • July 2022: MONEY TALKS: Your Survival Guy’s Best Service in Paris
    • June 2022: “I’ve Been with Richard Young for Over 30 Years Now”
    • May 2022: Survive “If You Fail to Plan, You Plan to Fail”
    • April 2022: Dream On! Fishing the Double Down in Key West
    • March 2022: Your Survival Guy Hears the Craziest Investing Stories
    • February 2022: Your Survival Guy’s 2022 Super States
    • January 2022: The Least Affordable Housing Market in the U.S.
    • December 2021: Listen Your Survival Guy is not “Mr. Peanut”
    • November 2021: Joe Biden is Weaponizing Your 401(k) Against You
    • October 2021: Time to Get Your Lazy Cash Off the Couch
    • September 2021: What’s Your Survival Guy Investing in Right Now?
    • August 2021: To Where Will You Flee?
    • July 2021: This Bubble’s Popped Baby
    • June 2021: Your Survival Guy’s Summer Job, Inflation & You
    • May 2021: You’re Telling Me Friends Ask You This Question
    • April 2021: Is There One Best Place in America for ‘Liberty Retirees?’
    • March 2021: America’s Growth Corridors
    • February 2021: Troops in D.C. & Your Authoritarian Virtual Panopticon
    • January 2021: Are You Ready for The Great Reset?
    • December 2020: Disaster Prep in Our Newport Bunker and Your Survival
    • November 2020: Election 2020 Edition: Stock Market is Predicting a Trump Win
    • October 2020: You Invest They Win, AGAIN
    • September 2020: Proud to be an American: Pro-Trump Parade Turns Rhode Island Red
    • August 2020: The Clock is Ticking: You Must Protect Your Family
    • July 2020: What Will Her Life Be Like Now?
    • June 2020: Your Survival Guy’s Home (and Money) Protection Plan
    • May 2020: Future Look at Covid-20, or the Next Deadly Virus
    • April 2020: Only Trump Saw the Risk in America’s Relationship with China
    • March 2020: Coronavirus Infects Stock Market
    • February 2020: Escape the City: Live Small, Cheap, and Safe in America
    • January 2020: Is Your Cash Safe? Probably not This Safe
    • December 2019
    • November 2019
    • October 2019
    • September 2019
    • August 2019
    • July 2019
    • June 2019
    • May 2019
    • April 2019
    • March 2019
    • February 2019
    • January 2019
    • December 2018
    • November 2018
    • October 2018
    • September 2018
    • August 2018
    • July 2018
    • June 2018
    • May 2018
    • April 2018
    • March 2018
    • February 2018
    • Welcome

Biden Economy Shocks Car Buyers with Unprecedented Premiums

February 28, 2022 By E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

By gpointstudio @ Shutterstock.com

Car buyers in America are facing unprecedented premiums for vehicles. The WSJ’s Mike Colias and Nora Eckert write “Before the pandemic, practically nobody paid above the sticker price for a new car. Last month, an unprecedented 82% of buyers did, according to consumer research site Edmunds.com.”

The Biden-era has been rife with shortages of many of the basic needs of the American people. They have endured shortages of fuel, food, lumber, gas, ammo, computer chips, and many other things Americans need every day.

But in a nation that runs on its automobiles, paying over sticker price on vehicles is shocking to many Americans. Colias and Eckert report:

How hard is it to buy a car today? For Kevin Peters, it recently involved a one-way flight and 330-mile road trip to avoid overpaying for a new truck.

Mr. Peters initially spent three weeks shopping around San Diego for a new F-150 Lariat pickup, only to encounter extra charges of $5,000 to $8,000 above the suggested retail price. He decided to fly to a dealership in Las Vegas, where he got what is considered a bargain: He paid the sticker price of $73,520.

“The rules have changed so dramatically,” he said. “Despite being armed with information, the dealer’s position is ‘This is kind of a take-it-or-leave-it proposition.’”

Pandemic-related supply chain problems are stretching the new-vehicle shortage into a second year, with near-empty dealer lots, sky-high prices and monthslong waits for new wheels. The prolonged disruption is now exposing fault lines in the car business’s century-old retailing model and prompting a broader rethinking of the entrenched way Americans buy cars.

Consumers are revolting. Like Mr. Peters, many are expanding their searches outside their hometowns and even across state lines. Some are banding together online to call out dealers charging the biggest markups. Others have taken their concerns directly to automotive CEOs via personal letters.

Car companies say they don’t want dealers charging above sticker and in some cases are pushing back, but dealerships are independent businesses that control the final transaction.

Many dealers say they must make do with their scant vehicle supplies and be realistic about what the market will bear, especially for high-demand models. In extreme cases, dealerships are charging $35,000 to $40,000 above the manufacturer’s suggested retail price, or MSRP, on luxury cars that normally sell for $80,000 or more.

Before the pandemic, practically nobody paid above the sticker price for a new car. Last month, an unprecedented 82% of buyers did, according to consumer research site Edmunds.com.

