CarEdge Live Dec 22, 2025

We Tried to Buy The SAME TRUCK From 100 Ford Dealers & The Results Shocked Us | Episode 987

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Car

Ford Edge

The Ford Edge is a medium-sized SUV that's great for families because it has a lot of space inside and comes with many tech features. It's known for being comfortable to drive and has some powerful engine options. People talk about it because it offers good value for what you get.

Concept

new car incentives

New car incentives are discounts or special offers that help you save money when buying a new car. They can include cash back or lower monthly payments, making it cheaper to buy a car.

Term

MSRP

MSRP is the price that the car maker suggests the dealership should sell the car for. It's a guideline for how much you might expect to pay for a new vehicle.

Term

out the door price

The out the door price is the total amount you pay to buy a car, including the price of the car, taxes, and any extra fees. It's what you actually spend to take the car home.

Car

Honda Civic

The Honda Civic is a small car that many people buy because it's dependable and gets good gas mileage. It's been around for a long time and comes in different styles.

Term

sales tax

Sales tax is an extra charge you pay when you buy something, like a car. Different places have different rates, so it can change how much you pay in total.

Term

title and registration fees

Title and registration fees are the costs you pay to officially register your car and get the paperwork that proves you own it. These fees can be different depending on where you live.

Term

dealer fees

Dealer fees are extra costs that car dealerships might charge when you buy a car. They can include things like paperwork fees and other charges that aren't part of the car's price.

Term

manufacturer suggested retail price

MSRP is the price that the car maker suggests dealers charge for a new car. It helps buyers know what to expect, but dealers can set their own prices, which might be higher or lower.

Term

add-ons

Add-ons are extra features or services you can choose to include when buying a car, like a better sound system or extra protection for the paint. They can make the car more expensive.

Term

title fee

A title fee is the cost you pay to get a document that shows you own your car. You usually pay this when you buy or sell a car.

Term

state taxes

State taxes are fees that you pay to your state government when you buy or own a car. These can be different depending on where you live.

Term

electronic filing fee

An electronic filing fee is a charge that some car dealerships add for handling paperwork online, like registering your new car. It can be much higher than what it actually costs the dealership.

Term

state fees

State fees are costs set by the government for things like registering your car or transferring its title. You usually can't negotiate these fees because they are required by law.

Term

titling

Titling is getting a document that shows you own your car. It's important for buying or selling cars and is needed by the state to keep track of who owns what vehicle.

Term

advantage package

The advantage package is a group of extra features you can get with a car. It usually makes the car nicer or adds more technology, but it costs more money.

Concept

franchise dealership network

A franchise dealership network is a group of car dealerships that sell cars from a particular brand. They follow rules set by the brand, which can sometimes make it harder for customers to get the best deals.

Term

fake discounts

Fake discounts are tricks that car dealerships use to make it look like you're getting a better deal than you really are. They might raise the price first and then offer a discount, so you end up paying more.

Concept

bait and switch

Bait and switch is when a store advertises something at a low price to get you in, but then tries to sell you something else that costs more. It's considered dishonest and is illegal in many places.

Car

Ford Escape

The Ford Escape is a small SUV that many people like because it's useful for families and everyday driving. Ford is planning to stop making the Escape, which has made people curious about what other affordable options will be available. It's talked about because it offers a good mix of space and good gas mileage.

Term

affordability

Affordability means how much money people have to spend on cars. If cars are too expensive, fewer people will buy them.

Term

average advertised price

The average advertised price is how much cars are usually listed for when you see them for sale. It helps us understand if cars are getting more or less expensive.

Term

dealer money

Dealer money is extra cash that car manufacturers give to dealerships. It helps them sell cars at a lower price or makes it easier for the dealership to earn more money when they sell a car.

Concept

dealer motivation

Dealer motivation is what drives car dealerships to sell more cars. They often have goals and rewards from car makers that encourage them to sell as many cars as possible.

