• Cars for Clunkers program runs until November 1st, 2009 – or until funds run out
• Car must to be less than 25 years old
• Cars must average 18MPG or less (exceptions exist for very large vehicles)
• Car must be owned, registered and insured for 12 months in owner’s name before trade in. Must provide Proof of Insurance and Registration to dealership
• Car must have a clear title, without any liens or encumbrances.
• Car must be in drivable condition
• Cars traded-in must be scrapped, meaning the car will be turned into scrap metal (worth a few hundred at most)
• Depending on trade-in, a $3,500 or $4,500 credit is applied toward purchase of new vehicle
• Cannot participate in CARS program more than once

The program has these requirements to prevent explicit abuse of the Cash For Clunkers program. Otherwise, owners could simply drive to the junkyard in Renton or Everett, buy a junk pickup truck for a hundred dollars and tow it to the dealership for a essentially a free rebate.

Having a scrapping requirement is also interesting, as it limits newer cars from participating in the program due to the immediate trade in loss. This means that the owner of a 2003 Toyota Corolla would not be inclined to participate in Cars for Clunkers as their vehicle still has a $7000 trade in value. By participating in the program, they would only receive a $3,500 to $4,500 credit plus scrap value toward the purchase of a new car.

How Much Cash Credit Do I Get for my Trade In?

If your vehicle qualifies for the Cash For Clunkers program, dealerships that participate are required to offer you an instant credit/rebate toward the purchase of a new, fuel efficient vehicle. The rebate differs depending on the type of vehicle you are purchasing and the difference in fuel economy between your trade-in and newer vehicle.

Trading in old passenger car for new passenger car:
Fuel economy improvement from 4 to 10 MPG: $3,500 credit
Fuel economy improvement over 10 MPG: $4,500 credit

Trading in old passenger car for new truck:
Fuel economy improvement from 2 to 5 MPG: $3,500 credit
Fuel economy improvement over 5 MPG: $4,500 credit

Trading in old truck to new truck:
Fuel economy improvement from 1 to 2 MPG: $3,500 credit
Fuel economy improvement over 2 MPG: $4,500 credit

While Seattle is primarily a city of passenger vehicles, the Cash for Clunkers program is a huge (some would say ridiculous) incentive for owners of old trucks or SUVs. The short of it is that if your car has a trade-in value less than $4,500, the program is an incredibly incentive to purchase a new car.

How does the Cash For Clunkers Trade Process Work with the Dealership

Though many sources mention that a voucher is required to participate, that is not true. You need no paperwork and during the trade in, the dealer handles all of the paperwork between them and the NHTSA. Provided that your trade in meets the qualifications for the Cash for Clunkers program, the $3,500 or $4,500 credit is immediately applied toward your new car.

There have been some reports coming out about dealerships (though none we’ve heard about in Seattle) telling customers that they will receive a rebate check from the NHTSA directly, the trade in needs to be held until cleared, or that there are fees or contracts to participate in the program. All of these practices are against the terms of the program and the NHTSA even asks that you report dealerships who tell you this. To repeat, the program takes no filing of paper work on the consumer side – only proof of meeting the requirements of the trade in.

However, some dealerships are wary of the Cash for Clunkers program because of the potential financial risk. It takes ten days after submitting the paperwork to the NHTSA for the dealership to know whether or not they will be credited for the trade-in. In the event they are not credited, the dealer will be out of $3,500 or $4,500 credit. This puts the onus on the dealer to correctly inspect and file the paperwork.

Most dealerships, especially those in the Seattle area, that we have talked to, are thrilled about the program – and rightly so. The Cash for Clunkers program may well be a financial stimulus program for the auto industry and a much needed rescue for domestic automakers like GM.

So, if you were thinking about trading in your old vehicle, seriously consider the Cash for Clunkers program, as it may be the best financial incentive in history to trade up for a new car. The program ran out of money within the first two weeks when it first rolled around earlier this year, so even though the program expires on the first of November, there is a good chance the program will be out of cash far before then.

Do you dread high pressure salesmen? Are you being scammed by the financing manager? Consumers all say that buying a car is worse than a visit to the dentist. Don’t have a bad experience – contact us at today sales@seattleauto.net to get you in touch with our professional auto broker who will treat you with the utmost care. Sign the papers in your own living room and have the car delivered to your door at dealer prices!

