Wild Ass Rumor of the Day: Repo Men Not Repoing SUVs, Trucks

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Sources tell TTAC that the glut of SUVs and trucks is so bad that the banks are not calling in the repo men. I repeat: banks are cutting maximum slack to people who are behind in their loan payments– to the point where some are driving around in their vehicles without making any payments. In a bizarre way, this makes perfect sense. Repo services cost money. Re-conditioning costs money. Storing the vehicles costs money. Equally important, the banks/credit agencies don't take the full hit to their bottom line until they sell the vehicle. Needless to say, the market is so stuffed with both brand spanking new and slightly used (i.e. excellent condition) product that we're talking about a MASSIVE hit. What's more, our man in the auction biz tells us that many dealers are holding their light trucks until the end of the month– and then selling them without reserve. You can imagine what that's doing to residuals. If not, check this from Tom Folliard, president and chief executive officer of CarMax: "During the quarter, wholesale industry prices for SUV's and trucks declined nearly 25%, which is approximately four times the normal depreciation expected over this period and well in excess of the depreciation expected over a full year. This is the most rapid depreciation of any vehicle segment that we have experienced in our 15 years."

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Durask Durask on Jun 22, 2008

    And yet, many small car drivers are completely unconcerned about what might happen should they run into, or over, one of those motorcycles or scooters or bicycles. When asked about the horrific damage a car inflicts on a person on a bike in an accident the usual response is: Dumb idiot should have driven a car like me. :)

  • Gottleib Gottleib on Jun 23, 2008

    this is good news for our politicians. Ever notice how many of those that govern have SUV's. Since we are a free democratic society as mentioned by someone else don't you think what is good for the goose is also good for the gander? Last year while in Washington DC for the first time in a long time, I was very surprised to see the number of Suburbans and Tahoes that were roaming the streets with police escorts. I assume these must be elected officials or other government employees that required protection or escort. I will be concerned when those that lead and govern this country begin driving the small high mileage cars, before then I will not join the "sky is falling brigade."

  • Joeaverage Joeaverage on Jun 23, 2008

    My only concern about this "era" of tightness is that lately these topics divide people more than they bring us together. We seem to get more and more polarized with every debate rather than conceding that yes the other guy has a few good points. It's the concessions that help us grow wiser. It's the polarization that drives folks to this side of the boxing ring or the other, makes people think they can't be friends with the folks on the other side of the argument. These are reasons I hate electrion years and why I have really disliked this one with it's long period of pandering and lies. More time to listen to the liars tell stories and make promises most of us will not remember or hold the politicians to.

  • Geeber Geeber on Jun 24, 2008
    pch101: SUV’s have slowed the pace of the reduction in the fatality rate. This has been quantified and studied, nobody really denies that this is the case. What has slowed the reduction in the fatality rate is that we picked the low-hanging fruit. The declines in the fatality rate are what is to be expected. As the rate has declined, further improvements are harder to come by, and smaller in scope - just as the last 10 pounds are harder to lose than the first 20. If SUVs were truly killing the occupants of other vehicles, then the number of car drivers killed in two-vehicle crashes, as a fraction of all car drivers killed, should have risen dramatically as SUV sales soared. But this hasn't happened. If SUVs were substantially increasing risks to car occupants, then it must necessarily follow that this ratio would increase in tandem with the increasing numbers of SUVs on the road. The data from 1994 forward show no evidence of any such increase.
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