Flooded Cars, Auto Auctions and Reality of $4.00 Per Gallon Gasoline Prices

After Hurricane Katrina many flooded cars hit the auto auctions. Then after the 9-11 situation on some of the cars that had unlimited mileage the rental agencies took a bath, as people could not fly home and rented cars to travel across the nation. Some car rental agencies won big with the mileage add-on game hitting customers for as much as $500 in additional miles charges.

Of course all these cars filled in house car rental sales lots and also all the auto auctions. This change in the number of cars at auctions drove used car prices to an all time low and caused many used car dealerships that were independent to lose lots of money. They got stuck with lots of cars on their lots that they had to sell for nearly the amount they paid for them. Meanwhile manufacturers? incentives and 0/0 financing was taking place at the major auto dealers for new cars at a time when prices were so low for used cars. Nobody wanted a used car when they could buy a new car for little or no down payment.

Now we see with gasoline prices approaching some $4.00 per gallon, that many SUVs are hitting the auto-auctions as they are traded in or as rental car agencies turn them in a little early at 20,000 miles instead of 20,000 or 36,000 miles. Auto auctions are a very good way to gauge shifts in the economy and future demands of new auto sales as well, perhaps you might consider all this in 2006.

"Lance Winslow" - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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