Concept

sales goals

Sales goals are targets that car salespeople aim for to earn bonuses. If they sell enough cars, they can get extra money or rewards.

Car

Honda Airwaves

The Honda Airwave is a small car that looks like a wagon, which means it has more space for carrying stuff. It's mostly sold in Japan and is known for being good on gas and reliable. People mention it because it's a practical choice for those who need a bit more room.

Car

Porsche 911

The Porsche 911 is a fancy sports car that has been around for a long time and is loved by many people. It's known for being really fast and fun to drive, while also being comfortable enough to use every day. People talk about it because it combines luxury with great performance.

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As players fight to avoid mistakes on the field,

remember to make smart choices off the field this holiday season.

If you decide to drink and drive, you could get a DUI, or worse.

That one decision to drive impaired could change your life

and the life of others forever.

If you're going to drink, the only way to be the MVP

this holiday season is by planning a safe and sober ride home.

Don't risk it, drive sober, or get pulled over,

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10 years from today, Lisa Schneider

will train in her office job to become the leader of a pack

of dogs, as the owner of her own dog rescue, that is.

A second act made possible by the rescaling courses

Lisa's taking now with AARP to help make sure her income lives

as long as she does.

And she can finally run with the big dogs

and the small dogs who just think they're big dogs.

That's why the younger you are, the more you need AARP.

Learn more at aarp.org slash skills.

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It's noon here in Ventner City, New Jersey

and our nation's capital, Washington, DC.

And this is Car Edge Live for Monday, December 22nd

with your hosts, me, Ray, here in Ventner.

Dressed up today, cause I got a TV interview later today

and Zach hanging out in, well, a winter wonderland

somewhere, how are you today, Hanson?

Doing fantastic, happy Monday, everyone.

A couple of days away from Christmas, that's so exciting.

Thanks for tuning in for some Car Edge Live.

We tried to buy the same truck from 104 dealers

and the result shocked us.

We're gonna be talking about the latest YouTube video

we had go out on the main Car Edge channel

and a viral Twitter or X thread, I should say.

We're gonna be talking about that today

as well as that the industry's expectations

for slowing sales in 2026.

Before all that, a friendly reminder folks, caredge.com.

If my dad and I and our incredible team can help you,

we would love the opportunity.

We are two weeks away from January 5th.

January 5th is a very important day in the car market

because that is when new car incentives for December

actually end this year.

So if you're in the market to buy a new car,

you got two weeks.

This is the two weeks with the most leverage

you've had all year long.

We've got our promotion running.

Our car buying service is $150 off.

Our Car Edge Pro toolkit is 15% off

and the fine folks over at fair are offering $150 off.

The vehicle service contract extended warranty as well.

So we've got all sorts of promotions running.

We're trying to finish our year strong

and we wanna help as many people as possible.

Go for it Deb.

I have nothing to add.

It's a strong figure.

I saw the lips were getting pursed but I guess not.

Here we go folks, we're gonna talk about it.

So we published a video pops.

It went out I think on Saturday, right?

I do believe, yes.

And it's the second year in a row where we've done this.

We've contacted 104 dealerships.

We're gonna run through the messages here

that I posted online but we contacted 104 dealerships

for the same MSRP vehicle.

So Deb, set the stage here for us.

What did we do and why did we do this last year?

Why did we do it again this year

and then we'll run through the data here

in just a second but why do we do this?

Because we wanna see just how responsive dealers are

when you send an email requesting certain information

like an out the door price, a total breakdown

of all the fees and everything

on a particular vehicle that they have in stock.

And well, the number of dealers that actually get back

to you, I guess you could safely say it's shocking

and it's shocking for all the wrong reasons

and not for any of the right reasons.

So last year we contacted 100 dealerships

and very few actually got back to us

and very few gave us pricing.

This year actually that significantly more dealerships

got back to us.

So what we do here, then we're gonna do it again

probably next month for a different manufacturer.

