As summer comes to a peak, car dealership supply shortages and related price premiums have largely eased in the Washington, D.C., area.
海角精品黑料 talked with three dealers who shared that they again have enough cars for customers to be able to visit their dealerships and test-drive vehicles in person. And they said that in some cases, there are deals to be had too.
鈥淚 think we鈥檙e finally getting back to that place where at least there鈥檚 enough inventory to come in and take a look at some of the options,鈥� said Patrick Coleman, president of . 鈥淭hat鈥檚 one thing customers have kind of been deprived of the last few years.
鈥淵ou鈥檝e got a reasonable chance of finding something on the ground,鈥� said Mike Walker, general manager of .
But Walker added that in an era of still-lean inventories, ordering a vehicle versus buying one off the lot might lead to the best deal. 鈥淚鈥檓 more inclined to give an aggressive price on something that鈥檚 in the order bank,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檇 much rather give a deal on that vehicle than one that鈥檚 on the lot that somebody wants right now.鈥�
Navigating car pricing now
Although shoppers have noticed that rising interest rates increase their expected monthly payments, Matthew Bibbo, general manager of ,听 and , pointed out that dealers are feeling the crunch too.
鈥淔or the most part, most of us keep all of these millions and millions of dollars in cars on a line of credit,鈥� Bibbo said. 鈥淎nd then one is seeing their credit card bill. Certainly, that has gone up.鈥� Those higher rates, he said, can further motivate dealers to move vehicles.
The bump in interest rates has also put a hurt on lease payments, which have an interest rate baked into them. 鈥淭hat $450 lease went to $680,鈥� BMW of Fairfax鈥檚 Walker said. 鈥�$699 is [now] $910.鈥� But, he added, that BMW has recently begun rolling out more generous lease terms aimed at helping dealerships retain repeat customers.
Evaluating whether to go electric on your next car
Meanwhile, the fluctuations in automobile stock and pricing come amid the backdrop of electric vehicle adoption, with interest in them varying across brands.
鈥淲e see folks coming in somewhat considering it, deciding to take a test drive and then finding themselves seriously considering it鈥� because of the vehicles鈥� impressive performance, Walker said. 鈥淎nd then, it鈥檚 just a matter of range and thinking, 鈥極K, how do I work this into my life?鈥� 鈥�
Bibbo added that he鈥檚 an EV adopter himself. 鈥淚 very rarely hear from a customer that bought an EV that is unhappy with it,鈥� he said.
Coleman, whose brands include Cadillac, Toyota, Nissan, Infiniti, Honda, Land Rover and Jaguar, said that for some of his mainstream brands, 鈥渨e鈥檙e finding the adoption of those EVs has been a little bit slower than we would have expected,鈥� pointing to the Nissan Ariya and Toyota bZ4X in particular.
He said gas models remain the most in-demand vehicles across his dealerships. Coleman said that he鈥檚 been most excited about 鈥渢he full-size new Range Rover, the Range Rover Sport 鈥� not EVs, not hybrids, but some of the smoothest and most phenomenally driving vehicles I鈥檝e ever been behind the wheel of.鈥�
Also, the Cadillac Escalade has been enormously popular, he said. 鈥淓very one we get is pre-sold. Again, it鈥檚 a gas-powered car. It鈥檚 a 6,000-pound truck. But we can鈥檛 keep them on the lots.鈥�
Demand is even higher further up the luxury food chain. Bibbo, whose Sterling Motorcars sells Bugatti, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce and McLaren vehicles, said his Lamborghini orders are full for the next two years. Price clearly isn鈥檛 always an obstacle, he noted. One of his customers is taking delivery of a Bugatti late this month. Its cost? A cool $4 million.
