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It's noon here in Ventner City, New Jersey,
02:39
and our nation's capital, Washington, D.C.,
02:43
and this is Carage Live for Tuesday,
02:46
August 19th with your host, me, Ray, here in Ventner,
02:50
where no swimming's allowed because of Hurricane Urine,
02:55
and well, Zach sport in his Dodgers, Jersey,
02:59
in Washington, D.C.
03:02
What can I say, ladies and gentlemen?
03:04
Zach, how are you doing today?
03:05
I'm doing fantastic.
03:06
Happy Tuesday, everyone.
03:08
So grateful for you being here with us.
03:09
We've got a sponsor for today's show,
03:11
our friends over at Delete Me.
03:13
However, must remind you that back at caredge.com,
03:16
we are on year almost six now
03:19
of trying to help folks buy a car without the headache.
03:21
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03:24
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03:26
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03:29
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03:33
Now, dad, today's show, Toyota dealers
03:36
have a major problem,
03:38
and I wanna walk you through this major problem
03:40
because I think is going to cause a lot of frustration
03:43
for potential Toyota customers.
03:45
We are going to look at all of the consolidated data
03:48
we have on the fastest and slowest selling vehicles.
03:51
Now, we do these videos over on the caredge
03:53
main channel pretty often,
03:54
and I know a lot of folks find them valuable,
03:56
but we're gonna focus today just on what's happening
03:59
for our friends over at Toyota,
04:00
and we are not going to be looking
04:02
at the slowest selling cars, pops.
04:04
We're going to be looking at the fastest selling cars.
04:06
And when we look at this, not only by vehicle,
04:09
but also by truck, or not only by like overall cars,
04:12
but trucks and SUVs,
04:13
you will quickly see why Toyota dealers
04:15
have a major problem.
04:16
They cannot keep up with consumer demand,
04:18
and I wanna talk about that.
04:20
Let's start here though, pops,
04:21
the fastest selling cars in the United States,
04:23
the number one fastest seller Toyota Corolla Cross,
04:26
Lexus RX Hybrid, Toyota Sequoia,
04:28
Toyota Sienna, Lexus NX Hybrid, Toyota Highlander,
04:32
and even the Toyota BZ4X.
04:34
You have over 50% of the fastest selling cars
04:37
in the United States right now,
04:41
What's that do for those dealers?
04:42
Why is that potentially a problem for them?
04:46
I'm trying to think.
04:48
Why is that potentially a problem?
04:50
Well, I guess the problem would be that
04:53
if you have more customers than you have cars,
04:58
and in some cases you're gonna charge
05:00
some of those customers more than perhaps you should
05:04
because, well, you have more customers
05:06
than you have cars.
05:08
There will be a percentage of what would have been
05:11
or could have been Toyota customers
05:14
that will end up becoming raving fans
05:17
of whatever other brand they end up buying
05:21
because they can't get the Toyota that they want
05:26
or they can't get what they perceive to be
05:30
a fair deal for the Toyota that they want.
05:33
So the major problem would be is that you're,
05:37
you are losing some potential customers
05:42
because your inventory levels are just too tight.
05:46
Fastest selling SUVs.
05:48
Let's go over here.
05:48
Maybe Toyotas doing a little bit better on the SUV side.
05:51
They have enough inventory to meet demand.
05:53
Maybe, but probably not.
05:55
The fastest selling SUV for the month of August
05:57
in the United States, the Corolla Cross.
05:59
The next fastest, the Sienna.
06:00
The next fastest, the Sequoia.
06:02
Yeah, the average transaction prices on these vehicles
06:04
are some around $30, $50,000 and $80,000 respectively.
06:08
And then obviously the next one's Alexis
06:09
and the next one's a Highlander.
06:11
So like Toyota is struggling across the board
06:14
in terms of being able to actually support their dealers
06:17
with enough inventory.
06:17
Look at that, that the first six fastest selling SUVs
06:21
in the United States right now are all Toyota or Lexus products.
06:25
And so I agree with you
06:26
and I even posted over on TikTok just the other day
06:28
and it's gone a little bit viral dad,
06:30
a video talking about the Mazda CX-90
06:33
and talking about how it now competes
06:35
directly with the Toyota Grand Highlander.
06:37
And there are 10, I think 100,000 plus people
06:41
have watched this video with 364 comments.
