CarMax CEO fired; Repos hit 30 year high, and dealer lots are full of unsellable used cars.

Photo above - this is a YouTube screenshot from an influencer, but I can't tell you what he's saying. A lot of bleep-outs, maybe?

The average new car payment is now $770. A loan can extend for 84 months (7 years). And repo’s are at their highest level since 1994. (see link below).

It wasn’t that long ago (2024) that “everyone” agreed that taking your trade-in to CarMax rather than the dealer was sure win. For you and for CarMax. They typically paid above blue book, marked it up even higher after $50 worth of detailing, and didn't budge on the price when used car shoppers walked the lot. People who thought new car pricing was insane became used car shoppers.

In December this writer urged people (with or without year-end bonus checks) to sit on their money for a few months and wait for better deals. That moment is close for used cars, and new vehicles can’t be far behind. But it's still not here.

Why not buy now? Because if your car still runs, maybe let the roulette wheel spin a little longer. Ford can’t sell its BEV F150 Lightnings – cancelled. Tesla can’t sell Cybertrucks – manufacturing is on hiatus. The VW electric ID Buzz? Cancelled. These are desperate times. Ford is trying to upcharge Mustang Mach-E byers $500 for the free “frunk” (front trunk) that has been a standard feature since day 1. The frunk is a $10 plastic tub which keeps your groceries from falling to the street below.

I don’t expect an uptick in tax refunds for retirees to create a stampede to buy new OR used vehicles. Geezers tend to drive their cars until their concerned kids take away their keys. Meanwhile the number of repos continues to balloon. CarMax is being sued for fraud, among other things accused of concealing its true financial results by making riskier loans at higher interest rates, while vehicle sales tanked. It’s not impossible that there could be a bidding war between Netflix and Paramount for the CarMax inventory if they file Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

I’m not cheering any of this on. But it was predictable. America ended a bad experiment – begun during the Obama administration – of bribing upper middle class car shoppers to go EV. The bribes were tax dollars paid by everyone else. Or simply adding the EV bribe money to the national debt.

The cancellation of both EV subsidies and the $40,000 per unit public charging network (still largely unbuilt) are not a tragedy. Unfortunately, those savings are not going to be spent responsibly. America is on track for its largest ever budget deficit in 2026.

And you won’t even have a $57,000 Tesla Model Y (excluding $1,400 destination charge) in your driveway to show for it. No $770 a month payment for 84 months at 7.XX% APR. Stop crying.

Prices will probably go lower, and interest rates too. But don’t sign up for that 84-month car loan even then, unless you’re certain that you’ll have an 84 month or longer job.

I’m just sayin’ . . .

CarMax fires CEO as 3.2M American families lose cars in worst repo crisis since 1994


https://www.msn.com/en-us/autos/buying/carmax-fires-ceo-as-3-2m-american-families-lose-cars-in-worst-repo-crisis-since-1994/ss-AA1XmpCr?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=69a6a8548bbf451c8e4c18d6e52301bc&ei=59