So let us know what other vehicles

you wanna see us do this for.

As we pick a vehicle, we pick the same MSRP

so same trim within a few hundred bucks.

We reach out as the same exact buyer

and we contact obviously different dealerships

and Deb ultimately this year of the 100 dealers

that we contacted, 39 of them sent us pricing.

21 did not respond whatsoever and 50% of those

that did get back to us never gave us pricing

because they said we either had to come in

or we had to get that information over the phone,

not in writing.

So that's kind of first thing here, Deb.

You reach out to 100, 21 will not get back to you,

39 will actually give you pricing

and half of those that do get back to you

say, hey, when can you come into the dealership?

The surprise to me is that 39 responded with a price.

It's not surprising that 21 ignored us altogether.

I think that is a more common thread for dealerships

than dealerships would like to admit.

And I'm sure they'll all say, well,

it's the busiest time of the year.

It just fell through the cracks of it.

Normally we're right on top of this stuff

but it's a bad sign that A,

the dealers don't get back to you

and B, more than anything,

they won't even provide you with the information

that you ask for because, well, you have to come in.

I mean, you just have to come in.

Now the tactic to get the best deal,

it takes a lot of work, so I want to be clear here,

but the tactic to get the best deal on a new car

is you contact multiple dealerships

and you get multiple out-the-door price quotes

and you shop them against one another.

It's no secret, it's pretty straightforward.

What this immediately indicates, Dad,

is that let's say you're in the market

for, I don't know, a Honda Civic.

If you reach out to 10 Honda dealerships for a Honda Civic,

you should anticipate only getting 3.9 prices back,

so four prices back out of the 10.

That's what this starts to indicate.

It's like, we did it at a scale of 100

and we did it nationwide,

but in your backyard, in your area,

to get the best deal, again, the tactic

is pretty straightforward.

Contact multiple dealerships

with the same exact vehicle,

get out-the-door price quotes

because we all know the out-the-door price

is very different than what you see advertised online.

And there you go.

Now, you've got your best price and your worst price

and you can work them down,

but you're gonna have to do a lot of outreach.

If you only reach out to two dealerships,

there's a pretty good chance you get no pricing back.

Isn't that crazy?

The whole thing's crazy

and the reason it's crazy,

and I saw in here one commenter said,

well, your presence is power.

Sure, you know, absolutely.

Your presence is your best leverage.

That was in the old days, ladies and gentlemen.

I'm sorry, maybe dealerships haven't heard somebody

invented the internet.

I believe it was Al Gore

so that we could all get the information we need

prior to actually showing up

and being present at the dealership.

Dealerships don't wanna give you the information

because they are afraid that you will then

share the information they gave you

with another dealer,

and that other dealer would have the opportunity

to beat the price by a little bit.

And so that's the fear that dealerships operate under.

Which dad, if I may, we're gonna get to it.

There are so many comments from people saying,

tell me the good dealers, the honest dealers,

I want to reward them.

So I think we're at a moment in time

where we can finally break through

that kind of glass ceiling of like,

oh no, we can't share pricing

because you're just gonna shop us

and get the best possible lowest dollar price.

No, people just want to have

an honest, fair, transparent experience

and we're gonna get into that

in just a couple of minutes here.

Go ahead, dad.

Well, but that's what I was gonna say.

You know, the fear that the dealers have

is a self-imposed fear.

So when I ran dealerships,

you know, did I suffer from the same fear?

Well, if I give them a price,

they'll just take it to our competitors.

I don't know.

I kinda looked at it slightly differently.

That if somebody's asking for the information,

they have given me the opportunity to share with them

not only the pricing and the complete breakdown,

but why it is that they should choose

to do business with us.

Whatever the reasons that there were

and the dealership group that I last worked for,

you know, you didn't need a service appointment

to bring your car in if you had an issue.

We had what we call stop, drop and go.

