Pricing is out of control

[Sherman Bird]

My ram will be my last truck for that reason. And no I will not buy those micro trucks

Define "micro" truck, please!

 

[Sherman Bird]

There is no shortage. India just wants more for their rice and taking advantage that they can ask more.
Thankfully I don't need rice and can easily get ny without it but some cultures eat it everyday.

There was no shortage of eggs. They just raised the price but when people stopped paying $8 and they went bad, they lowered the price.

If you don't NEED a new vehicle, dont get one. My 2007 runs fine with 125k miles. No way I'm paying the prices today.
I don't get the panic. Never understood why everyone stocked up on toilet paper lol. I didn't crap more than usual during the pandemic.

As I've aged with observing things around me, I see how mindsets have. seemingly, shifted from self sufficiency to "Some one else will wipe my nose".
So, when the media was playing Chicken Little with their metaphoric sky falling propaganda, soft brained people ran in a panic.... like in 1938's War of The Worlds.

I though the whole hoarding of toilet paper was a laugh, given the crap the media was emitting!

 

[Jane S]

Maybe if you could keep up you could ask ChatGPT how to be funny.

Open your eyes --- I'm ahead of you.

 

[Alweeja]

You've been living under a rock huh? Lol. Prices of everything continue to climb, most everything is up at least 25% from where it was 2 years ago, sometimes 50-75% even. All of our part prices at work have gone up at least 40% thanks to Covid related issues i.e. steel prices/labor prices/transport prices have all soared

True this

 

[frenchie007]

Seriously blaming wages...
"The maker of Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram vehicles early Wednesday reported record financial results for the first half of 2023, boosted by improved shipments of microchip deliveries compared to 2022.

Stellantis NV reported a record $12.1 billion (10.9 billion euro) net profit, up 37% year-over-year for the first six months, on a best-ever $109 billion revenue (98.4 billion euro), a 12% increase from higher shipments. An 11% increase in adjusted operating income to a record $15.6 billion (14.1 billion euro) represented a 14.4% group-wide margin compared to 14.5% a year ago. Worldwide, inventory was at 1.37 million vehicles, up from 845,000 a year ago."

Profits up 37% but lets blame wages...

 

[JURO]

GM reported two billion income for the 2nd Qtr.
that is profit, not sales.
consumers keep forking it over.

 

[Docwagon1776]

GM reported two billion income for the 2nd Qtr.
that is profit, not sales.
consumers keep forking it over.

Stellantis seems to be doing alright as well:

Stellantis says it made $12B in net profit in first half of year

Jeep-parent Stellantis is reporting record financial results in the first half of 2023, which will likely be a focus for the UAW during talks.

www.freep.com

Stellantis said it set new records for its financial results in the first half of 2023, including $12 billion (10.9 billion euros) in net profit.​

And good on them. Businesses exist to make a profit, not to make a product. But anyone blaming worker's pay should really look at who's telling them that's the issue a bit deeper.

 

[kdoublep]

Don't get me started on ammo

 

[Ratman6161]

Closer to $25 million most years for the CEO and COO. $17 million for the CFO. Etc.

Then let's not forget dividends. That's where a lot of the profit goes, after all. Who's holding those shares?

Some 300x the wage of their average worker. Without wandering into the forbidden zone of political discussion, that's a path to feudalism. You already see it creeping in. Note real estate prices. Note how much residential housing is being bought by corporations who, in turn, rent it back out. Not local landlords, multi-state conglomerates. Political and economic power consolidated into fewer and fewer hands is not compatible with a large and healthy middle class, which is itself a historical aberration.

Wh9 is holding those shares? That's the wall st vs main street myth. Company pensions are mostlyna thing of the past. They have been replaced with 401Ks and similar plans. Almost everyone with any kind of retirement savings has money in stocks through mutual funds. Even for the remaining pension funds, they don't keep their money under their mattress...it's in t he markets. So if you have anything beyond Social Security (which is all in government bonds), you are in the stock market.

About the only other ex exception is military retired pay, but I spent 24 years in a blue uniform, so I won't apologize for it.

We have met wall street, and he us us

 

[Ratman6161]

For example, up in St. Cloud there was a 23' Ram 3500 Laramie, Level 1, HO, midnight, sunroof, air ride, bed liner. No other real options to speak of....missing many things. 93k. A fully loaded 24' Chevy High Country 3500 Duramax, 89k. You're pushing 100k with an equivalent Ram 3500 Laramie. Get into the Limiteds, you're over 100k. Many I've seen on lots at MSRP are close to 110k. Ridiculous.

