O.K., for all you internet addicts who've been obsessed with believing that every nutty eBay '05 Mustang auction is the barometer for the entire market, who think in some twisted logic that a new GT is a $35,000 car, and that everybody should buy a left-over '04 Cobra..... Here's a new article that shows that folks are finally wising-up to ridiculous mark-ups and poaching, and are having the patience and savvy to stick to their guns and pay a fair price:
DETROIT -- Mustangs are galloping off dealers' lots almost as fast as they are delivered. But the reborn pony car is just trotting on the Internet.
A review this week of dozens of listings on eBay, the online auction site, shows that not only are potential buyers refusing to pay more than sticker price, they are already looking for deals.
Both versions of the new Mustang, the $19,410 V-6 base model and the 300-hp V-8- powered $24,995 GT, are struggling to meet suggested sticker prices on eBay. Some dealers advertising the 2005 Mustang on Auto Trader's Web site are asking slightly below sticker.
This is unusual for a highly anticipated hot car.
Mustang fans have been clamoring for the redesigned Mustang since Ford Motor Co. introduced concept versions at the 2003 Detroit auto show. The 2005 model bears a striking resemblance to the classic, coveted 1969-70 Mach 1.
Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market, a magazine that tracks auction and resale prices of classic, special-interest and high-performance cars, says there is no paradigm shift under way with what consumers are willing to pay for hot new cars.
Also in the crowd
Other vehicles with a lot of buzz, such as the new Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300C and Lotus Elise, also are not selling for more than their sticker prices, even though demand is high and supplies are tight.
With the Mustang, 300C and Corvette, Martin says, prices are hovering near sticker because manufacturers have nailed the actual value of the car when they priced them.
Says Martin: "All manufacturers say their goal is to sell cars without rebates. Part of the way to achieve that is by putting proper price on the car."
Martin also says consumers have finally wised up to the fact that regular production cars usually don't sell for more than their sticker prices for at least 20 years and are not good investments.
In the last few years, such hot cars as the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Nissan 350Z, Mini Cooper and Ford Thunderbird roadster have initially sold for thousands over sticker to buyers who had to be the first on their block to own one.
But the Mustang is bucking that trend.
Friendly Ford in Pittsboro, N.C., received its first two 2005 Mustangs this month, a V-6 model and a GT. The store, near Raleigh, N.C., tried two different marketing approaches for the cars.
Dealer Bob Esau put the V-6 model on the showroom floor and sold it immediately for slightly under sticker. Esau listed his 300-hp GT model on eBay. Five days into a seven-day eBay auction, the car had not drawn a bid, even though it was priced $335 below sticker. Esau says he's surprised the car has not attracted even an opening bid.
"I've had non-stop lookers," he says. "But I think, around here, people are waiting for a deal."
Some dealers and individuals who are asking thousands over sticker for Mustangs, Corvettes, 300Cs and other enthusiast cars also are getting no action at all, according to current and completed auctions on eBay as well as a check of vehicles for sale on Auto Trader's online site.
On the Auto Trader new car Web site, Mustang prices are all over the map. Some dealers are asking more than sticker, some are asking less and some are refusing to list prices in their ads.
Reasons aplenty
There could be many reasons for the lukewarm Internet reception for the new Mustang:
• Sales of rear-wheel-drive sports cars tend to slow during the winter months in Snowbelt states.
• Resale values of domestic cars generally lag those of imports, and paying more than sticker would leave buyers owing more than the vehicle is worth.
• Ford already built more than 16,000 Mustangs and dealers are able to fill orders without customers having to wait more than a few weeks in most cases.
• Because years of heavy incentives have destroyed resale values on many domestic brands, many potential buyers owe so much on their current cars that they can't afford the new Mustang.
• The Mustang is a high-volume car. Ford plans to build somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 units in 2005.
eBay has been an accurate barometer in sizing up demand for hot vehicles. Pontiac's new GTO tanked on eBay from the outset, with few, if any buyers, willing to pay sticker price. And Pontiac has struggled all year to sell the new version of its fabled rwd muscle car. With the Mini Cooper, buyers often paid as much as $10,000 over sticker price for Cooper S models. The Mini has been a smash with sales exceeding targets every year since 2002.
"I'm a little surprised. The Mustang is such a hot property right now," says Rich Ceppos,publisher of AutoWeek, sister publication of Automotive News. "Maybe eBay isn't right every time."
Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates, cites several reasons for the lack of price-bloating Internet interest on the Mustang, Corvette, Lotus Elise and Chrysler 300C.
For one thing, he says, the cars are not unique enough to induce people to pay more than sticker price as buyers have done in the past.
"Go back to the PT Cruiser," Schuster says. "There was nothing else like it when it came out. The Mini Cooper was out of the market for a long time. It was very nostalgic and the volume was limited. The Hummer H2 is very unique product in that price range. There's nothing else on the road like it."
Competition may also be a factor, he says. "It's also the sheer competitiveness of the market. There are a lot of choices out there."
In looking at a vehicle's "buzzworthiness," eBay is an indicator, Schuster said: "It warrants a look certainly, but it is not itself the sole indicator."
Whatever the pricing situation on Internet, there is no doubt the Mustang is hot. Most dealers say they have only one or two cars in stock.
Ford spokesman Dave Reuter says most Mustangs last no more than two or three hours on a dealer's lot. He also says Ford is not concerned about consumers' unwillingness to pay more than sticker price for the car.
"We have enough hard data in the form of orders, sales and days-to-turn to know that this car is very, very strong and that demand is going to stay strong," he says. "There is widespread availability. You can get them. You just have to look around a little bit."