06:43
There's a lot of comments on here dad
06:45
talking about people actually going with the Mazda
06:48
because you can see it right there.
06:49
I'm sorry, but the Grand Highlander
06:51
is not worth $60,000 either.
06:53
To your point, Toyota is missing out on some customers
06:56
because they don't have enough inventory.
06:58
They have so much pricing power.
06:59
It's creating that opportunity for other brands.
07:01
But the first six fastest selling SUVs in the US
07:06
So I guess the major problem for these Toyota and Lexus dealers
07:13
is where do we hide the profits that we're making
07:18
so that we don't have to pay quite as much in tax?
07:21
That's the major problem.
07:23
Where do we put all this money that we're making?
07:28
And my guess, this is just a guess from somebody
07:32
that spent 43 years in retail out of motive.
07:35
My guess is that, well, most Toyota dealers
07:38
don't really see this as a problem.
07:40
And they'll figure out ways to hide whatever they need to hide
07:46
so they don't have to pay as much in the way of taxes.
07:49
And they're going to live happily ever after.
07:53
Dad, let's look at trucks.
07:54
I'm just thinking, yeah.
07:55
Let's look at trucks because I don't know.
07:57
Toyota, they had the major recall
07:59
on one of their trucks earlier this year.
08:01
That's got to hurt things over there.
08:02
It's not even close, Dad.
08:04
The Tundra is the fastest selling pickup truck
08:06
in the United States.
08:07
Number two is the Tacoma.
08:08
And again, not even close.
08:10
Then it's the Silverado with an 80 days supply of inventory.
08:16
Like, Toyota is at the top of every single fastest selling
08:20
vehicle list, which at the end of the day
08:23
does for those who cannot afford
08:25
to pay up for potentially additional dealer markups
08:27
or wait months on end for allocation.
08:30
And you can see here, we even had the comment from David.
08:33
Went to my local Toyota dealer last Saturday.
08:35
It was standing room only on the sales floor.
08:36
People all over the lot.
08:39
You and I talk about this all the time.
08:40
It's supply and demand.
08:42
And ultimately, I think the challenge
08:44
that these Toyota dealers have is they do not have enough
08:46
supply and they have too much demand, which will create
08:48
the opportunity for brands like Mazda.
08:50
Again, that video I posted pops over 100,000 views.
08:53
Lots of people in there.
08:54
Trust me, lots of Toyota fanboys and girls saying,
08:56
hey, Toyota is the best brand.
08:58
Do not even consider a Mazda.
08:59
But a lot of people, I was actually surprised
09:01
at how many people said, no, I'm taking the Mazda
09:03
with this $10,000 lease cash incentive because you know what?
09:07
That's a great deal.
09:08
And it's a comparable vehicle.
09:09
So even looking at pickup trucks where we think Toyota
09:12
doesn't perform particularly well, they're winning,
09:16
which means they're struggling.
09:17
Yeah, but here's the other thing
09:19
to take into consideration.
09:21
That $10,000 for the lease cash,
09:24
that didn't include any discount from the dealer off of MSRP.
09:29
You would think that-
09:31
We have the data, Dad.
09:32
You're getting $3,000 to $5,000 as a dealer discount
09:37
So I was going to say on that $60,000 vehicle,
09:40
you're probably looking at a cap cost
09:44
after rebates and dealer discounts somewhere
09:48
around $45,000 to $47,000.
09:51
Suddenly, that makes that a very viable product
09:57
or vehicle for people to consider
10:00
who are considering leasing.
10:05
If Mazda does it well and it proves out
10:09
that that CX-90 is a quality vehicle
10:13
and that's yet to be determined
10:15
of course, it's only been around for a couple of years,
10:18
but let's assume for a second that it does,
10:21
those are customers that would have been
10:24
or possibly could have been Toyota customers
10:27
that will remain Mazda customers in the future.
10:33
And that's what happens when you develop a product line
10:38
that is so popular, you can't produce enough of it
10:44
to satisfy or satiate the customer's appetites
10:49
out there for that product.
10:51
And that's where I think the crux of this is that
10:54
for Toyota dealers, to be clear,
10:55
they are printing press right now.
10:57
They are as profitable as a bank.
10:59
I mean, they are just printing money left and right.
11:03
But from Igor here, 10% off MSRP plus a $10,000 rebate
11:06
plus an additional $1,000 if you're a loyal Mazda buyer.
11:09
That's the opportunity cost.
