Ok, I know that almost every real estate agent in the country is harping about how great the deals are in real estate right now. Interest rates rock and inventory is dropping, but still above average. I'll lay off the houses... You guys need a break.
But there might be some good deals on cars!
General Motors is closing 1100 dealers... at least. Chrysler is closing at least 789 dealers. Because of the Chrysler bankruptcy, their list is public, but GM has not had to release their list and hasn't. Also, while the GM closings ares tretched out over the next 18 months, the Chrysler dealership closings are supposed to take place in the next two weeks!
So, there may be some deals on GM cars from dealers that are losing their franchises, but they won't probably be as good and they will be harder to find since the list of closing dealers isn't public. Chrysler on the other hand might offer up some fire sale opportunities. Some of these dealers have a couple hundred cars that they need off of their lots by June 9th. In many cases they can't sell them as new after that time. They also won't be able to offer warranty service... so, buyers could find them willing to dump their inventory. Chrysler has already stated that they aren't buying it back...
I have heard reports of Chrysler dealers (Dodge, Chrysler and Jeep) selling vehicles for 50% of MSRP after including rebates and other incentives.
I'd love to hear what kind of deal you get if you are out buying a car between now and then...
Source for Chrysler closings
List of Chrysler Dealers to be Closed
I think the dealers that are not closing might be buying the inventory of the best selling cars. But if the car you want is available at a dealer that is closing it might be a once in a life time opportunity.
Many of the surviving dealers can't afford to take on that much more inventory. Just a couple months ago they were being told to stock up so that GM and Chrysler could avoid bankruptcy...