You just showed up, dropped off your car

with whatever the problem was

and drove out in a service loaner.

So that differentiated us from other dealers.

The fact that I was willing to give you the information

that you asked for differentiated us from other dealers.

And then I would share with people

what type of corporate citizens we were

within the community and how we helped the community

and the things that we did.

So yes, is it possible you might be able to beat my price?

Yeah, that's possible.

Is it likely that you're gonna find a dealer

that's gonna be as open, honest and transparent

as we were?

Absolutely not.

And that was what I counted on.

The fact that people wanna reward those

who answer their questions.

Let's keep it going here, Pops.

We've got the actual data on the outdoor prices.

So the lowest price we were able to receive, again,

this is on the same $65,000 MSRP vehicle

was $53,402.

The highest outdoor price we received,

again for the same MSRP vehicle was $70,410.

That's a $17,008 difference

for a nearly identical MSRP vehicle.

This particular image, I think sums up

in addition to the fact that only 39 gave pricing.

So 39% will give you numbers.

And then of those that give you numbers,

there's a $17,000 price difference

in the actual total price that you're going to pay.

Deb, we have to thank the sponsor of today's show

in just a minute.

So go for it here, but remember I've gotta do that.

Well, no, I'll just let him please.

Before I get started, do delete me.

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All right, dad.

So back to this, 39% actually gave us a price.

Of those that gave us a price,

we had a $17,000 difference

between our lowest and highest out the door price.

What do you make of this?

Well, some of the difference can be made up

in sales tax rates because some states

have a higher sales tax rate.

Then others in some areas,

there can be a county or city tax that's also imposed.

Title and registration fees can vary by state.

So that can impact the out the door price.

But what this shows is that there's more to it than that.

And the more to it is either the smaller discount

that some dealership was willing to offer

the addition of additional products

that had already been installed

or were about to be installed,

that they said were mandatory

and that you as a customer needed the pay for.

We did have many instances of dealers adding add-ons.

So like you said, that is one piece of it.

It was super fascinating as well, dad.

Just the variance in discounts

that we saw from these dealers as well.

Now, you spoke about it, dad, just a moment here.

We'll talk about it fees in just a second here.

But dad, just look at the distribution of out the door prices.

Again, this is the same MSRP vehicle.

And there's your distribution

of what pricing looks like you have prices,

primarily around $60,000 out the door.

That's where most dealers ended up.

But again, a histogram, a plot here

that shows you the variance.

And again, it's just so crazy

because it's not like, you know, I don't know.

It's not like something else

where you'd anticipate the price would be different.

It's the same exact product.

The difference is what's the overhead cost

to operate that dealership?

What's their pricing tactics?

What's their strategy?

Like it's just nuts, man,

that there's this much variance in price.

And that comes to be

because each and every one of these dealerships

is a privately owned business.

The manufacturer suggested retail price

for that truck that we were looking for is just that.

It's a suggestion.

And each and every one of these dealerships

is free to sell at whatever the market will bear

in their particular area.

So yes, we bash dealers

because there seems to be an inherent unfairness

about the process.

And unfortunately, the manufacturers,

as much as we can share this information with them,

there's not much that they can do

other than say, gee, we'd like you to play better.

You know, it's an independent business

and they get their pricing for their local market area.

That doesn't mean that as a customer,

you can't shop outside of your local market area

to find a dealer that would be more amenable

to discounting and saving you money.

All right, Dad, fees and add-on.

So let's start with fees here.

So these are the fees that are added

onto the purchase of a vehicle.

And what's interesting here is many of these

look like state and local fees.

The challenge that I see as a customer

is how do I compare apples to apples?

For example, we've got government fee,

registration fee, non-tax fee, title fee, tire fee,

plate fee, total fee, total license and fee,

state taxes and fee.

There's no organization around fees.

Even if they are required fees,

there's no organization which makes doing an apples

to apples comparison between dealerships

incredibly challenging and difficult.

