Is The New Car Supply Shortage Situation Improving?

LJJsper on 24/07/2021 - 16:48

For anyone that is looking at buying a new car soon, has the whole supply situation been improving or has it been getting worse over the year? I am aware there has been a global chip shortage and also increased demand for cars since last year, but wanted to know which direction the whole situation is heading and whether wait times are getting longer or shorter.

Planning on buying a new Mazda 6 Touring but waiting on the right time. As of now, there is hardly any stock and there are wait times for buying a car. I would buy a demo at a discounted price but demos and used cars are being priced quite high so doesn't seem worth it.

How long are people waiting before buying a new car?

Automotive Car

Comments

  • Tiredman on 24/07/2021 - 17:05
    +6

    I don't think it's going to get better this year TBH. I'm waiting to buy too but not going to FOMO in right now.

    • JJsper on 24/07/2021 - 17:09

      Do you think next year is going to be a similar story as well?

      • This Guy on 24/07/2021 - 22:39

        More product lines have been announced as on hold so I doubt it.

        If the situation was improving we would be hearing about these models to drum up interest for the jump in supply (many cars are sitting in lots waiting for chips).

        • Ade99 on 25/07/2021 - 07:44
          +1

          parked in fields, getting older and potential water ingression issues.

          • This Guy on 25/07/2021 - 20:14

            @Ade99: How do you think manufacturers and dealers store most of their cars? I have seen new cars stored in mud in a repo yard because there just wasn't anywhere else.

  • pyramid on 24/07/2021 - 17:07

    If there is wait time meaning supply is still short…

    • JJsper on 24/07/2021 - 17:09

      I was hoping wait times have been getting shorter. I heard earlier in the year that people are waiting up to 6 months for particular cars.

      • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 17:33

        Landcruiser 70 - 12+ months…

        • Zachary on 26/07/2021 - 10:05

          they still make the 70 series?! Those are old af

          • spackbace on 26/07/2021 - 10:27

            @Zachary: Yup!

            • Zachary on 07/08/2021 - 14:59
              -1

              @spackbace: Well they must be heavily discounted from when they were originally released. No way the price they went from will stay in 2021 for the exact same model still looking pristine and brand new.

      • pharkurnell on 24/07/2021 - 21:29

        Bloke i bought my house off this week been waiting for a Triton since early April, now told October…
        shame - his new caravan has been ready for ages

        • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 21:41

          He's doing well if his caravan has taken less time! I've heard of 18+ months wait

          • pharkurnell on 25/07/2021 - 07:06

            @spackbace: yea agree - precovid some were 12 mth waiting lists…. hate to see what they are now!

            apparently Tritons are made in Thailand now? and its being smashed with the virus so no workers.

            • spackbace on 25/07/2021 - 10:35

              @pharkurnell: Most utes are Thai built

              • pharkurnell on 25/07/2021 - 10:36

                @spackbace: ahhh fair enough - didnt know that - has it been that way for long? I saw an article that said Toyota has stopped making the Hilux at moment.. they made there too?

                • spackbace on 25/07/2021 - 10:38

                  @pharkurnell: Yeah been that way for a while. Yep Hilux is Thai built. Yeah read that article as well but it's only for a week, 4 days of which they normally close for a holiday. But fingers crossed it isn't longer!

        • affable on 26/07/2021 - 04:58

          I purchased a GLS Triton in June 3 with 28th August delivery and I havn't heard it has been delayed further. I'm guessing your vendor ordered a special build?
          Hilux were quoting $17k more, and 3 months longer wait. Plus Hilux are 6 month service intervals vs 12 month for Triton, 6 months is quite annoying when you are long term touring in remote areas.

          • pharkurnell on 26/07/2021 - 17:07

            @affable: Not sure, hes an older bloke, and gettin accessories fitted after purchase (brake controller/canopy etc)
            He made it sound like it was just a standard unit, could be wrong…

            FWIW, if they have stopped making hiluxes due to covid, I cant see why they are making others if they are all made in the same region.and delays will grow and grow

            • affable on 26/07/2021 - 17:27

              @pharkurnell: hmmm…. I checked today with my dealer and she said still on track for end Aug delivery. Something fishy is going on, hope I'm not in for a big wait as I've already sold my current car!