Step 6: How to Set a Price For Your Car

The trickiest part of the negotiating game is to set a price that is fair to both you and the dealership. As good or bad as a dealership might be, they still have to make a profit. In fact, you might be surprised to hear that dealerships average about a mere 1% profit per year on total sales.

Normally, I advise to set a general price point around 1% to 3% over dealer invoice on a new vehicle (that’s $200 to $600 for a $20,000 vehicle). In the current economic situation however, dealers are becoming very desperate, so it’s reasonable to aim for invoice pricing and even lower. Checking with sites like Edmunds.com is a good way to figure out what other people have been paying for similar vehicles.

Figuring out the price on a used car is a bit more tricky, but uses the same method. What you want to do is find the wholesale value on the car you’re looking at. This can be estimated by using the Kelly Blue Book and finding the trade-in value of the vehicle. After that, you should add about 10% on top of that value to get a pricing figure. Note that the auto industry and your dealership doesn’t use Blue Book pricing, but instead use what is called the Black Book. This is a wholesale pricing guide similar to Kelly’s Blue Book. While the the pricing is different, it’s similar enough for your needs.

In addition to standard profit percentages, there are many other things that can effect how much you should expect to pay:

• Base car price: The pricier the vehicle, the more you generally pay in mark-up.
• Vehicle lot age: The longer a vehicle sits, the less flexible the price due to reduction in holdback profit
• Demand and supply: Hot cars will simply demand more money
• Day of month: End of the month is better due to monthly sales quotas
• Month: End of the year (Nov, Dec) is also better due to yearly sales quotas
• Dealership: Each dealership has a different philosophy on price point
• Salesman: Each sales guy you meet will be different – some flexible, some not
• Manufacturer: Different auto makers have different holdback percentages, which affect how low a dealer is willing to go

Also, be sure to look up any current factory to dealer or customer incentives on new vehicles. Throughout the year, many manufacturers have a rebate or other incentive to help spur sales, which usually ranges from $1,000 to $5,000 in cash back, 0.00% APR or other goodies. These are the biggest savings you’ll receive on a car purchase and should not be overlooked.

Lastly, it’s a common myth that you can get a great deal by buying a car in cash. Unfortunately, that is not true – and in fact, probably the opposite of the truth. Dealerships can make thousands of dollars on the financing side of a sale, so it’s actually in their interest that you finance a vehicle through them. 

Step 7: The Actual Sales Negotiation

This is the part everybody hates. Your friendly salesman seats you across from him, offers you the coffee or a soda and then asks the magic question: “What would it take for you to drive home with this vehicle today?” Every salesman asks this question in the hope you might be that 1 in 100 sucker that actually replies by saying you’ll take it for sticker price.

Of course, you know better and will reply with the price determined in Step 6. Upon hearing this, your sales guy will make a sour face (don’t worry, they make this face for every reply they get – even sticker price). Your sales guy will say something to the extent of, “Boy, I don’t think this is going to fly with my manager, but I might be able to work something out,” and proceed to head to the sales manager’s office.

This type of sales tactic is used by 99% of the dealerships out there and is known commonly as the “Good Cop, Bad Cop” routine. Your salesman pretends to be your friend, working for your side, while the “evil” manager is working against all of you. Of course, it’s all a well-rehearsed theater that has been performed hundreds, if not thousands of times by your salesman.

The purpose of this sales tactic is subversive, in that it attempts to make you think you are powerless in the decision making process. Emotionally frustrated individuals will then resign themselves to giving control of the process to their salesman and his sales manager – which is exactly what the dealership wants.

When your salesman returns, he will come back with an initial price thousands more than the price you stated. This is just typical push-pull negotiation that tries to shock you into submission – which is why you should completely ignore what he comes back with. Simply stick to the plan and state that you want the price you originally mentioned. Not a cent more.