11:12
do I go with a Grand Highlander at MSRP
11:15
and Toyota is notorious for port installed accessories,
11:18
which is essentially because of the historical
11:20
distribution method they use.
11:21
They have Gulf States Toyota distributors.
11:23
They have Southeast Toyota distributors.
11:25
There are distributors that then are owned
11:28
by F and I product companies that add products
11:31
to boost their profits that jack up the price even more.
11:34
If I'm a shopper and I'm looking at that's option A,
11:36
but option B as I go to Mazda,
11:38
I get 10% off MSRP, $10,000 rebate
11:41
and to your point, Dad,
11:42
can then be into the brand for the future.
11:44
Like that's the crux for Toyota,
11:46
which if I'm not mistaken was exactly how they broke
11:48
into the United States back in 1957 or whatever it was.
11:52
They were the cheaper alternative that was durable.
11:55
It's a huge opportunity for other brands.
11:57
I think what you just described,
11:59
just described and this will be the perfect segue
12:02
for you is between option A and option B,
12:06
you're going to believe option A
12:09
because it's just too damn expensive
12:13
because there's an under supply of product
12:16
and an oversupply of customers.
12:19
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You know, the only thing good about those data brokers
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Dad, a couple of comments here in the chat.
13:51
I wanna spend some time on this.
13:53
We've got here from turbodiesel.
13:56
The Toyota that Zach described is gone
13:58
and is now a bloated pig.
14:00
And I think to a degree, orange rubber ducky as well,
14:03
they forgot that Toyota was supposed to be cheap
14:05
and Lexus was supposed to be the expensive choice.
14:07
Dad, when we look here at the fastest selling SUVs
14:10
in the United States and we pull it back up
14:12
on the screen for a moment,
14:13
I wanna scroll down for a second here.
14:15
We have the actual data.
14:16
Look at the average selling price of the Sienna
14:20
I mean, we're talking about a Sequoia
14:22
transacting at over $83,000.
14:25
The Sienna at $51,000.
14:28
Obviously, the Corolla Cross at $31,000.
14:30
That's where the sweet spot is,
14:32
but I think there's some efficacy
14:34
to these notes from our community, Dad.
14:35
Like Toyota is kind of going through
14:37
that phase of company building
14:39
where they're like maximizing profits now.
14:42
but wasn't it like Jeff Bezos,
14:44
like your margin is my opportunity
14:46
or something like that?
14:47
Like they're creating an opportunity
14:48
for other automakers and dealers to step up.
14:51
It is, when you look at some
14:54
of those average transaction prices,
14:57
it is absolutely inconceivable to me
15:01
that there are so many people out there
15:05
willing to spend nearly $85,000
15:09
for one of those Sequoias.
15:12
And they're rushing to do it.
15:15
And it's like, you know, in old movies,
15:20
there were times where somebody
15:22
would go off on something
15:23
and then one of the other characters
15:25
would slap them across the face,
15:27
you know, to snap them back into reality.
15:30
It's like, and then the other character will,
15:33
thank you for doing that.
15:34
It is like, these people need to be slapped
15:38
across the face and snapped back into reality.
15:43
There is something unbelievable to me
15:49
when Toyota and Nissan and Honda
15:52
first came into this country
15:54
and they were inexpensive vehicles, okay?
15:59
That was their calling card.
16:01
They weren't quite as up to snuff
16:04
at that time as the domestic vehicles were,
16:07
but they were much, much less expensive.
16:11
Today, they are equal to
16:14
or exceeding the domestic manufacturers in pricing.
16:20
And it's just, there's this level of insanity
16:26
that we have to rush out to spend $85,000
16:31
is just staggering to me.
16:34
And I think it's exemplified by the strategy
16:37
that actually Toyota used to come
16:39
and break into this market.
16:40
I've got here, Dad, the average price
16:43
or the starting price, excuse me,
16:45
of the first car Toyota sold in the United States
16:48
was the Toyo Pet Crown.
16:49
Yeah, the Crown Toyo Pet.
16:51
I don't know if I'm getting that backwards for it.
16:53
What do you think the price was?
16:55
And we can do inflation adjusted.
16:56
So like, give me a second here, inflation calculator.
16:59
Let me plug some numbers in really quickly.
17:01
But what do you think the price was
17:03
for the starting price, for the Toyo Pet Crown,
17:06
the first vehicle that allowed Toyota
17:07
to break into the United States way back when,
17:10
what do you think that price was in today's dollars?