              • pharkurnell on 26/07/2021 - 20:58

                @affable: from another forum

                Blacklocks Isuzu in Albury appear to have about 70 Dmax's in stock.
                Depending on colour, don't think you'd have to wait long here

                70 cars??? thats a shit load of investment and space

  • mickyb80 on 24/07/2021 - 17:10
    +1

    Nope!

    Just buy/order and sit tight waiting!

  • Euphemistic on 24/07/2021 - 17:14
    +1

    You get to choose. Order and wait, or wait and order and probably wait some more.

    If you know what you want, might as well order it. Might wait 6 months, but that go pretty quick (except if you’re in lockdown). If you wait 6-12 months you might end up waiting another 6 months if the wait times haven’t decreased.

  • Bisah1342 on 24/07/2021 - 17:19

    Have mates in the industry - definitely getting better, but NO where near pre-covid. Silicon shortages in CPUs/Computer tech are still affecting cars and similar products. End of this year might be a bit better, but looking like a 2022 thing.

    • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 17:32
      +1

      Depends on the brand. Toyota has some car stock coming in soon, but we're gonna have issues later. Riots in Thailand etc, and then if Japan gets another bigger wave…

      • Muzeeb on 24/07/2021 - 17:33
        +8

        Japan gets another bigger wave…

        Tsunami or covid?

  • [Deactivated] on 24/07/2021 - 17:20

    mid 2022 is when it may get better

  • apsilon on 24/07/2021 - 17:20

    It's marginally better from what I've seen but it's still going to be a long time before it's back to precovid.

  • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 17:29
    +6

    Why are people waiting for more supply before ordering? I'd love to hear your reasoning…

    Most likely the prices will keep increasing, so why would you wait in the hope of a discount, when the price will have increased anyway?

    Better off just putting your order in and waiting…

    • Ocker on 24/07/2021 - 17:48

      Maybe people who like the opportunity to drive the actual vehicle before committing to the purchase?

      • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 17:51
        +1

        Demo's still exist to test drive for most models…

    • Euphemistic on 24/07/2021 - 17:51
      +1

      It kinda makes sense to hold off if you are buying used, but that will take even longer than new car supply returning to a more ‘normal’

      • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 17:52
        +3

        Yeah, that's gonna be years…

    • bloom on 24/07/2021 - 18:00
      +9

      Waiting for RAV4 kayak mounts?

    • JJsper on 24/07/2021 - 18:20
      +1

      The reason is that I would prefer if they had the particular car that I want sitting in the dealership yard, and then I could go in and negotiate a small discount off it and buy it. As opposed to putting down an order and paying nearly full price and then waiting a few months for the car.

      The last time I bought a new car was in 2007 so obviously things are very different now.

      • spackbace on 24/07/2021 - 18:37
        +13

        So let's say the car is $30,000 today

        What if the same car is $32,000 next year after a price rise, but you negotiate it down to $31,000 because it's sitting in their yard?

        Yet you could've bought it for $30,000, and been driving it earlier, which might mean getting rid of an older car with more expensive servicing, no warranty etc…

        I don't get the logic of waiting just for instant gratification… You're waiting regardless.

        And yes, from a Toyota perspective, our prices have been increasing each year lately. A RAV4 Cruiser hybrid goes up $1500-2500 in December (tho gets more features)… So those deciding to wait to buy are gonna be paying more. Same car went up in July last year by around $1200

        So the same car has gone up $2700-3700 over an 18 month period, and shows no sign of having plentiful stock such that it will be sitting on a dealer's yard… Soo, why wait?

        • Muzeeb on 24/07/2021 - 19:17
          +2

          That makes sense. Cheers

        • Succulent on 24/07/2021 - 20:13

          This is a very good logic!

        • JIMB0 on 25/07/2021 - 10:51

          Spoken like a true salesman.

      • pharkurnell on 25/07/2021 - 09:21

        and then I could go in and negotiate a small discount off it and buy it

        that aint going to happen right now..

