Blame Sandy: October New Car Sales Could Become A Victim
U.S. automakers release October sales data this week. If they don’t come in to their liking, they can blame a villain everybody hates: Super Sandy. GM already took precautionary measures and told Reuters that vehicle sales in the Northeast will be hurt by the hurricane.
On top of deluged dealers up and down the East Coast comes the fact that GM’s Maryland transmission plant had to be closed on Tuesday. Not to worry: The plant is expected to reopen today.
A dealer consultant consulted by Automotive News expects a sales dip in November:
“Typically there is a sales dip the first 30 days after a hurricane. Sales levels rise to levels higher than normal 60 to 90 days after the storm, Phillips said. Despite the initial sales loss, shoppers will come back and sales will level out in the long term.”
Forecasters expect October sales to rise between 10.5 and 11.5 percent.
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I can certainly believe that the Chrysler sitting there in the water would have "the lowest price anywhere".
The market for used vehicles could jump soon - insurance companies are going to be writing a lot of total loss checks in the near future. On the other hand, if you're looking for a used car, especially in the northeast, it might make sense to jump on it now before the market gets muddied with a lot of reconditioned flood cars that may or may not have their provenance revealed on the carfax.
Can't think of a better place for that wretched 200.
Coming soon to a corner used car lot near you. Cheap, nearly new cars. Just ignore that overwhelming Lysol/Febreze smell.