Dealers, for their part, are divided on the practice. Some say the upcharges are a reasonable reflection of the upside-down market, and that the auto industry is one of many where such inflation is visible, especially for small dealers trying to compensate for choked inventories.

Other dealerships on principle say they don’t charge above MSRP, with the exception of some new, high-demand models. They say the practice can permanently damage their reputation with buyers and hurt repeat business.

In today’s market, though, it is becoming more difficult to refrain from charging more, especially as it becomes commonplace, the dealers say.

Action Line: America’s supply chain is stretched thin. You should consider having extra supplies of the essentials stocked away at home in the event the system breaks down completely. Start with water. If you’re buying bottled water, remember that it’s being shipped on a truck. You need to protect yourself from unexpected disruptions in that supply. Next, if you’re serious about getting prepared, but can’t stay motivated, click here to sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive newsletter. I’ll help you stay motivated and beat the inertia that’s holding you back. But only if you’re serious.

The following two tabs change content below.
  • Bio
  • Latest Posts
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy

E.J. Smith is Founder of YourSurvivalGuy.com, Managing Director at Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd., a Managing Editor of Richardcyoung.com, and Editor-in-Chief of Youngresearch.com. His focus at all times is on preparing clients and readers for “Times Like These.” E.J. graduated from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with a B.S. in finance and investments. In 1995, E.J. began his investment career at Fidelity Investments in Boston before joining Richard C. Young & Co., Ltd. in 1998. E.J. has trained at Sig Sauer Academy in Epping, NH. His first drum set was a 5-piece Slingerland with Zildjians. He grew-up worshiping Neil Peart (RIP) of the band Rush, and loves the song Tom Sawyer—the name of his family’s boat, a Grady-White Canyon 306. He grew up in Mattapoisett, MA, an idyllic small town on the water near Cape Cod. He spends time in Newport, RI and Bartlett, NH—both as far away from Wall Street as one could mentally get. The Newport office is on a quiet, tree lined street not far from the harbor and the log cabin in Bartlett, NH, the “Live Free or Die” state, sits on the edge of the White Mountain National Forest. He enjoys spending time in Key West and Paris. Please get in touch with E.J. at ejsmith@yoursurvivalguy.com To sign up for my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter, click here.
My Twitter profileMy Facebook profileMy Instagram profile

Latest posts by E.J. Smith - Your Survival Guy (see all)

  • Warren Miller: If You Don’t Do It This Year, You’ll Be… - January 30, 2023
  • Your Investment Focus Is the Foundation for Success - January 30, 2023
  • CATO: Global Freedom Is in Sharp Decline - January 27, 2023
  • TIME FOR A GONDOLA? Little Cottonwood Canyon Jammed with Traffic - January 27, 2023
  • Biden Administration Destroying Retiree Fiduciary Protections - January 27, 2023

If you enjoyed this post, email it to a friend:

  • Email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp

Related Posts

Money 101

Trending

  • 4 Life Changing Words for Your Survival Guy: “You Should Try This”
  • Invest with Peace of Mind and Comfort
  • LOSING POWER: Your Survival Guy's Nightmare Scenario
  • Welcome to Hotel California, Where You Can Never Leave
  • The Importance of a Balanced Portfolio
  • Your Survival Guy's 2022 Super States
  • Stocks Go Up and Down: Get Paid Along the Way
  • The World Economic Forum's Record of Destruction
  • Don't Let Your Lazy Cash Eat all Your Food
  • America's Super States and Stocks that Respect YOU

Must Reads

  • How to Avoid Going Back to Work after Retirement
  • GET PAID: How To Invest in Biden’s Inflationary Market
  • Bad Guy with a Gun STOPPED by Good Woman with a Gun
  • Parents Are the New Tea Party. Bad Schools Are the New High Taxes.
  • Your Best State on Guns, Plus the 8th Wonder of the World
  • Investment Advice: Sticking with the Four-Year-Olds
  • Your Survival Guy Prefers Bombardier’s Global Express 7500
  • When Markets Fall, All Is Not Lost
  • Your Survival Guy’s Champagne Taste on a Beer Budget
  • FIRE AND ICE: Defeat the Cold by Stocking Firewood
Only if You’re Serious
Crazed Hoarding Is not Preparing
How to Save Rainwater Effectively
Your Survival Guy in Paris
Your Survival Guy's Fishing Stories
Financial Independence, Retire Early
Money 101
Pandemic Creates Virtual Panopticon
Emergency Water Storage
Find Freedom in America
Second Amendment
How Can You Save Money for Your Grandchild
Great Reset
See Who's Missing the Boat
Richard  Young Reports
How You Can Save Money for Your Grandchild
Why Fidelity is Number One
The Best States for Survival
You Invest, They Win
Escape the City
Why Vanguard is Too Big for YOU
Island Life

Copyright © 2023 | Terms & Conditions

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.