At this point, your friendly salesman will quickly realize that you mean business and will unleash every sales tactic at his disposal. Among the wide range of tactics you might encounter are:

• Blame: You’re being unreasonable, we would lose money, I need to make a living
• Deflection: My manager won’t let me, I wish I could help you guys
• Disinformation: Your printed invoice is wrong, the price has gone up recently
• Distraction: Let’s talk about your trade-in or financing instead
• False Logic: This is a popular car, this is our last model on the lot
• Hostility: You’re wasting my time, my manager is angry at you guys, I’m getting tired of this
• Lies: We added feature X to the car (not on manufacturer sticker), had to replace the windshield or repaint that car
• Persuasion: You’ve already won- this is the lowest we’ve ever gone, you’ll look great in that car
• Pressure: C’mon- let’s do it (repeat), don’t you want a new car today, this is a one time deal
• Stonewall: That’s our best offer, we can’t go any lower
• Tag Team: “Hi, I’m Jim the finance guy. Steve here tells me you guys want to clean us out!”
• Urgency: We have another buyer who just needs to get financing, take it or leave it

Depending on your salesman, this can be a very stressful situation for you – which again, is another reason to be emotionally prepared for negotiations. Your salesman knows that trying to debate you rationally will probably be a losing cause (i.e., explaining the need for $3,000 profit on a $20,000 car), so most sales tactics rely on pushing your emotional buttons. Again, just remember that is is all theater and to stay calm.

What you should do during negotiations is stick to your guns and ask for the price point you came in at. Say little and stay on the topic of sale price. You can expect that after 20 to 30 minutes of this, your salesman will either collapse and give-in, or you will have a stalemate. In the event of the stalemate, where the dealer refuses to go any lower, you’ll have to make your own call on whether or not their figure is reasonable. If it’s within $100 or $200, you might just say fine. If it’s more, it may be in your interest to say, “Thanks for your time” and walk.

Many people have an aversion to walking out of a dealership, almost as if it’s a social offense. It’s odd, because that couldn’t be further from the truth. Walking out of a dealership is like walking out of Macy’s without a buying new sweater – it simply means you didn’t like what you saw and will now shop elsewhere. A car dealership is the very same way; either both parties are happy or there’s no deal. 

If you’re willing to walk out after 30 minutes, you could easily hit up three different dealerships in the same day and figure out who is willing to offer you the lowest deal. That’s how the school car negotiations worked before the days of the internet, when consumers didn’t know car pricing and only through walking, could buyers find out how low dealers were willing to go. It’s time consuming and not for everyone, but it works.

Stay tuned for Part 3 of the Car Negotiation Guide

Ever since late last year, car dealers throughout the nation have been feeling the squeeze. The Big Three carmakers, GM, Ford and Chrysler, constantly made the evening news with the need for a multi-billiion dollar bailout package. Even consistently performing brands like Honda and Toyota saw sales of their veritable Accord and Camary lines slowly dropping.

Toyota, the world’s biggest automaker, announced yesterday that March sales were likely to be even worse than January and February, which had set records for 27 year-lows in car sales. Honda also announced that it would be delaying one of their new factories in Japan due to the low demand. Consumer research firm J.D. Powers came out and said that retail sales for new vehicles dropped 40 percent in the first half of March compared to last year. 

The Northwest – and specifically, the Puget Sound region – was optimistically thought to be resistant to the national downturn in the economy. Up until earlier this year, big local employers like Boeing and Microsoft were still getting brisk business and powering the local business engine. However, with recent layoffs, pay cuts and hiring freezes and falling real estate prices, it would appear that the Seattle region is inevitably tied to the national – and global – economy as a whole.

Seattle car dealers have been caught up in the mess, as almost every dealer has seen sales figures fall  - with the odd exception of Subaru, which has actually increased in sales. Ancedotal reports have been coming in from everywhere of novice but persistent negotiators coming away with great deals on new cars. Bothell resident David P. tells us that he walked onto a lot and was offered invoice pricing on a new, loaded 2009 Toyota FJ Cruiser, which included the $3,000 manufacturer rebate at the time. 

First hand accounts like these from Leonard and David are eye-opening in the world of car dealers, namely because the industry has had the notorious reputation of fleecing customers at every possible opportunity. Now that local car salesmen are willing to offer up select inventory for nothing more than holdback on the front side, it is quite indicative of not only competition among dealers, but also the urgency of closing with a buyer. Only twelve months ago, short of using an auto buyer or being an expert car negotiator, would it be possible to have a car delivered in invoice pricing.