Even two dealerships side-by-side in the same city

may put on their out-the-door price quotes

a different line item and line items to capture their fees.

This makes it super confusing for customers.

And in many cases, Dad,

we know that dealerships are also adding tax fees,

which in those cases,

those are not mandated by the state or local government.

Those are just profit centers for the dealership.

So it was fascinating to see here

some of the fee information and how un-uniform it is

and how challenging that can be

for prospective customers to make sense of.

All right, everyone, let's talk about drinking and driving.

A decision that will change your whole world.

Things will never be the same once you get a DUI

because legal fees, time and court are just the beginning.

Getting into a crash is another way your world

could be irreversibly changed after drinking and driving.

Your vehicle may not be the only thing

that gets damaged in that crash.

You could face a life-altering injury or even death,

but you're not the only one who could face those consequences.

Your decision to drink and drive

could permanently change someone else's world,

whether you injure them or leave their loved ones grieving.

The next time you're out drinking, call a rideshare,

a taxi, a sober friend, or a designated sober driver.

Always plan for a safe ride home.

The only decision that will change your world for the better

is the decision to call for a sober ride.

It's never worth it to drive drunk.

Don't risk it.

Drive sober or get pulled over.

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10 years from today, Lisa Schneider will trade

in her office job to become the leader of a pack of dogs.

As the owner of her own dog rescue, that is.

A second act made possible by the reskilling courses

Lisa's taking now with AARP to help make sure

her income lives as long as she does.

And she can finally run with the big dogs

and the small dogs who just think they're big dogs.

That's why the younger you are,

the more you need AARP.

Learn more at aarp.org slash skills.

And we know that there's many dealerships out there

that are taking advantage of some of the newer fees,

electronic filing fees and things of that nature.

And where the actual cost for the dealership

might be $50, but the electronic filing fee,

they charge the customers $499.

So these are fees, if they are taxable,

they are negotiable.

Now, state fees shouldn't necessarily be negotiable,

but some dealerships are known to mark up the state fees.

So as a customer, what do you do?

What is your defense against that?

Well, my suggestion would be is to go

to your state's motor vehicle website

and find out exactly what the state charges

for the fees that are associated with the taxing

and titling and registering your vehicle.

And print that out so that you can share that

with the dealership if you notice that they've,

I don't know, added to those fees

to make them more expensive than they really are.

So it's unfortunate that because

of the nature of the business,

as a consumer you have to go through all these gyrations

just to make sure you're not being taken advantage of.

And I don't know, I think the industry could do better.

And then, Dad, we have add-ons.

Add-ons are different than fees.

These are additional products that customers

may not have actually asked for,

but we're on the out-the-door price quote.

So we have spray and bed liner, window tint,

the elusive accessories, advantage package,

Mori's Promise add-ons, cross-road protection package,

pro-pack.

So you can just see here, there's a laundry list,

a litany, and all of various different price amounts.

I mean, look at the advantage package.

Did I want something with an additional $4,000 on it?

No, but that's what came, and that was not,

you know, to be clear here,

that was not what the vehicle was advertised

for sale online.

I was not the price of the vehicle

advertised for sale online.

The price that I actually got from the dealership, however,

had the advantage package on it.

Did I want it?

No, do I have to now negotiate it?

Yes, and so this is another phenomena

when you go and you start to contact multiple dealerships,

and this is not unique to just Ford.

This is industry-wide.

These are the types of things

you need to anticipate seeing and be prepared for,

which again is why it's so important to always request

and then negotiate the out-of-the-door price

and not anything else,

because these things get added into it.

And this is another example that shows

that each and every one of these dealerships

is a separate, private enterprise,

and they can do and add whatever it is that they want,

or at least that they tend to until you push back.

Now, there will be some of these dealerships

where when you push back,

they're just gonna tell you to leave.

That's fine, because that's not the type of dealership

you should be doing business with.

