Why do the car manufacturers continue to sell/lease cars like the times were great instead of as sucky as they are?
Infiniti sales for March were down over 45% so for April they have done to increase sales? Why do they (all car makers) continue to try to make maximum profit instead of making a small profit but moving the remaining 2008's and all the 2009's in time for the 2010 models?
As unrealistic as it is, could they not finance cars for 84 or more months at .09% or less to all buyers with good credit (does not need to be Tier 0 or Tier 1) or lease cars with far more attractive lease packages?

What will the stimulus be to get us good citizens to get a new car in April, May, June or ever?

I know makers, Dealers, and Salesmen need to make money but they will make zippo if nothing moves. Wouldn't it be slightly better than nothing if they sold/leased 250 cars in a month making maybe $250 profit per car (after paying all the overhead) instead of selling 50 cars and making $700 a car?

I would think, as a non-economist type, that if a car dealer sold/leased cars at a price about $250 more than they actually have into each car and financed them for as long as possible with as little interest as possible they would move a boatload, maybe?

I really don't have a clue but it sounds plausible, or does it not

 

Sounds like you want a new car for less than you are being offered.

 

Wow, 84 months is a looooong time to be making a car payment. Hell, even the standard 60 month payment plan is a long time. 84 months!!! You're talking about 7 years!!! Infiniti dealerships here, at least last I saw, are doing what they can to get cars sold. Infiniti had the 0% APR for well qualified buyers at first for 36 months, then later extended it for 60 months (i don't know, they still may have this offer going on). They also were knocking down a couple thousand off MSRP. Overall, i believe infiniti dealerships are doing what they can. Don't know what else to tell you.

 

Having owned businesses, I can tell you it isn't quite that simple. If you start financing everybody, look at what happens. The housing market showed us that. The lending standards in place have a lot of hard research behind them. A person with a 780 is much more likely and able to meet their financial obligation than one with a 680. That's common sense. And if you lower your pricing to increase sales, it devalues your product in the marketplace. In a consumer's mind they now feel your product is less valuable than it was, and may even have resentment and the feeling that they were being overcharged in the first place.

84 month financing at 0.9% is a real risk even for people with really good credit. Every time I see TV or newspaper ads for domestic vehicles with huge price incentives and long term 0% financing , I subconsciously think "Wow. It must not have been worth the original price they were charging me. They were screwing the buyers before. It must not be that good."

 

84 months is risky, period.

Also, using your own example, 700/50 is much easier than 250/250.

You don't want to saturate your own market; you can only sell so many infinitis.

 

Infiniti was never a brand that rely on volume and will never be.

 

Just for the record; I am not asking this for myself!!!
I personally would not finance past 60 months but this is just something I have never figured out because I have zero business sense

Thats why I chose Public service as a profession and let my wife handle these tough money issues (like paying for my toys)

Seriously, reading the car forums I always find posts from folks who try to figure a way, any way, to get a vehicle way out of their budget (sound familiar) Of course I also read how sucky the automotive industry is and no one is doing anything different, even if it is a gamble.

 

Eventhough sales were down 47% last month?

What do they rely on if not car sales? (I am not trying to be a smartass)

At some point something has to change unless they enjoy surviving at much less in the way of sales per year.

 

Thanks guys!!

So far in 4 posts I have learned a ton of stuff, keep it coming!!

 

As far as I'm concerned, they rely on Nissan sales. If it weren't for Nissan, Infiniti would have went belly up by '99. Sales might be bad for Infiniti now but it was no where near what they experienced in the late 90s.

I'm with you though. I think prices should be lower. I think this proves cars are overpriced if they can take 30%+ drops and still not lower prices even by a penny.

 

Infiniti sales spiked with the introduction of the G (and subsequently the FX and M).

Sales now are still higher than what the brand experienced before 2003

 

As superb as the infiniti cars are, isn't there a way for infiniti to increase sales?

Maybe Nissan should come out with a Maxima X AWD and/or an Altima AWD and shoot for dramatic increases in the sale of those cars instead of just plugging along with Infiniti G37 car and hope to make just a small profit?

I don't know what or how but there has to be a better way to sell cars!!!

 

Wow 84 months? I haven't even lived in a house for 7 years straight!

 

You see, the car still moves in the current price.
When you drop the price on the car, you sell more but it does not mean you will make more money.

 

Excellent, excellent points but you also can look at it that if you discount your product, it can also make you seem economically friendly and draw in a crowd that you weren't able to attain first. Now that crowd could be thrift shoppers, more or less, looking at i.e. Camrys for 26K instead of a G37 sedan for 35K. You can also disband loyal shoppers from their current brands and entice them to at least take a look at yours.