17:12
In today's dollars?
17:15
Not dollars at that time?
17:17
You can give me dollars in that time
17:19
and we're going to inflation adjusted today as well.
17:20
My guess is that the first,
17:24
if I'm guessing it's a small vehicle,
17:26
it was probably somewhere around $1,500, $1,600.
17:30
Back then, and inflation adjusted.
17:32
Today, it would be like,
17:34
okay, that'll be a billion dollars, please.
17:38
Give me a second here.
17:39
I want to show you a photo of the vehicle
17:41
that Toyota came to the United States with
17:44
that got them on the map that ultimately
17:46
allowed them to undercut the domestic automakers
17:48
on price and on reliability.
17:50
It was this vehicle, the Toyo Pet Crown.
17:53
You can see it right there.
17:56
This is a good looking one.
17:57
Boom, that was it right there.
17:59
Inflation adjusted that.
18:02
That vehicle cost $24,700.
18:06
So it was $2,187 brand new?
18:12
And now look where we are.
18:13
We've got Toyotas flying off the shelves at what?
18:17
This is what's so confounding about today's auto market.
18:19
Like Mitsubishi, for example,
18:21
had the opportunity to run the Toyota Playbook
18:25
and be able to capture market share,
18:26
but actually they're cutting production
18:29
and ending the production of the Mirage.
18:30
The vehicle that's even at a lower price point
18:32
than this one with the Versa, for example.
18:34
But there is something,
18:35
there's just something here to the fact
18:37
that this is how Toyota broke into the U.S. market.
18:41
But ultimately now they're in the phase
18:43
of company building where they're just
18:44
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And we're watching it happen again in real time
20:16
with Korean car companies.
20:20
Because I remember when Hyundai first came to the United States
20:25
and it was like, okay, this is like when the Asian brands,
20:31
when Toyota, Honda and Nissan first came to the United States,
20:34
they were cheaper, they weren't quite as good.
20:37
And then all of a sudden, now we've got the Korean brands,
20:41
we had Kia and we had Hyundai come to the United States
20:45
and it was like they were repeating
20:49
the Japanese brands playbook.
20:51
We're gonna come in, we're gonna be lower priced,
20:54
we're not gonna be right up there quality-wise
20:59
with the Japanese brands,
21:00
but close enough that at our price points,
21:04
people will sacrifice some of that quality
21:07
because they're saving so much money.
21:10
And when you look today at what Hyundai and Kia are doing,
21:15
they are moving their entire product line upmarket.
21:22
They're not fearful of it at all.
21:24
They are, we are watching them implement
21:29
Toyota's playbook in real time.
21:33
And they're not necessarily able to do it as effectively
21:36
as Toyota's doing it, which I think to a degree, Dad,
21:39
we know Mazda wanted to follow the Toyota playbook,
21:41
go upmarket, increase prices, increase profit margin.
21:44
These OEMs, the manufacturers make more money
21:46
when they sell the more expensive vehicles,
21:48
higher content vehicles.
21:50
Yeah, however, look at what's happening.
21:51
They're not selling as effectively as Toyotas are,
21:54
which is then making them readjust their strategy
21:56
and say, okay, here $10,000 in a lease cash incentive
21:59
or for other automakers, big incentives as well.
22:03
Dad, back to the chat here for a moment,
22:04
and then we can switch gears.
22:05
Joe's saying open up the Spigot Toyota.
22:07
I think that is actually at its core.
22:09
If they could produce more vehicles,
22:10
which I'm not trying to trivialize that,
22:12
that sounds very difficult,
22:13
but if they could produce more vehicles,
22:14
that would do wonders for them.
22:16
Well, I think when all things are said and done this year,
22:21
they will have produced pretty close
22:25
to 12 million new vehicles.
22:30
That's a million new vehicles a month.
22:33
And at a million new vehicles a month
22:36
or pretty damn close to a million new vehicles a month,
22:38
they can't keep up.
22:41
They can't produce enough.
22:43
They produce more in one month
22:47
than many manufacturers produce in a year, okay?
22:53
And it's like, I don't know how they can,
22:57
I mean, how much more can they build?
22:59
I guess at a certain point,
23:01
they're gonna have to figure out
23:02
how to get that number up to 13 million or 14 million.
