With all of the rebates and cash back incentives that the big car manufacturers are offering these days, many consumers are asking themselves if now is the best time to buy or should they wait for sweeter deals. According to an article on CNBC yesterday, the worst is behind us. After the dismal December numbers were released, the Big Three plus Honda and Toyota all posted huge declines year over year. But with auto sales the worst they've been in over 25 years, what makes so many industry experts confident that we've hit the bottom? It seems like they are basing their opinions on the idea that 'it's never dropped so low so quickly so how could it get any worse?' Many dealerships across the country including Philadelphia Honda Dealers are hoping that that is in fact the case. The cause for concern on both sides is definitely there however. Consumers are apprehensive about buying a new car from a company that might declare bankruptcy in two months. Where would you get parts and services from? If you live in a rural area and are searching for say Nashua Auto Repair, you might have a tougher time. And if you can find a place, how much more are you going to have to pay? Not to mention car values drop rapidly enough as it is, so anything that threatens to speed up that process definitely won't help sell more cars. It then becomes a vicious circle for the manufacturers who are caught in a situation where they need to sell considerably more cars in order to stay in business, but in order to do that they need considerably higher consumer confidence that they will still be in business when 2010 rolls around.
This is good news however for foreign auto makers such as Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. Losses sustained thus far have been less than their American counterparts. This is due to a number of factors, but if any one of the Big Three do fail sometime this year, that could give foreign auto makers a big boost. It will also make dealerships that carry those makes very happy. Foreign dealerships such as Tacoma Nissan Dealers stand to benefit if Ford, GM, or Chrysler decides that they have no choice but to file for bankruptcy protection.
So is now really the best time to buy? Only time will tell, but if you have a secure job and good credit, now might very well be the best time, before sales start to go back up and all the great deals quickly vanish.
Joe Kent is a writer for TK Carsites, an automotive website design and marketing firm in Orange, CA, that specializes in working with car dealers nationwide.