Hundreds of Thousands of Brand New Unsold Cars Parked Worldwide to Rot in Car Graveyards

a reply to: Ameilia

It is amazing how much good stuff of all sorts is wasted by corperations. The other day a friend of mine who works at a waste processing site told me that entire past year collections of clothes from stores are being distroyed. Good and expensive other stuff too.

What a terrible waste..

a reply to: Ameilia

apart from the outrage at the absolute waste and stupidity it shows one point and that is that cars are way too expensive today and need to come down to a reasonable price.

I suppose that car production lines keep people in work so again as the manufacturers can afford to stock-pile older unsold models then the price needs to come down.

What perhaps was a light on the horizen of sheer irritation at stupidity, is that there is a prison on Sheppy, which is a desolate place and I am surprised that some of its inmates haven't nipped over the walls and simply driven off. If you were in there for car jacking you would have had a field day.

Ok.... Ok.... My response is a little bit all over the place because I can see a lot of angles to this problem not being solved any other way. What have they tried to get rid of these cars? Is there an answer to this question? Is the market seriously looking for the newer models? I think a poll should be placed on facebook over this question. It would be the only way that would gain attention. But again.... you try to solve one problem and it creates another.... or six.... Listen:

Every company liquidates their products off of shelves every month. They sell them to smaller companies, give them out to charity... Heck sometimes they just throw them away.

But these are cars. And like everyone keeps saying "We only like buying the new cars at that 20k+ price, screw used cars."

Why not sell the older models to used car dealers?

Think about this for a minute:

Car companies need to generate revenue. I need a car and I am not looking for ABS, side air bags, fog lamps, or neon strobe lights blinding people. I just need something that I can afford. By offering used car dealerships a trade in offer for old beat up cars for these brand new yet 6 year old + vehicles.... and selling them at 15K or lower. It would help just a little. But then again Lewis makes the best statement in his article: There is almost not enough asphalt to house these cars just sitting around like that.

So imagine if the car companies decided to start selling these cars for as low as 5,000.... (Seriously think about it for a minute. If you had to make money then you drop the price until it is finally sold.) More and more people would be crushing their junk cars and buying these brand new oldies.... and you would create traffic problems across the USA. Highways become bigger with more people having access to a vehicle. Motor Vehicle Collisions will occur much more frequently. (If you think everyone on the road is dumb now... wait until every person, license or not, has a car.)

And the real problem behind why these cars never sell is because PEOPLE DO NOT BUY CARS WITH CASH. They do so by loans.


In comes the insurance people. The whole reason why we have insurance is not just because it is law, but it is because we are purchasing these vehicles with a promissory note to pay them off, all the while using the value of the car as collateral if you become delinquent.

You hit someone's brand new car and they break into tears. They become financially ruined. WHY NOT GIVE THEM A BRAND NEW CAR FROM THE LOT!? Well... there is the problem with the car companies themselves. They didn't think about the future, so the future ran over them in the process. So instead of coming up with a better solution.... it is all about greed. Yes. Greed. I am very certain that the car companies still put a price tag on those vehicles at the exact same price they were when they first came out. And eventually they will suffer a mental breakdown. They should already be making deals with insurance companies to just give them another brand new car no matter what happens and just crush their current car.

But then there is that emotional attachment. The car stereo I put in was my downfall of my own car and my debt. People want the same car because they painted it a certain color. Or they tinted the windows. Shoot they might have just put that bumper sticker on the car. They want to fix their own car because they don't want to get into debt again. It just isn't fair to us. I would be a lot more happy if I never had to worry about my car dying out on me if I knew I could just get another of the exact same car for a lot less than I originally paid 42K + for. (And I know that car damage isn't the only thing you have to pay for when it comes to collisions, but I am getting to that.)

Used cars have bad records on them. I don't even like looking at used cars. Because I know that there is something wrong with each and every single one of them. No one wants to buy a money pit.... Or a lemon. But the problem also lies in the year of the car. You gotta get that brand new model sickness out of your head.

I have been lucky enough to drive quite a few brand new vehicles in the past 5 years of my life. I have driven a 2011 Tesla for 6 months, A 2009 Prius (hate those cars) for 8 months, An impala 2005 for 2 months, A Nissan Juke 2013 for 3 months, A 2011 Charger for a week, a Ford F-650 for 1 day. (Jack links truck.) A 1995 jeep Cheroke, A CJ6 Jeep from uh... 1970? Don't know the year. I have driven so many different vehicles and the technology in the old cars VS the new cars doesn't really add up.

I miss hitting the gas and the car JERKING me to get up to speed. The new cars have that slowly gain speed and then it is way too much so you slow down. Problem with mixing the two on the road? people grow impatient and forget how to drive courteously.