But it is just the perfect example

of how the franchise dealership network works,

where it is to the dealership's advantage

and not you as the customer

or even the manufacturer's advantage.

Dad, we've got some common themes

that came out of this work that we did.

We heard frequently we can't give you pricing over email.

You have to come in.

There are fake discounts hiding massive fees.

That's another one mandatory add-ons

like we were just showing they're applying rebates

that we don't actually qualify for.

That's an egregious one that happens online.

And then ghosting us after we followed up asking

for pricing, here's an example.

Did we ask for loyalty advantage in CarRX GPS

and Triton paint and fabric and the fees,

the undes...

What is fees for 602?

It's very unclear.

These are some of the common patterns that show up

when you actually go through the car buying process

that again, just make it so challenging

to be able to compare apples to apples.

You know, I used to work with a salesperson

and one of his favorite lines was,

if somebody said, well, I can't.

Okay, like we saw, well, we can't give you

a price quote in an email.

Yeah.

Can't means won't, okay?

It's not that they can't.

It's that they won't, okay?

That they have chosen a business choice

to not be cooperative with what it is

that their potential customers might want.

Why do they operate like that?

Well, because they can't give you clear reasons

why you should do business with them.

They need you in the dealership.

So at that point, they can try and pressure you

into buying the vehicle.

It is a decision that ownership

at that particular dealership has made.

And that decision is we're going to make it

as hard as possible for a customer

and we are going to provide them

with as little information as we possibly can

unless their ass is sitting in a seat

in our showroom.

Now, I have a ton of empathy, dad,

and I want to pull this up next.

There were a few number of dealers

that were shockingly honest,

clear pricing, no games, no pressure.

Now, the thing that I get frustrated with

is that the car search websites,

they really do not highlight these dealers

because instead they reward dealers

with the best deal tag.

And that's when the advertised price

is nowhere near the actual out the door price.

So it is increasingly difficult

for dealerships that are honest and transparent

to quote-unquote win and get quote-unquote leads

because these platforms encourage you

to not play by any type of rules

and to instead just have a great deal out there

and then to your point get you into the dealership,

bait and switch it and upsell the hell out of you.

So it's really, I think that an opportunity for CarEdge

and something I'm really excited to be working on,

but a missed opportunity

by the existing marketplaces out there

that do again just incentivize this poor behavior.

And may I say, part of the problem for that poor behavior

is that when a customer shows up

and things are different

than how they were advertised online,

too many of those customers don't get up and walk out.

They still end up rewarding that dealership

with buying the vehicle there.

So if customers in mass would just say,

well, you lied to get me here, I'm leaving

and actually leave, that would give pause

to those dealerships to continue operating in that manner.

But the problem is that too many of us,

too many consumers out there will just go,

well, it's probably gonna be just as bad

at the next dealership.

So I might as well just buy it here.

Yeah, we see a lot of people get taken advantage of

in that way.

Folks, this is a friendly reminder.

Again, we're running a promotion right now

back at caredge.com.

If it feels like we've been running a promotion

all of December, it's because we have,

we know many people are trying to take advantage

of year-end incentives and the fact that right now

is the best time to be in the market to buy a vehicle.

So please learn more about our car buying service

back at caredge.com, then click on car buying service.

And please humor yourselves,

get a consultation phone call with our team

and more importantly, meet our incredible team.

We've helped thousands of people

with our concierge car buying service.

And then caredge pro, the tools we use

to negotiate and get the best deal.

Learn more about how that can support you.

And like I said at the outset of our show,

our friends over at fair doing $150 off

on vehicle service contracts right now as well.

So lots of promotions,

finishing the year strong here in caredge land.

Dad, you know who else is trying to finish the year strong

in anticipation of a week, 2026?

Well, that would be the car market.

New vehicle sales likely to slide in 2026

after rising slightly this year.

I think there's an extra pressure, dad,

right now to try and finish 2025 strong

because the expectations are already being set

that 2026 is going to be a slowdown for the auto industry.