Does this mean that Seattle dealers are getting desperate?  Yes and no. While overall sales are certainly down, dealers are still selling inventory and obviously making money on the sale – whether it be limited to holdback or some number magic on the financing side. Smart shoppers that do even a minimal amount of shopping around will generally find reasonable pricing on the vehicle they’re looking for. Certain makes and models are still in high demand or limited supply, so not all dealerships are looking to unload their inventory to the first buyer that comes by. In addition, not all consumers are born negotiators, so it’s fair to assume many buyers are paying more than they might be able to get away with. 

The overall sentiment of the local car industry is hopeful, but restrained. If you talk to most car salesmen, they’ll be optimistic and tell you things aren’t as great as last year, but still fine. Behind that optimism though, is a sea of worries of what the next few months will have in stock for the auto industry.

Numbers can be deceiving. They can be manipulated to serve a purpose by just about anyone. In terms of the Forbes story they used recent sales numbers provided by Autodata based on sales each month. They compared the number of sales from February 2008 and February 2009. But take it with a grain of salt. While individual models made gains, it wasn’t enough to save the overall losses by the company.

According to the Forbes.com story written by Hannah Elliot:

Despite the gains, individual models don’t reflect the industry at large; most of the cars with the strongest gains come from brands that lost ground last month. Audi’s A5 and S5 coupes, for instance, gained 28.6% in sales from February 2008, but the brand declined 24.4% in overall sales. Models like the Audi A3 (down 51.6% in February), Audi A6 (down 47.5% in February) and Audi A8 (down 67.5% in February) did more than their part to drag Audi down.

Similarly, the Nissan 350Z’s 33% gain couldn’t fully mitigate the brand’s 37.1% loss compared to February 2008. All told, only Kia (0.4%), Smart (28.5%) and >Subaru (1.4%) posted overall gains last month over February 2008.

Manipulation of individual numbers is a good way to avoid the doom and gloom of the overall auto industry. Take the BMW M3 convertible, according to last years sales there was only one sold in February 2008! All they had to do was sell two and it would’ve doubled their sales for 2009.

Therefore, the best thing to do is eliminate the sales that are less than 1,000 and take a look at the rest. When you do that, what’s left is a better overall picture of cars that sold better to the masses.

If you go by that method, Hyundai is making a lot of waves this year with the Genesis, Elantra, and Accent. This isn’t the first “top” list they’ve made this year. Check out these individual sales for Hyundai models in the United States from last year to this year.

Hyundai Accent
MSRP: $9,970

February 2009 sales: 4,334
February 2008 sales: 3,335
Increase: 30.0%

Hyundai Elantra
MSRP: $14,120

February 2009 sales: 8,978
February 2008 sales: 6,750
Increase: 33.0%

See the entire article and list at Forbes.com.

The President’s plan would force the production of smaller, hybrid, and advanced fuel saving technologies into the US auto marketplace.

He told the Associated Press:

“I want to be clear from the beginning of this administration that we have made our choice: America will not be held hostage to dwindling resources, hostile regimes and a warming planet,” Obama said. 

The change in policy could also make things bit more expensive in the short term for consumers. New technologies generally cost more. These fuel efficient vehicles could cost thousands more. However  President Obama believes this is more of a long term fix.

“It falls on us to choose whether to risk the peril that comes with our current course or to seize the promise of energy independence,” Obama said. “And for the sake of our security, our economy and our planet, we must have the courage and the commitment to change.”

If new emission standards get passed by individual states, it would require auto makers to boost fuel standards by 40 percent and by 2020, cars will at the very least get 35MPG.

The President also said that the US dependence on foreign oil “bankrolls dictators, pays for nuclear proliferation and funds both sides of our struggle against terrorism. It puts the American people at the mercy of shifting gas prices, stifles innovation and sets back our ability to compete.”

Lofty goals and high demands made by the new president. But ultimately, it comes to changing American habits. Luckily for Seattle drivers, we’re ahead of the nation when it comes to this.

See the full AP article in the Seattle Times.

What will this do for the future of American cars? 

For the long term is this good or bad?

Will every American car soon look like FBI vehicles?

For the immediate future it is needed, but keeping an eye on the long term effects will be interesting.

Here’s what Debb Reichmann wrote in the Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Citing danger to the national economy, the Bush administration approved an emergency bailout of the U.S. auto industry Friday, offering $17.4 billion in rescue loans in exchange for deep concessions from the desperately troubled car makers and their workers.