DETROIT -- Mustangs are galloping off dealers' lots almost as fast as they are delivered. But the reborn pony car is just trotting on the Internet.
A review this week of dozens of listings on eBay, the online auction site, shows that not only are potential buyers refusing to pay more than sticker price, they are already looking for deals.
Both versions of the new Mustang, the $19,410 V-6 base model and the 300-hp V-8- powered $24,995 GT, are struggling to meet suggested sticker prices on eBay. Some dealers advertising the 2005 Mustang on Auto Trader's Web site are asking slightly below sticker.
This is unusual for a highly anticipated hot car.
Mustang fans have been clamoring for the redesigned Mustang since Ford Motor Co. introduced concept versions at the 2003 Detroit auto show. The 2005 model bears a striking resemblance to the classic, coveted 1969-70 Mach 1.
Keith Martin, publisher of Sports Car Market, a magazine that tracks auction and resale prices of classic, special-interest and high-performance cars, says there is no paradigm shift under way with what consumers are willing to pay for hot new cars.
Also in the crowd
Other vehicles with a lot of buzz, such as the new Chevrolet Corvette, Chrysler 300C and Lotus Elise, also are not selling for more than their sticker prices, even though demand is high and supplies are tight.
With the Mustang, 300C and Corvette, Martin says, prices are hovering near sticker because manufacturers have nailed the actual value of the car when they priced them.
Says Martin: "All manufacturers say their goal is to sell cars without rebates. Part of the way to achieve that is by putting proper price on the car."
Martin also says consumers have finally wised up to the fact that regular production cars usually don't sell for more than their sticker prices for at least 20 years and are not good investments.
In the last few years, such hot cars as the Chrysler PT Cruiser, Nissan 350Z, Mini Cooper and Ford Thunderbird roadster have initially sold for thousands over sticker to buyers who had to be the first on their block to own one.
But the Mustang is bucking that trend.
Friendly Ford in Pittsboro, N.C., received its first two 2005 Mustangs this month, a V-6 model and a GT. The store, near Raleigh, N.C., tried two different marketing approaches for the cars.
Dealer Bob Esau put the V-6 model on the showroom floor and sold it immediately for slightly under sticker. Esau listed his 300-hp GT model on eBay. Five days into a seven-day eBay auction, the car had not drawn a bid, even though it was priced $335 below sticker. Esau says he's surprised the car has not attracted even an opening bid.
"I've had non-stop lookers," he says. "But I think, around here, people are waiting for a deal."
Some dealers and individuals who are asking thousands over sticker for Mustangs, Corvettes, 300Cs and other enthusiast cars also are getting no action at all, according to current and completed auctions on eBay as well as a check of vehicles for sale on Auto Trader's online site.
On the Auto Trader new car Web site, Mustang prices are all over the map. Some dealers are asking more than sticker, some are asking less and some are refusing to list prices in their ads.
Reasons aplenty
There could be many reasons for the lukewarm Internet reception for the new Mustang:
• Sales of rear-wheel-drive sports cars tend to slow during the winter months in Snowbelt states.
• Resale values of domestic cars generally lag those of imports, and paying more than sticker would leave buyers owing more than the vehicle is worth.
• Ford already built more than 16,000 Mustangs and dealers are able to fill orders without customers having to wait more than a few weeks in most cases.
• Because years of heavy incentives have destroyed resale values on many domestic brands, many potential buyers owe so much on their current cars that they can't afford the new Mustang.
• The Mustang is a high-volume car. Ford plans to build somewhere between 160,000 and 180,000 units in 2005.
eBay has been an accurate barometer in sizing up demand for hot vehicles. Pontiac's new GTO tanked on eBay from the outset, with few, if any buyers, willing to pay sticker price. And Pontiac has struggled all year to sell the new version of its fabled rwd muscle car. With the Mini Cooper, buyers often paid as much as $10,000 over sticker price for Cooper S models. The Mini has been a smash with sales exceeding targets every year since 2002.
"I'm a little surprised. The Mustang is such a hot property right now," says Rich Ceppos,publisher of AutoWeek, sister publication of Automotive News. "Maybe eBay isn't right every time."
Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting for J.D. Power and Associates, cites several reasons for the lack of price-bloating Internet interest on the Mustang, Corvette, Lotus Elise and Chrysler 300C.
For one thing, he says, the cars are not unique enough to induce people to pay more than sticker price as buyers have done in the past.
"Go back to the PT Cruiser," Schuster says. "There was nothing else like it when it came out. The Mini Cooper was out of the market for a long time. It was very nostalgic and the volume was limited. The Hummer H2 is very unique product in that price range. There's nothing else on the road like it."
Competition may also be a factor, he says. "It's also the sheer competitiveness of the market. There are a lot of choices out there."
In looking at a vehicle's "buzzworthiness," eBay is an indicator, Schuster said: "It warrants a look certainly, but it is not itself the sole indicator."
Whatever the pricing situation on Internet, there is no doubt the Mustang is hot. Most dealers say they have only one or two cars in stock.
Ford spokesman Dave Reuter says most Mustangs last no more than two or three hours on a dealer's lot. He also says Ford is not concerned about consumers' unwillingness to pay more than sticker price for the car.
"We have enough hard data in the form of orders, sales and days-to-turn to know that this car is very, very strong and that demand is going to stay strong," he says. "There is widespread availability. You can get them. You just have to look around a little bit."
He waited six months and paid $500 over invoice. Hopefully people will start realizing this and stick it to the dealers. The sooner people stop paying over sticker and the dealers begin to have a surplus, their prices will drop and incentives will be found. Lets hope it is sooner then later. 
