Detroit Has the Used Car Blues
Record new-car sales and lavish customer incentives are creating a bumper crop of used vehicles, according to Fortune Magazine. Indeed, if automakers were in the business of manufacturing used cars, they'd be setting productivity records. Used-car sales are expected to reach 43.5 million this year, vs. 40.9 million in 1999.
The surge in volume means one thing: sinking prices. For instance, the price of a two-year-old Ford Taurus has dropped from $11,700 in 1999 to $10,075 last month, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA).
The price collapse is a headache of major proportions for automakers. Lower prices on used cars draw buyers out of the new-car market. Yet marketing initiatives by the Big Three are only exacerbating their woes, according to Fortune.
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