But seriously after driving so many different vehicles.... I stopped wanting to put in a bomb ass stereo system or painting it. I don't even look at bumper stickers anymore. I actually like Motorcycles better.

But when you start giving people replacement cars and just raising their monthly premiums another 10 or 20 bux.... you take away the mechanics. Well sometimes mechanics will argue over this, but mechanics shouldn't have to fix wrecks. They should just be there to do maintenance.

So even if everyone agrees with getting the new car and junking the old one for a better price than 40K then you create more cars showing up at landfills.

There are so many wrong angles to this problem that we can't fix it over the simple fact that people want the BEST.


You have to admit it yourself in order for this problem to actually have an answer that works. You have to admit that you want the top of the line car at least ONCE in your life. You want the brand new one to BOAST about it at work or to your friends. But once you do......


Do it once. See how you feel a month after you brag to your friends about it. I will never buy a car again. I want a motorcycle.


And if they could stop trying to produce a new invention to cars... and just completely stop.... then maybe people would notice it. But they have to hook you into looking at their cars somehow. So that is another area we would have to address.

Spoilers.... tints.... shades....


You know? I have an answer to this problem that might work....

Why not start a car dealership that buys those brand new old cars, customizes them, and sells them for that old new price?

Everyone wants a spoiler, with nice rims, skinny tires, tinted windows, heated seats, LED displays. Why not just soup up those cars in the lot with a body kit for like a grand and sell them?

People would freak if they saw a 2006 Charger with all kinds of customization and no mileage for 10K. If only the cost to produce that image would be 7K I think it would be worth it.

What else could we try as an answer?



Edit:


Ok... lets say we start seling those cars lower than 5K.... Then people would start to buy only the older cars and the new cars wouldn't even get off the lot. Balance... balance... balance.... Where is that atmosphere song at?

In the US there's lots like that after floods and hurricanes also the automakers here are required to keep so many of each model for about 10 years. All those abondond looking buildings in Detroit are actually full of brand new cars waiting for the government to let them be scrapped

a reply to: Ameilia
trust me,these won't be sold for scrap! They will give end of the year discounts to dealers,fleet companies,rentals,you name it.They would rather sell them at cost than to crush them.Imagine how many police,utilities,gov't agencies,whatever.

Come on...

They have to have a way to cover up all of the metal and materials they plan to use for building starships.

All of those cars won't rot, they will get used... but for what is the question? Bullets? Starships? Recycled cars?

When there's a shortage of metal or raw materials, you can bet your arse that these graveyards will be the first to get a visit.

I do agree with the OP and their anger on this... what a complete and total waste.

~Namaste

This is consumerism. They just pass on all costs to buyers of new cars or write the costs off so they don't have to pay any Federal taxes. The stockholders are the ones who do not make money. The execs still get rich.

I believe that these cars sit around until shipped off to dealers or whatever without some part like a rear view mirror or something like that. Then when someone wants them, the mirror is put on, the compliance plate is stamped today's date, and there you have a brand new car. It might be 2 years old but the law says that it is not finished being made until all the parts are put together. What a scam.

Oh! So relieved to see this post! This is something that has been bugging me for years. I suspected something like this was going on as it just doesn't add up all the cars they have on the lots all year long that just vanish to make way for the new + the prices constantly rising even though we should be well saturated in newish cars if they're selling that many.

I've wondered the same about other products as well as they stores are always full of new things, but, where do all the unsold items go? Furniture, electronics, appliances top the list of my "wtf happens to all these new, but unsold models?" list. Hopefully clothing and food get distributed at least somewhat to poorer citizens/places.

So the auto manufacturers are bailed out with our money, which is then used to overproduce in an attempt to make it appear as though the industry is recovering.

Does that sound about right?

a reply to: Ameilia

Why don't they team up with China and put these cars in those huge empty cities they build?

a reply to: Ameilia

Catch 22. Make less cars, need less workers, so less jobs. Also need less resources, so less jobs as well. Yeah it's a screwed up dynamic.

it'd be awesome, if they could set up a plan to sell them at market value, or something similar, after they're no longer the hottest thing ever...

like when the 2013 model year is up, and the 2014's are out, you recall all the 2013 cars, and then the manufacturer sells them at special facilities, for a drastically reduced price...maybe even sell them at cost, just so they don't go to waste...

this story kinda reminds me of those ghost cities in china....they build them to keep people employed, even though nobody is ever going to live in them...apartments, houses, malls, the works....entire cities, and they just go to waste....

originally posted by: zatara
a reply to: Ameilia

It is amazing how much good stuff of all sorts is wasted by corperations. The other day a friend of mine who works at a waste processing site told me that entire past year collections of clothes from stores are being distroyed. Good and expensive other stuff too.

