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Fire Sale Sweeps Chrysler Dealerships

Prices hit rock bottom before June 9 deadline

By Mat Probasco, Newser Staff

Posted May 26, 2009 6:12 AM CDT

(Newser) – Those well-worn "Rock-Bottom Price!" and "Must Go!" stickers are more than sales pitches at nearly 800 dealerships cut loose by Chrysler, which have to sell by June 9 or lose vehicles to auction. The bankrupt automaker refused to buy back some 44,000 cars, reports ABC News, so prices have bottomed out as the clock winds down.

"The deals are very good. They are steals, not deals," said a dealer in Tenafly, NJ, where a $45,428 Dodge Ram is selling for $28,392—including government assisted rebates and low-cost financing.

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Dealers have just a few weeks to sell the Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps or risk losing thousands of dollars on them. (AP Photo/Mike Groll, file)

A man buys a Jeep Grand Cherokee at a Chrysler dealership in Oakland, Calif. Dealers have until June 9 to sell the Chryslers, Dodges and Jeeps or risk losing thousands of dollars on them. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

A day after Chrysler moved to eliminate nearly 800 dealerships, General Motors Corp., told about 1100 US dealers their franchises will be terminated late next year. (AP Photo/Hector Mata)

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"It is a financial disaster for us, not just the business, but personally."
- Rob Engel, owner of Tenafly Chrysler in Tenafly, N.J.

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Fire Sale Sweeps Chrysler Dealerships