Is The Number One Reason For Low Vehicle Sales The Fact That They Are REALLY Overpriced?

Yes...

— DaHarder (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 2:15:59 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 10   

No... with inflation they just seem more expensive as time goes on.

— Joe_Limon (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 2:28:11 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: -3   

1. Are cars and trucks way overpriced for what you get and for the times?

2. What cars and trucks in particular to find are the WORST offenders with their price points?

3. What brand/brands have to take SERIOUS action regarding their pricing?

001

— Agent001 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 3:18:51 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Yes, most cars are way overpriced for what you get. A Prius for $22,000? Its a tin can powered by a lawn mower engine and a blender motor. Should be more like $14,000. Same can be said for just about every car.

— thstone (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 1:30:39 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

1) I would say yes, I realize cost of manufacturing has increased, but the cost of cars vs. the increase in salaries, wages, cost of living has not increased in unison so it is hard to make due with your next choice of vehicle. Forget luxury cars because I refuse to have a 600-800 a month payment on something that is not a house, and putting 3k down is retarded. At least for most mainstreamers. Could I afford these ludicrous payments, sure. But why, I guess they just don't seem reasonable to me. I pay $346 for my Matrix right now on a 60 month finance. I would be comfortable with $500 or less on my next car, but unless there are promotional rates or 0% even I am not interested, even with my good credit. Secondly, they don't offer much help when trading in, so many people are upside down because the value of the used car vs. what they will give you for it is insane. The numbers never come close to Edmunds or KBB so why even bother looking at them. Even if your car is in great shape they give you money based on it being fair.

2) This is kind of a mute question because pricing of models seems pretty similar across the band. Most small cars like Civic and Corollas fall into the high teens to mid 20's. My eyes pop out of my head though when I see that small SUVs can reach really high 20's or low 30's even when you want some features like AWD, the larger engine, leather, etc. The price rockets up, and typically you end up paying at least another 2k over the base model msrp for some standard stuff.

3) If anyone should work on pricing it would be VW. They are priced above what most of their competition is. Take the main lineup of Passat, Jetta, Golf/GTI. They all fall in line and similarly equipped can run you a few thousand more than any Nissan, Toyota, Ford competitor. You can German me this and German me that, they are overpriced for what they are. But that can also fall right for Subaru, even thoughthe AWD is a premium to pay for, jump up one level in a model and you suddenly see crazy price increases. Not to mention their website absolutely sucks to navigate.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 7:47:17 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

YES they are overpriced.
Have you seen what BMW is asking for their cars lately? AUDI and Benz are not far behind them.
American cars are high thank you UAW..

— fatandsassy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 8:12:59 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8   

Some brands seem overpriced and some seem reasonably priced. Pricing is dictated by the marketing department. If they think they can sell a vehicle at a certain price point, then that's where they start. However, as the next year rolls around, and the next, you often see the MSRP remaining the same (if not being lowered) even considering inflation. While MSRPs are only a reference point in the car-buying game, for many people it's usually the starting point in their new car search.

Is it better for manufacturers to set their MSRPs high and give the dealers more wiggle room in the negotiations? Or should margins (i.e. invoice versus MSRP) be set at minimal levels in the hopes of attracting buyers based on the sticker price? I don't have an immediate answer on that as I do not often look at MSRPs when I shop for vehicles. However, I have noticed that the higher MSRP vehicles tend to have larger MSRP/Invoice margins than lower MSRP vehicles. I wonder why.

— BSBB (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 8:58:31 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Also waiting a year later has a significant discount.

— veyron1001 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 9:10:23 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Definitely way overpriced. A midsize sedan fully loaded (non luxury brands) should not be more than 20k. Luxury cars are totally different animals. I don't know how people buy all these new cars and how they can afford to live a relaxed normal life and not being in debt for the rest of their lives.

— monster (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 9:24:39 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Yep - luxury cars are overpriced along with the high-end models of the regular car lines. That's why Hyundai/Kia have a lot room to grow their market share.

I find the electronic gizmos like GPS & DVD entertainment system to be a waste. I do think BT and rear back-up camera and stability control to be good safety features.

It will all come to screeching halt for us in the USA once the IMF takes the dollar and devalues it by 50%. We'll be looking at Geely and Tata and looking at rich countries driving Hyundai's.