What a terrible waste..

I want to touch on this a bit more detail so to speak..

Remember when you were growing up and you would see a random Goodwill or salvation army container to drop clothes in.. I have been noticing recently they have these yellow things that I suppose are replacing the ones above, the only difference is that the clothes you throw in there do not goto goodwill, salvation army or whatever they goto some company then sells them at a price..

I do know for a fact a company based out of Ca that has thrift stores around where I live(not hard to find where I live if you check post history) That collects clothes from people(Free) Turns around and sells clothes at price.. Unlike goodwill And salvation army where some of the money goes back to the community and crappier clothes get sent to say soup kitchens for people to use these clothes that sit on the shelf after say 5 days get shredded and thrown away..

This kinda pisses me of a bit because some of the clothes they shred are actually nice clothes crap I would buy or my wife would just we wasnt in the mood at the time..

This place makes a mill a yr just at the stores in my area.. I have been backing off of the place for the past 2 yrs because of what I have learned..

::EDIT::

Another post a couple yrs ago about the same thing.

Just found a whole bunch of white vehicles sitting around - "Car Show"?

I could really use one of those vehicles but it's better that they just sit and rot. Thanks greed.

Are the car companies adding the price of the cars they are not selling in every car they are selling? If they are, they could cut production, keep all their employees, and lower their prices. Lower it to the level where they are not paying for unsold cars. The lower prices would increase sales, which would lead to more profits for the company.

A lot of overstock vehicles go to rental fleets or are used to fill any government orders. And probably any business large enough to buy multiple vehicles at once. (I'd think bulk purchases have less paperwork involved.) Insurance companies (same vehicle replacement) and second or third tier dealerships (more used than new cars) and occasional vehicle auctions probably get some too. It's not entirely wasted.

Yes, they do depreciate in the lot. But there are additives added to the oil and fuel to prevent fouling, and keeping them in mostly dry condtions on a paved lot helps them store longer with less deterioration.

originally posted by: Bilk22
a reply to: Ameilia

Catch 22. Make less cars, need less workers, so less jobs. Also need less resources, so less jobs as well. Yeah it's a screwed up dynamic.

Solution...end of assembly line add a disassembly line or car masher and then back around.

Not only am I p*ssed that I am working full time, and struggling to buy a new car or keep mine maintained while there are enough cars here to just give people who could use one. But then I guess everyone would stop buying cars.

Just the litter alone of all this is disgusting. Why do they, if anything, recycle the cars? Oh they can't afford to pay someone to work on something like that.

What's next, are we going to start getting recalls because they are using old parts off of these cars, or chassis? I can see it now, they will sell these things to other lesser car brands, or use in another brand of their own, and put new body panels on them and call it something new. a reply to: Ameilia

As soon as you all get to ride in a Quality Electric Car you will never want to drive a gasoline powered vehicle again.Hand down.

Now that the tech is available and people can build them at home,the major Manufacturers have been forced to change ASAP.

I have experienced the difference and there is absolutely no doubt things are about to change in epic ways,what I am saying is that once you have tasted what an Electric car can give you you will NOT accept a gasoline pwered car and it will not be based on Environmentel awareness,it will be based on PERFORMANCE because THEY ROCK.

Consumers will NOT accepet hamburger form traditional Auto-makers when they can get Prime-Rib from peoples backyard garages.

The funny thing is that the Companies probably cannot finance the cars to people because the banks who gave them money to build them wont let them. This is just the Powers That Be making even more moeny,they will intentionally bankrupt their massive companies collect as much insurance or write of as many hundreds of billions as they can through insolvency and then they will try to get a death-grip on the Electric Car industry,or even better will decide to supercede even the electric cars and bring us some real impactfull new technology.We are just seeing another Big Money con job being played out.The money that was used to finance the cars never really existed,so in essence neither do the cars,unti someone buys one they have no value,they are as meaningless as the money the banks lent to build them.If the banks wont give more imaginary money to consumers to buy their now imaginaty cars to turn the action into profit then the Cars simply disappear,because like the money they are not real until someone signs on the dotted line.

Ask yoursef why the banks dont create even more imaginary money and offer financing to people to get the cars into service?

What is stopping them from rolling over their invisible moeny yet again?Awareness? You bet. Now they need to suck money out of the insurance industry while they restructure their empires.Once they bleed the insurance industry and write-off as much as possible ,then they will go back to issuing imaginary money again.And the cycle will begin again.