New car in this “pandemic” market? How is sales?

Wife is going back to work again after being laid off back in March. She needs a new car for the job in 3 weeks. Nov 2nd start date. . ..So long story short, I am seeing quite a few 2019 and 2020 sitting on the lots. 2021 cars have barely trickled in from the looks of it. The sales guy at the Honda dealership said they are holding the new 2021 vehicles in the back of the building lot to move the 19's and 20's off the front lot. I was like "yeah, that makes sense"....as my mind says what the hell. The weird thing is I am not seeing any good discounts/deals on them. All I got from the Honda dealership was buy any 2019/2020 car and we'll knock off $500 from the price. Not really a discount when they are going to hit me with the mandatory $700 dealership paperwork fees.  Went over to Nissan, they had no Maximas and plenty of 2020 Altima's. She didn't  like the ride. Went to Carmax. Whew, not really seeing any good deals there after walking around and sitting in some cars for an hour. Off to Mazda, no Mazda 6 available and it is selling like hot cakes the guy said. Check out the Madza 3's. Too small. We left and went to a Dodge dealership that had a used 2019 Mazda 6. Took it for a spin. She loves it except for color. Sales guy says it's a great buy for $26k. I politely declined and told him I have seen them cheaper online elsewhere especially Carvana. No, no you don't want to do that. They won't negotiate. I said that I already knew that but they had one priced lower than $3k with 15k less miles. Showed him the info. Dude, let me go talk to my Boss. He will likely match the price. I politely declined again. It's not the color my wife wants and it's got more miles. He kept talking my wife's ear off and she said fine. He goes in and comes back 15 minutes later. Really??WTH. My Boss has approved a great deal for you. He can do $24k. Huh...come again? I was annoyed as hell to have to wait and listen to that bull$hit. 

Seriously, what is going on out there in the new car or slightly new used car market? 
 

We had a similar conversation to this a while ago.  Let me try to find it.  It won't answer your question since that thread was about trade-ins, but we got off on a rant about dealers, inventory, prices, etc.

Suffice it to say, it seems to be very regional.  Around me (central PA), dealers seem to be whining a lot, but the used inventory is out there.  They just don't want to pay the inflated prices at the auction right now.

Thread linky.

I looked at Hertz rental car sales and they have 2019 Impalas in the $16,5-$17,500 range.  The 2019 Cadillac I liked was in the $23-$25,000 range which with the 3.6 engine makes me believe it could be an Impala.  

With the miles I rack up for work I'm leaning this way for a future sales car.  

https://www.hertzcarsales.com/certified/CADILLAC/2019-CADILLAC-XTS-243af5a10a0e0a6b783678c0847f3922.htm

Was at a dealer chatting with some higher-ups the other day, they are hurting for new car inventory, likely from plant shutdowns and slowdowns. 

It seems that dealers are short on new cars and the used car prices are up higher than normal.

My recent Hertz purchase was very easy. Their website stated high fees but it was very easy to get a genuine, detailed purchase invoice emailed from the salesperson before setting foot in their showroom.  Price was firm other than the fact that a AAA membership was worth $300 off (but really had to show AAA card/number.)  Hertz Gold membership (which is free to register for) might generate a discount too.

My Hertz vehicle was on the sale lot before bankruptcy.  Right before.  I feel I bought at a great pricing time. Once bankruptcy was filed (a legal process) there seemed to be many watchful eyes like regulator or executors.  Prices then went up high askin $18k for the same van I just paid $15k for. 

As of Aug 1st, Hertz needs to sell 200,000 cars (out of nearly 500,000 cars before the end of the year.  Prices now seem to be getting back toward $15k again for one like mine.  Whatch prices to see if they really get eager/desperate. 

Here is some recent GRM chatter where we exposed some good values on Hyundai and Kia sedans through Hertz.  These brands also give a 5 yr/ 60k drive train warranty to the second owners. 

If gently used is an option, as of a couple months ago there were really strong deals on Fusions, especially the hybrid and PHEV trims.

https://jalopnik.com/sedans-dominate-this-list-of-best-deals-on-a-used-car-f-1844376672