23:07
They're gonna have to add capacity,
23:10
but do they really wanna rush in to adding capacity
23:14
when they're able to sell everything they build
23:21
because there always seem to be in short supply.
23:25
We've got here from Anthony.
23:26
I'm currently in the market for a 2025 Camry XSE
23:30
but can't get a good deal.
23:31
Boom, this is the reality
23:34
and the challenge that Toyota dealers face.
23:36
They have customers who may be shopping on price
23:39
because as we always talk about here,
23:40
even though we encourage you to shop out the door price,
23:42
not monthly price, at the end of the day,
23:45
there are some really good incentives
23:46
from Toyota's competitors that are going to beat out
23:50
the perceived value that you would get
23:51
by paying MSRP on a Toyota
23:54
or getting obviously a deal on a Toyota just harder,
23:56
which also reinforces the services that we offer
23:59
and why people come to Car Edge for help.
24:01
They want the Toyota, they want the good deal.
24:03
Obviously, we put in the energy and effort
24:04
to make that happen, but it's not as easy
24:07
as just going down to your local Nissan dealership,
24:09
getting the manufacturer incentive,
24:10
getting the dealer discount or Mazda.
24:12
So again, this is the crux for Toyota,
24:15
Toyota dealers and the opportunity
24:17
for the broader auto industry.
24:18
Yeah, they're major problems.
24:21
They haven't figured out how to be able to max out
24:27
total production any further than they already have.
24:30
And so that's their real problem.
24:32
We can't build enough to be able
24:35
to satisfy the appetite of all our customers out there.
24:39
Which makes them tongue-in-cheek,
24:40
but like this is a legitimate opportunity
24:43
and then challenge Toyota an opportunity
24:45
for other manufacturers.
24:47
Yeah, I am saying it tongue-in-cheek,
24:49
you know, because they're taking this problem
24:52
all the way to the bank.
24:54
And ultimately, will it cost them?
24:58
It can, yes, they will lose some customers
25:01
that they will never ever be able to get back.
25:05
That's the risk you run when you can't produce
25:08
enough of something and you've created
25:11
such a strong demand for it.
25:13
So yeah, kudos to them.
25:18
You know, and if I was a Toyota or an electric dealer,
25:22
you know, I'm like on my knees thanking God every day
25:26
that I was smart enough to buy one of these franchises
25:32
so that I could be in this position.
25:34
I mean, you can either be the guy
25:37
that bought the Toyota dealership
25:39
or the guy that said,
25:41
no, I can't quite afford the Toyota dealership,
25:43
I'll do the Nissan dealership.
25:45
Or I'll do the Mitsubishi dealership.
25:49
You know, so it's, yeah, I would be on my knees every day
25:54
praying and thanking God.
25:57
From Gabriel, Toyota is overrated and overpriced.
26:02
Comments like this, I don't think, I mean,
26:04
obviously every brand's gonna have kind of, you know,
26:06
haters and evangelists, but you know,
26:09
I think we're seeing, again, the TikTok I created, Dad,
26:12
that was about Mazda offering the $10,000 lease cash.
26:16
Like I was very surprised to see how many people
26:19
were anti-Toyota in there and pro Mazda instead.
26:23
So I think we are starting to see a little bit
26:25
of a turning of the tide to a degree.
26:26
And it's hard not to when the prices are going up
26:28
as much as they are.
26:29
Even if that were true, okay,
26:34
even if they're overrated and overpriced,
26:37
they still have more customers
26:40
than they know what to do with.
26:42
I mean, you know, let me localize this for you.
26:49
Man, wouldn't we hate to be in that position at CarEdge
26:53
to have more customers than we knew what to do with?
26:56
And let's get them all and we'll try
26:59
and figure it out moving forward.
27:01
I would rather be overrated and overpriced
27:06
and inundated with customers
27:10
than underrated and underpriced,
27:12
wondering is somebody gonna open the door
27:15
and come in and maybe buy something today?
27:19
Two different problems to say the least.
27:21
One of them puts money in your bank account.
27:23
The other does not.
27:25
From Igor, Lexis dealership I'm at right now
27:27
got less than 30 days of inventory.
27:29
They sell more in one week
27:31
than they get every two weeks of allocations.
27:32
They get supplies getting smaller weekly.
27:34
So there's some insight.
27:35
You know, these Lexis dealers just like Toyota dealers
27:38
don't get enough new vehicles to satisfy the demand.
