Counter example? You linked something saying chip makers are saying at least the end of the year for shortage. The idea that there would be a 3 month delay between when the chip makers get up to speed, car manufacturers are able to ramp back up, and back demand would be filled is at best generous. Your counter example looks awfully supportive of what is being said here.
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I am (or I was) in the market for a 2021 Ford Explorer XLT. So far I have received quotes for MSRP & over MSRP. No thanks. I’m going to keep looking or just wait things out. Thankfully I don’t need a vehicle right now.
If you’re willing to travel you can save a few thousand dollars. Look on Cars.com in Florida. I see several that are $4-6k off MSRP. There’s only $1,000 retail cash so the rest is dealer discount. Buy a $99 plane ticket and drive home in your new Explorer.
FL being a go to spot for car deals!?!?! If so, we are definitely in an alternate automotive universe right now😜
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Let’s not forget the $999 dealer doc fee and inevitable stacking of dealer add-ons.
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Anyone who is telling you when it will end, doesn’t know (it’s wayyy to early to SWAG). Good that you want to verify what’s being told.
There is an entire thread on shortages:
TL;DR it’s nuanced: it depends on manufacturer, where they build it, and what components are in short supply. For instance, if you can live without a couple options, BMW is still building in the US and Germany.
If you are looking at a Japanese car built in Japan, forget about it. Their entire capacity to make semis burned down. They’re shopping the open market which has no capacity.
But please, everyone: if you hear a quote from the CEO of Intel about chip shortages, ignore it. The only Intel chip in your car might be a cellular radio (a business they sold to Apple) or a microcontroller. Intel’s roadmap was 5 years late (after decades of being spot-on) before their best and brightest went down in the Indian ocean. That’s like asking Kodak opinion about digital photography.
So @manku if you are looking at a particular car or manufacturer, you can dig a little to truly understand the amount of inventory on the ground, and whether they are making it all the way through manufacturing (unlike, say, 30k F150s). In many cases not because of just chips, but rubber/foam/etc.
The people at the dealership, likely have no clue what’s actually going on.
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Ok so pay MSRP and a $99 dealer fee or pay a $999 dealer fee and get a $4k discount on the car. Which makes more sense?
Btw: Those sticker add-ons are the easiest to negotiate away. Anyone with any common sense knows they’re just plain garbage.
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Except for the numerous dealers out there that won’t negotiate them away, because they use them as a way to advertise significantly below market deals and then make up for it on the back end with the add-ons. Anyone with common sense knows that’s a standard dealer trick when the advertised price is too good to be true.
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Even if I could, I’m sure every single Ford Explorer in the state of Florida is RWD. While I am fully aware of the benefits of a set of dedicated winter tires, I am also aware that if I reveal this plan to my wife she will make me sleep in the bed of my truck (thankfully I have a long bed Tacoma).
You think Florida dealers have the highest discounts?
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TSM is legit printing money right now. There is a drought in Taiwan right now, and wafer production is very soon going to be affected (dangerous, as Taiwan produces a good fraction of the world’s silicon production). Was talking to some industry people, allegedly they are down to refining waste water from construction sites and recycling water. 
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Yes they are. Most of what tsmc makes isn’t in your car either.
One of the trades did a really good breakdown of what companies supply which components, there are iirc 8 names that most people have never heard of. I think it’s in the Shortages thread.
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Arguable. They make most of the world’s silicon, and the TW trade ministry officially requested/stated that TSMC will be focusing on prioritizing auto chips when possible. It may be single digits, but that’s still a significant amount.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-autos-chips-exclusive-idUSKBN29U091
I don’t know if i’m willing to make that statement but there are certainly deals to be found. So if dealerships in your area want MSRP then why not expand your search?
I’m confident they’ll change the rules of the game once it starts going very badly.
I have to wonder if it’s really going to ease up at all. Dealers can basically charge whatever they want right now because of the inventory shortages. And there’s enough dummies that will pay whatever because they want what they want now. It’s super unfortunate for those that NEED a new vehicle right now as opposed to just wanting one.
Profit margins have to be through the roof. And maybe one of the dealers here can clarify. But demand will eventually die down once the inflation bubble pops. Wouldn’t it make sense to keep inventory lower and keep the prices inflated as opposed to bulking up inventory and letting it sit for weeks and months at a time on the lots? I guess it would just depend on volume sold vs typical price per unit sold? I hope that’s not the case as someone that’s trying to be patient and wait out this insanity, but I’m getting antsy and I really don’t want to wait until next spring lol
Several of the manufacturers have said they’re going to do just that. I’ll believe it when I see it though.
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Yes, I found a Subaru Crosstrek I wanted and they would not budge off the internet price. Been through this with three dealers. Luckily I am still telecommuting to work and my office is only a mile away when I have to go back so looks like it will be the bike this summer.
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Is this a good time to buy a tesla then? It’s price is stable. I don’t want to pay the same amount on a honda suv then it’s price crashes in 3 years. Thoughts?
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Tesla changes their pricing all the time and there’s discussion about the fed ev rebate being expanded to more US manufacturers, which would likely drop the value of a current model tesla.
If memory serves, there are also shortages on teslas and very, very long wait times if you want to buy one new right now.
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