    • TheOtherLeft on 25/07/2021 - 09:55

      I've been reading on car-specific FB groups people order a higher end model and then got told they will have to change to lower spec model without certain electronic features because of the chip shortage.

  • Godric on 24/07/2021 - 21:04
    +1

    I cant imagine as many people needing cars lately during a pandemic/lockdown

    • Euphemistic on 24/07/2021 - 21:52
      +9

      That’s the thing, it doesn’t make sense.

      There are several factors:
      - want to avoid public transport
      - can’t go on OS holidays so have spare cash
      - want to travel Aus but avoid planes, want a bigger car
      - just bought a caravan.
      - other luxuries like theatre, concerts not on. Restaurants have been limited. Spare cash.

      • Zachary on 26/07/2021 - 10:08

        i feel so poor now with everyone buying brand new cars every day…

    • FlipCrank on 24/07/2021 - 23:32
      +3

      People still need to work and cars still break down.

  • Archi on 24/07/2021 - 23:26

    Alot of dealers are also seeing that alot of people are willing to to order the car and wait. Which means dealers aren't committing to purchasing loads of cars and then selling them, They are just ordering what they sell.

    Myself, just bought a diesel tucson. The model hasn't been officially announced in Australia but the dealers are selling them. Paid a $500 deposit 2 months ago. Probably arrive in September sometime.

    Purchasing the car is based on me citing the car and agree to purchase for the sum I signed on the dotted line at the moment.

    I got a about 5% discount on the purchase price. And a price I was happy with for trade in.

    The deposit is 100% refundable. I know this because I actually ordered the same car from 2 different dealers and kept the one that gave the best deal and got a full refund about 3 weeks after placing deposit.

    Don't think the price or situation will Improve that dramatically and when it does everyone will also be ordering a car just like you are, and you would still need to wait.

    • spackbace on 25/07/2021 - 00:02
      +3

      Which means dealers aren't committing to purchasing loads of cars and then selling them, They are just ordering what they sell.

      So very wrong…

      The factory is the one limiting supply of cars. We can't order excess cars to just have them sitting around in the yard, we actually struggle for the factory to make the desired number of cars to fill the order quota. I'm sure all the brands are the same.

      Any car brand would kill to have stock readily available to deliver! They wouldn't pass up that chance just because people are prepared to order. You realise how many people get turned away because they need a car sooner rather than later? Hence used car prices asking more than new cars

      • iforgotmysocks on 25/07/2021 - 07:40
        -2

        Which factory? We should speak to the factory's manager

  • blwnhr on 25/07/2021 - 07:53

    Planning on buying a new Mazda 6 Touring…

    I would buy a demo at a discounted price but demos and used cars are being priced quite high so doesn't seem worth it.

    Awesome choice. We bought a 2015 model and loved it so much, when we sold out SUV we bought a 2018 GT as well.

    I was friends with the Dealer Principal when we bought the GT. He said Mazda Australia doesn't give the dealer any wholesale discount for demo cars (unlike most manufacturers who reduce the wholesale price for demo cars), therefore the discount comes out of their margin.

    Basically there is a floor to the discount you'll get on a demo, and that floor is the same as buying new.

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 25/07/2021 - 09:37
    +5

    It won’t get better. The current situation has highlighted just how much money manufacturers have missed out on. They’ll be dribbling stock out to frenzied customers for years to come.

    IMHO, 3 months is reasonable wait. 6 months is barely ok- it’s have to be a cracker deal to wait that long. Any more, I’m walking.

  • OzHunterNSW on 25/07/2021 - 14:49

    It relates to numerous factors, chip availability, Covit affected workforce, and shipment… answer is No.

    • tonyjzx on 25/07/2021 - 16:23

      further I feel like dealers and companies will want to make this the "new normal"

      i get how controversial that phrase is but the dealers will want to make the public used to kissing their ring piece for expensive hard to get cars on high finance becuase they're happy to live the high life.

      TBF the car industry prior to covid was in dire straits and covid was the best thing to happen to them… just like covid is the best thing that happened to amazon colesworth the IT industry and HN JB etc.

      Make money on the backs of a virus is the best thing for these companies.

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