You know, we keep saying it

and there's lots of alleged pundits

such as ourselves who keep saying it.

And every time we say it, it doesn't seem to come true.

So, you know, the only aspect of it

that seems to have come true

is we predicted that there would be like EVs would fall,

EV sales would fall off a cliff.

And to a certain degree, that part has come true.

The rest of it doesn't seem to.

And I appreciate those allegedly in the know

saying that we think 2026 is going to likely be

going down sales wise.

I don't know that that's the case.

I would think it would be

because the cost of everything else

is just so damn expensive.

And we haven't really seen any of the manufacturers

adequately address the affordability issues.

I mean, you look at Ford,

they're doing away with the escape

and so there's one of their least expensive vehicles

that will no longer be available.

So, if you look at the numbers and you think,

well, if there's a smaller percentage of the population

that's willing to buy, then sales are gonna go down.

And every time we say that,

sales either go up slightly or stay steady.

So, yeah, I would think we're gonna see a decline

in sales in 2026.

But my bet is that this time next year,

when we're sitting here doing this,

we're gonna go, my goodness, 2026 was so much better

than what we anticipated.

We know, Dad, that fleet sales have started to fall off.

So that's a little bit of a off switch

for these manufacturers.

When retail sales fall off,

they can turn up the fleet sales,

but we saw that actually decline

over the past couple of months.

And I think a lot of it does tie back to affordability.

So question for you, question for our community.

We have the latest data

on the average advertised price

for a new car in the United States right now.

What do you think of it?

This is the marketed price.

This is the price that shows up

on all these car search websites.

What do you think that number is?

So wait, we're talking about the bogus prices show up

on all these car websites.

Yes, correct.

And what do we think the average of that is?

Correct.

I'm gonna guess just slightly over $50,000.

Man, you are on fire today.

How much slightly over, Dad?

Slightly, maybe $114.

He's pretty close, guys.

$50,076, which is up just a little bit,

up a little bit from April 1st.

And the reason this ties back to April 1st

is trying to tie him to tariffs, right?

But Dad, we know that this price point is just too high.

It's not sustainable for the car market.

At least that's our expectation and our anticipation.

But we also know that fleet sales

had buoyed this market for a while.

And so as fleet sales decline

and retail sales decline,

you should anticipate seeing total sales decline.

I don't see a third...

Who's the third customer here, Dad?

Retail customers, fleet customers?

Who's third?

I don't see where else these cars could go.

Hi, you know, I just don't know.

Could be insurance companies.

It could be trailer loads of cars

or train loads of cars get destroyed in accident

or, I don't know.

It's just, we've talked about it for five years.

Yeah, we have.

I think that there's an affordability issue,

an affordability crisis, as I put it.

And it hasn't really slowed down sales.

It is as if the automobile industry

on the new car side has figured out how to make do

selling 16 million new cars a year in the United States.

And, you know, it's not gonna be 17 million

and it's probably not gonna be 15 million,

but it's gonna be somewhere around 16 million.

And it's 16 million with, if you're like Mazda,

with our 2.3% market share,

that's good enough for us and that works.

If your General Motors, and it's a 19% market share

or whatever it is, it's gonna be pretty profitable

for the company.

So, you know, apparently they have figured it out

that it is, they just need to sell somewhere

between, I don't know,

15.8 million to 16.2 million vehicles

and everything is good with them.

Not good with the buying public, but good with them.

Average monthly payment.

Do you know what it is right now, Deb?

Oh, I, on the new car side of things.

Yep.

I would imagine it's gone up slightly, maybe 765.

Little bit more.

775?

776, the average new vehicle monthly payment right now

is $776.

Okay, and that, does that include your automobile insurance?

No, of course not.

Oh, does that include maintenance?

Of course not.

That include fuel costs?

No.

How do people afford this?