The Feds would then have the option of becoming a stockholder in the companies, very similar to that of the major banks. That would somewhat nationalize the US auto industry. 

A nationalized car industry, how will this effect local car dealers, if it does at all?

See the full AP article

JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVIS and KEN THOMAS of the Associated Press wrote,

WASHINGTON – A bailout-weary Congress killed a $14 billion package to aid struggling U.S. automakers Thursday night after a partisan dispute over union wage cuts derailed a last-ditch effort to revive the emergency aid before year’s end.

Republicans, breaking sharply with President George W. Bush as his term draws to a close, refused to back federal aid for Detroit’s beleaguered Big Three without a guarantee that the United Auto Workers would agree by the end of next year to wage cuts to bring their pay into line with U.S. plants of Japanese carmakers. The UAW refused to do so before its current contract with the automakers expires in 2011.

If this union decision leads to the demise of the US auto industry, wouldn’t they be cutting their own throats? 

See the full AP article.

Do you know how many hourly jobs GM has laid off from 2006 to July 2008? Take a guess. How about 34,000? And now, they’re talking about another 5,500 layoffs.

…

OK, here’s a better question. How many hourly jobs has Toyota’s American production system laid off in the same time frame? Zero. That’s right. ZERO. How? Isn’t Toyota experiencing the same slow down in auto sales as GM is? Yes, it is. And yes, Toyota has halted production at its Texas and Indiana plants for the past 3 months. But the 4,500 people who work at those plants have not been laid off. 

 

The answer: Toyota has a special culture, deep-rooted values, and respect for their workforce. Toyota’s tradition is to NOT lay off employees during hard times. This tradition hasn’t really been put to the test until now. And Toyota has stuck to its guns and its values.

“This was the first chance we’ve really had to live out our values,” says Latondra Newton, general manager of Toyota’s Team Member Development Center in Erlanger, Ky. “We’re not just keeping people on the payroll because we’re nice. At the end of all this, our hope is that we’ll end up with a more skilled North American workforce.”

 

For the full article: What Toyota knows that GM doesn’t

My thoughts on this is two fold. First, I’m impressed with Toyota as a consumer. Second, I’m sentimental to the fact that this really is the end of the American car industry. 

Back in the 80s, when America stopped importing “cheap” Japanese cars and Lee Iacocca was making history at Chrysler, the American car industry seemed pretty much unstoppable. The “Big Three” were called that because they were actually the biggest – not because they are the only ones left standing – as is the case today. 

Through mergers and acquisitions, the industry, even with all it’s clashes with the union, the auto industry had the history of supporting it’s workers and ensuring a career out of tens of thousands of skilled laborers at a time that many corporations dumped their workers en masse. 

But that was then and this is now. 

In a surreal flip, it would now appear that those clunky Japanese car companies are the industry leaders today; and have been for more than a decade. While Detroit was drinking the oil-is-forever koolaid and pumping out beefier and bigger engines, the Japanese were hard at work perfecting their engines and builds to six-sigma and improving efficiency.

With gas hitting $4 a few months ago and the credit crisis, it wasn’t so much that the Japanese won the bet, but rather, Detroit found itself with an empty hand. Saddled with factories meant to churn out beefy SUVs, Hummers and trucks, the new paradigm in energy and economics poured cold water all over the roaring party up until this point. 

GM is losing a billion dollars a month and will likely buy out Chrysler. Layoffs in the 30,000 – 40,000 range are to be expected, along with 12 factories closing. Morale is no doubt at an all time low, with every worker wondering if he’s next on the cutting block. Even if GM is able to magically survive with an infusion of cash (bailout), the Volt is still years out and a grasp for straws.

Meanwhile, Toyota has taken a page straight out of the American automaker book by proving its loyalty to the company workforce. Though Toyota is halted on much of its production, they are taking the down time to train their workers to be even better skilled, educated and efficient workers. When the economy picks up again, Toyota will be the equivalent of a fully rested team going to the playoffs against a miserable and beat-up team that has just played 10 losing games in a row. It’s no contest who will win. 

If the Seattle Auto Show was any indication, the consumers have already voted, as we saw crowds around Toyota, Honda and Jetta. All the while, the sprawling 2-ton Ford F150 rotating 360 degrees might as well been invisible. Chevy and Escalade Hybrids were looked on more with a sense of derision or perplexed bewilderment rather than consumer curiosity (though this is Seattle). 