27:42
And then dad, if we'll switch gears here for a second,
27:44
just help Alan in general,
27:45
should I wait until December to get a car?
27:48
If you're in the new car market,
27:50
the end of the year is always the best time.
27:51
There's the most pressure, there's the most incentives.
27:53
So if you can wait, yeah, sure.
27:55
Used cars, I don't think that advice
27:56
really holds true, correct?
27:58
Not necessarily, but yeah, on a new car.
28:00
And then the other thing is
28:03
it depends on the new car you're looking at
28:06
and what brand it is.
28:09
And how many there are.
28:15
typically the best time of the year
28:17
to buy a new car is the last month of the year.
28:22
And if you can time it perfectly,
28:25
the last week of the year.
28:28
It's just, it's always been the case.
28:31
My suspicion is it will continue to remain that way
28:35
for quite some time.
28:38
There's just this pressure at the end of the year
28:41
to hit annual sales objectives,
28:44
whether it be on a dealership level,
28:46
a manufacturer level,
28:48
or an individual sales person level.
28:54
there is no other time of the year
28:57
where it's like the convergence of a perfect storm
29:01
in order to be able to get the best possible savings.
29:06
So, yes, if, yes, it's real simple.
29:10
Yes, the end of the year.
29:12
From Eric, how far can I get a Ram dealer off MSRP right now?
29:16
This is also going to be model specific,
29:18
so it depends, you know, which model.
29:20
But that being said, Eric,
29:21
I recommend you use some of the resources
29:23
back on caredge.com, many of them free.
29:25
For example, go to caredge.com, click on research,
29:28
and then click on see what others pay.
29:30
That'll then take you to this page
29:32
and choose the brand Ram.
29:33
You can then see what discounts
29:35
and savings our concierge team
29:37
have been able to secure for our customers
29:39
for various vehicles.
29:41
You can also then, and I encourage everyone to do this,
29:43
use our AI negotiator.
29:44
Give that a try to reach out to dealers on your behalf
29:47
and see what types of offers the AI agent
29:50
can get an Eric scout caredge insight.
29:52
So, there you go, Eric.
29:53
You already have a lot of the data in your hands.
29:55
It's going to help you figure that out.
29:56
There's obviously the target discount as well.
29:58
So, I would say if it's an aged unit Ram 1500,
30:02
there are dealers that are going to be doing
30:03
10, 15% off of MSRP easy
30:06
just to try and move the metal, if not more.
30:08
So, yeah, Eric, you're on the right type of vehicle
30:11
to get the biggest discount.
30:13
There's a reason it's getting the discount.
30:14
It's not selling, but go Eric, make it happen.
30:19
You know, I was thinking,
30:21
and I try not to do that often
30:23
because, you know, at my age, it's not good for it.
30:28
But I was thinking that perhaps with what we're doing
30:33
and not the pet ourselves on the back, but damn it, why not?
30:40
I was thinking that perhaps, really,
30:43
the future of car buying is here now with our AI agent.
30:50
Because, you know, how is car buying going to change
30:57
Well, wouldn't one of the most positive changes
31:01
be that a customer doesn't have to do it?
31:07
Doesn't have to worry about getting taken advantage of.
31:09
Doesn't have to worry about older paying.
31:11
So, yeah, I was thinking, you know, like maybe the headline
31:16
on our website should be the future of car buying is here now.
31:21
You know, what would be the future?
31:22
Our county air service has been doing this for years.
31:25
It's just the challenges.
31:26
We've got an incredibly talented team.
31:28
We have to pay that team so that they are
31:30
incentivized and excited to do the work.
31:33
They deserve to get paid.
31:34
But that's why, you know, we charge a high price there.
31:37
How do we make that accessible to everyone?
31:38
And then the county air service, obviously,
31:40
accessible to those who still want that white glove experience.
31:43
I agree with you, Dad.
31:44
I think there's a breakthrough happening here
31:46
where just get rid of, like, am I getting screwed?
31:49
Which again, we've been doing that for years
31:51
for thousands of people.
31:53
It's just expensive.
31:54
And with very good reason why it's expensive.
31:57
Yeah, no, absolutely.
31:59
So yeah, that's what I was thinking this morning.
32:02
And then I figured I'd stop thinking.
32:07
That's just the kind of guy I am.
32:09
Enough thinking, enough thinking.
