Over the past few years, a lot of cars sit on car dealership lots or at staging areas waiting to be sold but never do. The number has been increasing, but what happens to these new cars that don’t get sold? This is a newer issue that car dealers are having to deal with now that inventory levels are back to normal, and prices are higher than ever with every automotive manufacturer.

It’s a common issue that dealerships are having to deal with, no matter what brand you are looking at: Ford, Honda, KIA, Chevrolet, you name the brand – even Ferrari. All brands have vehicles sitting from 2022, 2023, and even 2024. And with 2025 models arriving at car dealers, it’s a big issue. This problem rarely happened before 2020.

It the past, we have never seen a new car sit more than 200 days or dealerships have 6 months of inventory. In the current economy, car dealers sitting on cars for 500, 600, and even 700 days is becoming normal. This is crazy.

This is the new normal. Some of these cars are really expensive, like the Jeep Grand Wagoneer, Ford Lightning electric truck, Jaguars, and other high end models. They are just not selling. In some cases, manufacturers are forcing car dealers to add these vehicle to their inventory in order to get allocation for more popular vehicles and trim levels. This is a bad situation and one of the most common questions people are asking is, “What happens to these cars when they don’t sell? Where do they go?”

I was a dealer trainer for years for different brands and dealership groups and once you learn how they operate you can see the challenges. Dealers purchase cars on a floor plan, this is how they finance the inventory in most cases. As dealers fill their lots with inventory they finance each vehicle that is interest free for 60 or 90 days. That is the best turn over for cars on lots.

Obviously the goal is always to sell these vehicles within the first interest-free period or at a very low interest rate. After that the cost generally ticks up to a pretty high rate of interest on hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars of inventory. This adds up very quickly, especially on old inventory. As dealers have these vehicles that sit on the lot and build interest, this becomes a burden to the dealership because they are throwing money at interest fees and this makes the dealer more likely to offer buyers a deal. They push their sales people to get customers into these money sucking cars. 

Many times the dealership will either pay it off to relieve the debt. They will offer spiffs (or incentives) to the sales team to try to get them to sold. Car salespeople will offer a $500 to $1,000 spiff to get you to buy that car that won’t sell. If the vehicle is a 2023, and it’s been sitting for 500 days or more the sales person will try to convince you to consider that car. Even if the you show little interest.

The issue is that customers do not want a 2-year-old new vehicle. You have to find the right customer that may not show up. Maybe you’ll get a deal, but the issue is these vehicles have that’s been sitting for a few years. It’s not good for the vehicle to just sit. Cars are meant to be driven, but these vehicles are the best deal for customers looking to save money.

Alternatively, the dealership could also use them as demo vehicles or a loaner car for the service department. The rising cost of insurance generally adds to the dealers costs of keeping these cars in their inventory, used as demo cars or service loaners. There are good deals on demo cars for those looking to save money on their next car.

Odd color cars, ones with no options, or full of special options can make any vehicle hard to sell. This includes expensive vehicles like a $150,000 pickup truck, generally they don’t sell because the aaverage consumer thinks they’re too expensive for a utility vehicle.

Many times the dealer principles will take that odd vehicle and drive it for a few years and then sell it at auction for a fraction of the price and take a loss on it. Sometimes that’s the smartest business decision. It could go to charity or to sell it to a charity group to help the local community.

Selling vehicles at any price can help the finance department make some money, but a loss is a loss. Dealerships can deal with one or two of these losses but having 10 to 15 cars sitting on your lot, or worse, 20 or more cars for over 400 days and they are all older models, and you have a huge issue. 

Some people think that the dealerships are screwed everybody and they deserve it. Many dealerships did take advantage of over charging $15,000 markups over window sticker on brand-new, highly sought-after cars and that was greed for sure. They took advantage of supply and demand during the chip shortage. Some dealers refused to sell over sticker.

Some dealer are still playing this game with vehicles that are in high demand. Manufacturers are cracking down on the big offenders that are still charging huge markups. Customers are getting smarter and just avoid those dealerships, and that will hurt them in the end. People are starting to buy online and negotiate without leaving their homes. It can be a smart tactic if you know what you want.

Right now you can get a deal on any vehicle no matter what brand, there are incentives and discounts off of MSRP no matter how valuable or how desirable so look around. There is inventory. Don’t be afraid to drive out of state to save thousands of dollars, it just makes sense.

So, how can YOU use this information? Dealers are motivated to sell their inventory. Alway ask for the deal, that includes loyalty or conquest discounts, that could mean between $500 to $2500 depending on the cost of the vehicle.

If you are not picky, look for the cars that are demos, cars the average customers don’t want, or a service loaner car. As more unsold vehicles build up on lots, and this is more and more common, this is a rare opportunity to get a deal if you are not picky.

This situation has never happened before and may never happen again. Dealers are seeking sales even with high interest rates. Just remember to be careful of the dealer fees once you’ve picked you ride. That is negotiable too. 

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