— g2ok (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 10:01:35 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 0   

What does overpriced mean? I understand what you're trying to ask 001, but it's an impossible question to answer since what you are really asking is whether there is "value" today in the consumers eyes. Since so much of that "value" is wrapped up in personal priorities and emotion, I don't think it's a question that can be asked broadly. Obviously, you seem to think the Cadi may be "overpriced". But for someone who sees value in buying American brands, or really loves the sharp edge design of their cars, or values the image they think it protrays, they will pay it more easily than dropping $56k on the new Acura ZDX. The next person may pick the ZDX for those exact same reasons. Still yet, someone who really values the performance of a well connected-to-the-road and torquey car, will be willing to pay the premium for some German brands.

If you are middle aged person MOSTLY looking at reliability and price-to-features, I think the Japanese brands still will give you the best "value" in 2009. If you are 60+ years old OR work for a union with a blue collar life, then American is the only way to go. If you are a 25-35 male who likes watching Top Gear, then I suspect a German car probably seems like a bargin and you're happy to pay the price.

— SpicyMikey (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 10:02:45 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Overpriced? Well, let's take a look at 001's perennial fav- BMW.
Now, most people would agree the new 5er is shaping up to be a hot entry-especially the new 550i TTV8. But odds are this model will end up being over 80k fully loaded....Ouch! But that's not the really bad news. If one looks back to oh say, 2004 (decades ago I know)a very well loaded 745Li (not 745i) was also around 82-83K! So now just a mere 6-7 years later a 5er is the same price as the last 7?!?! Another case in point- a 2001 M5 loaded was @73-74K. Now just one gen later and the car is close to 95K!!!! A 20k increase for one gen of car? I've driven both and beleive me there was not 20k of betterness there. However, let me digress and just add that I'm thankful to live here because in other parts of the planet like say, Australia- a new M3 is well over 100K!

— BondMI6 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 11:05:33 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

I have to agree. Being on owner of an 07 CTS looking to lease new 2010. I went to my caddy guy, someone who I know very well. and he gave me a price 10,000 more then what my car cost in 06 for a similary equipped one. Even though I am making a substantial more amount of money then I was three years ago, I just don't see the value in expensive cars anymore. I guess my prioites are changing as i get older, even at 23.

At the height of the recession my mother bought a 2009 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited, with a sticker price of 42000. We drove away with it for 25000. Now that is a value. Luckily she hates it because the Hemi has a gas addiction problem. (we get about 13 mpg on average) So I am buying her a car of her choice and she wil hand me the keys to the Hemi.

— no1listensanyway (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 12:40:22 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Cars are definitely over priced, especially American cars, where you buy garbage and pay either the same or even more than their competitors.

— Designer1 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 1:50:43 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

If you think cars are "expensive" in the States, check out what Canucks pay for the same vehicle! The same BMW, Audi, or MB that sells in the US, takes on a 30% premium when sold in the Great White North. And that's with a Canadian dollar that's only about 5% different than the US greenback.

It's *always* about "what the market will bear" :-(

— Steve (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 4:14:55 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

At first it's easy to say yes but when you start think about the safety, technology, driveablity, power per liter, and fuel economy,improvments, the prices are about where they should be.

— theoptimisticpessimist (View Profile)

Posted on 12/23/2009 5:49:38 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

So true. However, if you go on a factory tour and see what it takes to build one of these, you will never complain about how much they cost.

— sdcarguy (View Profile)

Posted on 12/24/2009 12:13:07 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

I wonder how many BMW's end up in repo after the people who sign for them struggle to make those $1000 car payments.

— Whelan (View Profile)

Posted on 12/24/2009 8:10:57 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

When you buy a new Ferrari or Lamborghini you are giving 30-35 grand to the dealer, If you are lucky enough to "just" pay MSRP, if not you might give them 50-80 grand for their markup...then you are giving Ferrari SpA or VW Group another 30-35k on top of that. It only costs about 115-125 grand to actually make a Gallardo that needs a little over 100 hours of labor to put together.

— pennfootball (View Profile)

Posted on 12/24/2009 10:43:47 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

Not if they're made in N.America, Japan or Western Europe. When a car is priced the same but some little kid put it together, then yes, it is overpriced and the automaker is laughing all the way to the bank.

— huu76 (View Profile)

Posted on 12/26/2009 12:07:44 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1