32:10
Dad, here's an example of an automaker
32:12
that's having to really step up to try and make sure they
32:14
can continue to move the metal.
32:17
They've actually stepped up already
32:19
because all they seem to be able to do over at Lucid
32:21
is just burn money, light it on fire.
32:23
They are going to continue to offer a $7,500
32:26
discount on their gravity vehicle
32:28
in Q4 even though there is not going
32:31
to be a manufacturer incentive.
32:32
I find this fascinating.
32:33
Also, I don't really understand how they can afford it,
32:35
but I find it fascinating.
32:37
Well, it's easy as to how they can afford it.
32:40
If you're losing a quarter of a million dollars
32:45
on every vehicle that you sell,
32:49
what the hell is another $7,500?
32:53
It's like, come on, guys, we can almost afford that.
32:59
But they realize that they're not going to.
33:04
And I believe through the first portion of this year,
33:08
there's been nine gravities registered to buyers, nine.
33:14
So if they've only sold nine when
33:17
there is a government tax credit,
33:24
yeah, they've got to be looking at it and go,
33:26
well, there's no way we're going to sell any if that goes away.
33:29
So we're just going to have to eat it.
33:31
And that's what's happening.
33:35
We're forcing manufacturers to make decisions
33:39
as to how it's going to impact their profit margins now.
33:44
And in Lucid's case, they don't have a profit margin.
33:47
They have a negative profit margin because I believe
33:52
the number is somewhere around $200 or $250,000
33:57
that it costs them for everyone that they've sold,
34:00
that that's how much they're losing per sale.
34:02
I want to get into that business somehow.
34:06
I want to be compensated like an auto executive
34:09
but figure out how to lose $200K every transaction.
34:13
It was like when one of the owners I worked for said to me,
34:18
he said, well, I don't think we should discount our vehicles.
34:21
And I looked at him and I said, well,
34:24
our competitors think that we should because they do.
34:29
And unless you come up with a pay plan
34:31
that rewards me for saying no to a customer,
34:35
I'm telling you right now,
34:37
I'm going to do whatever the hell it takes to sell them
34:39
because that's the only way I'm going to get paid.
34:43
Yeah, but I wish I could have figured out that pay plan.
34:48
Yeah, you're telling me to add your team.
34:50
The more you say no to a customer,
34:51
the more you're going to make.
34:55
Folks, don't say no to CarEdge, check out caredge.com.
34:58
We've got all sorts of resources for you back on the website.
35:01
You can shop for new cars, use cars, research vehicles.
35:04
Please be doing that.
35:05
Track your vehicle's value.
35:06
Get some money saved on your auto insurance
35:09
or get a comparable quote on a warranty
35:12
and see if you can save money there as well.
35:14
So please, folks, check it out back at caredge.com
35:17
every day doing the best we can to help folks
35:21
with all things auto.
35:22
Now, let's call it a show for today.
35:23
We'll be back tomorrow with more CarEdge Live.
35:26
Appreciate you tuning in with us, folks.
35:28
And also, we both went the white shirt route today.
35:30
It's always interesting to see when you and I matched
35:33
Well, and especially considering the fact
35:35
that I hadn't had any communication with you
35:39
this morning at all.
35:40
No, it's our first time talking today right now.
35:42
Yes, and you first appeared on my screen here
35:46
with 27 seconds before we were going on air.
35:51
So yeah, no, I had no idea that today was white shirt Tuesday.
35:58
But I'm thankful that it is.
36:00
And for those of you who can't get enough of me
36:02
and you'll hear me say this every week,
36:04
I don't know how that could be.
36:06
But if you're out there, I will be on with my friend Brandon
36:12
from CarQuestions answered on CarSense today at, well,
36:16
1.30 we're doing a show.
36:19
And I think the title of the show or something about the show
36:21
is My 14 Years in the Car Business.
36:26
And I asked him, I said, well, was that my first 14,
36:30
my middle 14, or my last 14?
36:34
He said, no, we're talking about his 14.
36:40
Well, definitely tune in for that, folks.
36:42
CarSense, just search that here on YouTube.
36:45
Enjoy your time with Brandon today.
36:47
I'm going to get some food in me and get back to work.
36:49
That's what I'm about to do is
36:51
to eat some lunch before I go on with Brandon.
36:53
So yes, we'll see everybody back here tomorrow.
36:56
And for those of you who tuned in today, thank you so much.
37:00
Have a great rest of your day.
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