The new automotive landscape is already here – it’s just across the sea. 

As such, GM executives and industry lobbyists have been making a full court press to convince Congress and the Bush administration for a bailout loan to keep the company running. Unfortunately, the Treasury Department came out last Friday to say that they would not support a bailout for GM. The $10 billion dollar loan that GM had pushed for would have been used to help acquire rival automaker, Chrysler, who is also struggling to stay alive.

Auto industry analysts have speculated that with downward pressure on car sales worldwide, the only hope for GM to survive is by acquiring the assets of Chrysler, which has $11 billion in cash – though is also loaded down with future liabilities. By consolidating revenue streams, reducing overhead and eliminating a no-win price war between the two, GM might just survive long enough to reach the light at the end of the tunnel.

With an imminent sale, Chrysler, once the second largest American automaker and owner of Dodge and Jeep brands, will likely be no more. Newsweek drives the point home in a recent article, titled “Chrysler is dead“.  Even Lee Iacocca – whose magical turnaround of Chrysler in the 1980s made for the stuff of legend and Harvard Business School case studies – would need messianic powers to revive the ailing company, which has been struggling for years under previous owners Daimler and Cereberus Capital Management.

With no government bailout coming before the election and Chrysler halting talks with Nissan and Renault as possible buyers, a merger with GM looks like the only possible endgame for Chrysler. Even with a merger however, the industry won’t be saved from extreme collateral damage. Estimates of 35,000 lost jobs and half of all operating factories closing are not coming from the extremists, but the prudent. Analysts say that the layoffs and downsizing are an inevitable part to keep the two companies afloat, while union workers are wringing their hands at the prospect of such a drastic reduction in labor.

Coming soon: The Demise of American Automakers – Part 2

Gas
When the gas prices started to sky rocket, car buyers started to change their purchasing habits. Certain car makers adjusted accordingly, while others tried to ride it out. What happened was, the auto makers like Toyota and Honda that pushed their hybrids and smaller engine cars, found a way to generate revenue when other cars weren’t selling.

Many of the companies in Detroit, waited a little too long, and thus it hurt them. They continued pushing performance and horsepower, and tried to “weather the storm”. 

That didn’t work, instead they took a beating.

“When gas prices started going up, it really hurt the car industry,” says Frank Hasselback of Landmark Motors in Kirkland. “People weren’t buying what they normally would. The higher end sedans, SUV’s, and trucks just sat there on the lots. People started to really look at gas mileage when they normally wouldn’t. Hybrids got real popular.”

Hybrids
The high gas prices led to a hybrid boom. Toyota’s Prius, Honda’s Civic, Chevy’s Malibu, and Saturn’s Aura Greenline, just to name a few, all became hot sellers. Hybrids became a way for the auto industry to make money. While monster vehicles like the Chevy Tahoe could be bought at near invoice prices, the mark up on Hybrids were considerable (maybe that’s why Chevy came out with the Tahoe Hybrid). Despite the increase in greener small engine vehicles, there’s was limited selection. Many bought, but it didn’t make up for the downfall in the other vehicles.

Economic Crash
October’s record market crash of over 900 points crippled the car industry. Not only did consumers not want to buy cars, it made it nearly impossible even if they did.

“People couldn’t get loans,” explains Hasselbach. “After that, things were frozen. It seemed like everything just stopped.”

Before the crash the outlook was already dismal. Auto lenders were afraid of making the same mistakes as in the housing industry.

Chairman of Autonation, the largest auto retailer in the U.S. told the New York Times, “We are faced with the dilemma of lowering our credit standards to put them in a car, or saying no”, he says, ”And we’re telling them no.”

Many lenders wouldn’t give loans to car buyers unless they had a credit score of 700 or better. That is the crème of the credit crop,  and only a small number of people could qualify.

What’s to Come
Car dealers are hoping that by the first of the year, things will slowly get better.  The industry itself knows what can and can’t be sold now. Hybrids and 4 cylinder cars will continue to be the focuss. And while it’s been a bumpy ride, and has been the worst year for sales in nearly a decade, there’s nowhere to go but up.

“We could use all the help we can get in terms of public perception”, says Hasselbach. “Some consumer optimism would really go a long way.”

Sounds like a perfect time to buy.