Check out the web site for the dealer in Kimbal. They are advertising 2024 2500 Laramies "coming soon " but they are shoing actual window stickers over $83k and they are not even diesels. I love my Ram, but it's gotten ridiculous

 

[Docwagon1776]

Wh9 is holding those shares? That's the wall st vs main street myth. Company pensions are mostlyna thing of the past. They have been replaced with 401Ks and similar plans. Almost everyone with any kind of retirement savings has money in stocks through mutual funds. Even for the remaining pension funds, they don't keep their money under their mattress...it's in t he markets. So if you have anything beyond Social Security (which is all in government bonds), you are in the stock market.

About the only other ex exception is military retired pay, but I spent 24 years in a blue uniform, so I won't apologize for it.

We have met wall street, and he us us

Private equity firms are *by far* the largest holders. Sure, not quite 3% is in Vanguard funds that are likely in the hands of individual "main st" investors in brokerage and retirement accounts. But over 1/4 of the funds are in the hands of 3 private equity firms that Main St has zero access to.

Having a fraction of the pie doesn't make it a myth.

 

[TruckNut]

For the first time in decades, I have turned to used as I refuse to support the ridiculous price hikes of new trucks-all brands for that matter. The new truck fairly priced is the Titan and that's probably because they are going away within the next year or two. I see that now RAM is offering 10% off in their national ads. They really need to advertise 25% off to get these prices back in line!

 

[JerryETX]

They really need to advertise 25% off to get these prices back in line!

I agree but I don’t see it happening as long as people continue to pay MSRP. This won’t change until the demand stops.

All of those who paid MSRP could be looking at a horrible situation in a few years if the economy tanks or if the economy improves and interest rates fall back to 3% or less. If that happens there will be lots of people upside down in their vehicles.

 

[jejb]

All of those who paid MSRP could be looking at a horrible situation in a few years if the economy tanks or if the economy improves and interest rates fall back to 3% or less. If that happens there will be lots of people upside down in their vehicles.

A lot of people are already upside down. If you paid MSRP or more for a vehicle during covid and financed most/all of it, you are almost certainly below water. Answer to that problem is pay it off early, if possible.

 

[JerryETX]

A lot of people are already upside down. If you paid MSRP or more for a vehicle during covid and financed most/all of it, you are almost certainly below water. Answer to that problem is pay it off early, if possible.

I’m proud to say I’ve never paid MSRP or anywhere close to it nor paid above average NADA value on a used vehicle.

 

[Nickx86]

I was one of those people whose old truck got totaled, went to go shopping for another used truck in April 2022, used market was ridiculous at that time, close to pricing of a new truck. They gave me well over what I paid for my used truck in insurance payout. Originally I was going to build a new big horn but found a 2022 Laramie level “C”, yes it’s missing power folding mirrors and wireless charging. it wasn’t moving cause it’s a gasser not the Cummins. Laramie was $64,000, build date was December 2021, big horn was $65,000. Priced out the truck in 2023 with similar options…another $12,000…ridiculous

 

[wrigley]

Hi All,

I was reading a different thread on here (sorry, I forget which) and they were talking about RAM prices increasing by a lot. I guess I hadn't really paid attention so I went and looked at my 2021 1500 BigHorn's MSRP listing on my window sticker and then compared a 2023 RAM 1500 at a local dealer. I almost choked when I realized that the price jumped by 25%! My base MSRP was just under $40k ($39k + change). The new one was listed at just under $50k. MSRP. Before options. Wow. Just wow.

I haven't looked but is this pretty much the standard now across most trucks? Did all the manufacturers just decide to collude one day and raise everything 25%?

I purchased my 2023 Bighorn 5.7L in May of 2023. I paid $45,000 before taxes.

Mike

 

[shrubs]

Read articles that 60% or so, of inflation is due to sellers wanting a higher profit margin.

 

[NCRaineman]

Read articles that 60% or so, of inflation is due to sellers wanting a higher profit margin.

Greed greed greed. That's what it really comes down to. Yes inflation is sky high but corporate profits continue to set records above and beyond that. Many middle class people are being priced out of car ownership entirely. The AVERAGE car on American roads is 12 years old, and that number increases every year.

We are in what's being called End Stage Capitalism. The elite have amassed so much wealth and influence that we are on the verge of returning to feudal society, where the 1% sociopolitical elite control everything and everyone else is a serf. The globalist war to erase the middle class is nearly complete.

 

[Travelin Ram]

Math is hard. Apparently.

In round numbers the 2019 GDP was 20 trillion. Give or take 4 trillion of fiat currency was dumped into the economy subsequently, so ~ 20% dilution of dollar value.

If you made $100k before, and today you make $120k, you have “record income”. You pay higher taxes. The reality is your purchasing power is less.

This is equally true of individuals and companies. The intrinsic value of things directly result from the laws of supply and demand. Create new currency out of thin air, and ratio of currency to goods and services is changed.

The media prefers to distract us with self destructive finger pointing at our neighbors. We can believe that nonsense, or educate ourselves.