Of food chains and timing belts
Steven Lang picks up eleven certified crapmobiles for $8500 or so. Why? It’s just that time of year:
I bought them because I needed to fatten up my dealer auction for next Tuesday. Will it work? You bet.
We’re in a time of year called, ‘Tax Season’. This is the time of year where most independent dealers will make their fortunes. From late January to late May Uncle Sam will be throwing over $300 billion in overseas supported currency into American hands. The single mom with three kids and a $16,000 income? Her tax return will border on the mid-four figures. I’m not here to rationalize income redistribution or toe the political lines. But I will tell you straight up that when it comes to cars, money and bullshit are in full swing this time of year.
Most of that ‘money’ will be gone within a week and will go to either one of two things. Electronics or a car. The cost of most used cars at the auctions usually go up about 20% to 40% this time of year for one simple reason. They sell. Even the lowliest of vehicles can find the loftiest of returns during tax season.
I wonder if the price of big-screen TVs goes up during the same time frame. Of course, the pivot point is not going to be the middle of April, the end of Tax Season, but somewhere during the first few days of February. Think “Super Bowl.” I’m guessing demand is very high just before, and remains fairly high for a few weeks after that as people decide that their existing hardware was simply insufficient for the proper appreciation of beer commercials.
One thing is certain: the guy in the plaid jacket will be more than happy to take your tax-refund check, and I assume that a smart mechanic will be able to spruce up even the crappiest of cars to a condition that insures they’ll run at least long enough for someone to sign on the dotted line.