Yeah, so again, I come back to, I know you're saying it,

maybe this is just the auto industry's found out

how to stick at 16 million and they're good

and they're hunky dory.

I don't see them saying it's 16 million next year.

We had actually a lot of the pundits say 15.8

is where we're gonna end up, but long story short,

I do think it adds increased incentives and pressure

to try and end 2025 on a high note.

So I think, I mean, remember we had

Dan the Grange on a couple of weeks ago?

What was it?

Chevrolet or General Motors up to $1,500 in dealer money

per vehicle sold, if you hit your volume threshold,

it's the Lantlisk, Chrysler Dodge Deeper

and $3,000 per vehicle sold.

I think these manufacturers are gonna try

and pad the stats and look as strong as possible,

going into 26 in anticipation of maybe not being able

to sell as many vehicles.

So I think, dad, there's a lot of pressure

in the auto industry right now to try and end the year strong.

There is, every year at the end of the year,

it is when there is this perfect storm

of manufacturing incentives to not only the customer,

but to the dealer, there is the dealer motivation

to move as many of these units to take advantage

of as much of that incentive money as they can.

And then there is the sales person's motivation

to hit sales goals and bonuses that could be available.

So it's the perfect storm to be able to walk

into a dealership when there seems to be a buying frenzy

going on and if there's a sales manager

or a couple of sales managers

and they're working like eight, nine, 10 deals at a time,

it happens where a sales manager gets a wee little bit confused

as to which deal they're working.

And the next thing you know, they end up accidentally

discounting a vehicle a little or a lot more

than what they had intended

and they just go, oh, the hell with it.

It's just a deal.

We can replace the car.

It's not a big deal.

Let's just sell it.

And again, I think,

and I think the extra pressure is the anticipation

that next year is not going to be good.

Let's try our best to end 25 on a high note.

Speaking of ending 2025 on a high note folks, again,

I know I sound like an infomercial half the time,

but I got to remind you caredge.com.

We appreciate everyone that has supported us here

in 2025, a tremendous year of growth for our company,

for our mission and for our team.

We appreciate everyone that goes to caredge.com

that shares our resources as well.

And you know what?

If you haven't done it before, scroll down,

learn a little bit more about me and my dad

and why we do what we do

and our commitment to you, our community.

Pops, we'll be back tomorrow

with another episode of Car Edge Life.

Let's stick into car deals.

I need to figure out what the title needs to be,

but I really want to spend tomorrow

like trying to help people navigate

their end of year car deals as much as possible.

So stay tuned.

That's what we'll do tomorrow.

And then let's play the rest of the week by ear.

It's a holiday.

I want to take a little break.

I think you probably want to take a little break.

You're busy as heck, man.

So anyway, tune in tomorrow, y'all.

Who knows what else is going to happen this week

with the holiday on Thursday?

Well, I'll be here tomorrow.

And yes, I am a little busy.

I've got a call at one.

I've got a TV interview at 3.30.

I mean, I am like sanity clause.

People just want to see me all of a sudden.

I love it, dad.

I love it for you.

I love it for us.

Everyone enjoy your afternoon pops.

I love you.

Enjoy your phone call at one

in your TV interview at 3.

Look forward to seeing you on the airwaves.

Love you too, handsome.

Thank you, everybody.

We'll be back here tomorrow.

Please come and join us and tell a friend to tell a friend

to tell a friend and have all your friends.

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0:00

31:29

We Tried to Buy The SAME TRUCK From 100 Ford Dealers & The Results Shocked Us | Episode 987

Ford Edge

new car incentives

MSRP

out the door price

Honda Civic

sales tax

title and registration fees

dealer fees

manufacturer suggested retail price

add-ons

title fee

state taxes

electronic filing fee

state fees

titling

advantage package

franchise dealership network

fake discounts

bait and switch

Ford Escape

affordability

average advertised price

dealer money

dealer motivation

sales goals

Honda Airwaves

Porsche 911

About this episode

Original notes