Used Car News

Indiana
Jeremy Trent, buyer, Trent AutoSales,Vincennes, Ind.:
“My dad and my grandfather started the store in the ‘70s.
“I’ve been here for about 10 years.
“Retail sales have been pretty good.
“They’re a little low, but you run into that everywhere.
“We have a lot of repeat customers. We’re in a small town.
“Everybody knows everybody.
“We usually sell 10 to 15 units a month. A good five of those sales are repeat customers.
“We try to keep 10 or 12 units on the lot.
“It seems like no matter how many you have, you never have what they’re looking for.
“We just sold a 2010 Malibu that we got for a repeat customer.
“We can get just about
anything.
“We keep a mix of SUV and trucks, along with a couple of foreign cars.
“We just a sold a convertible Mercedes CLK 325 the other day.  We got $15,000 for it. It was an ‘02 with 78,000 miles on it. That was a pretty good price.
“We focus a lot on wholesaling.
“Between my dad and myself, we hit six sales a month. We buy at two and we sell at four.
“We take most of our inventory to the auctions these days because we’ve found we can get more out of them there than we can get from the public.
“With financing the way it is now, we don’t see the point of keeping a whole lot of inventory on the lot.
“We try to go through the local banks. We try to keep it local.
“They’ve treated us pretty good, although the times are different than they used to be.
“We have a lot of luck with the credit unions. Generally, we don’t do any in-house financing.
“Most of our customers end up getting their own financing.
“About 70 percent of them can do that.
“But we see more people that can’t get financing all the time.
“That’s why we focus on the wholesale side.
“We can sell to J.D. Byrider or Superior that focus on
secondary finance. They’ll pay more for the cars because they sell financing more than they sell the cars.
“The cheap cars have really boomed.
“Cash for Clunkers really hurt us. It took a lot of decent cars off the road.
“I had a guy come in a while ago and he said he didn’t see how that hurt us. He’s in the cattle business and I asked him, ‘If they took a bunch of cattle off the market and didn’t butcher them, what would happen to the price of meat?’
“We keep trucks and SUVs morethananything,
especially diesel trucks.
“We have a lot of farmers in our market.
“We sell a lot of the Fords with the 7.3 liter diesel engines.
“The guys who are buying them are using them for work.
“We’re not seeing the young kids who want to pull a boat on a Saturday any more.
“There aren’t any big
corporations around here. It’s mostly small businesses and farms.
“We’ve got some small
factories in the area, like one that makes seats for Toyota.
“There’s not a lot of work, but the town isn’t hit as hard as some big cities.”

Oklahoma
Monte Shockley, owner, Shockley Auto Sales, Poteau, Okla. :
“Sales are good. They’re up a little bit from last year. It’s steady.
“There’s still business out there if you have the right inventory at the right price.
“The right inventory is hard to find.
“The right inventory is anything that’s clean – crossovers, economy cars, some pickups.
“Our part of the country is always pickup country. Gas prices don’t affect that.
“I used to go to sales once or twice a week for years.
For the last four or five years, I buy everything online.
“I use SmartAuction.
“We have to go all over the country to get them after we buy them, but that’s what we do.
“I have some car drivers I rely on. I ship a lot of them throughReadyAuto Transport.
“My customers are doing OK getting financed
“Most of what we sell is current-year.
“We go through different banks, like Chase Auto Finance and CitiFinancial. That’s been working really well.
“It hasn’t been an issue. The buying parameters are a little tighter than they used to be, but that’s understandable.
“We don’t do as much advertising as a lot of places. I run ads in the weekly bargain newspapers around the area. That’s effective for us. I don’t do any radio or TV.
“We don’t do any repairs here. It’s just straight sales.
“We offer a service contract through NAC.
“We’ve had a good relationship with them for many years. They’re affordable and they pay their claims.
“I’ve had very few, if any,  complaints about them.”

Kansas
Brook Phillips, vice president, Mid America Auto Auction, Wichita, Kan.:
“Sales are pretty good.
“We are averaging a little over 400 vehicles per week, maybe 425. We have five lanes and we’re running steady with four.
“That’s about the same as last year. But we’re 100 off from where we normally were a couple of years ago.
“We’re off about 25 to 30 percent on consignment, but we’re only off about 10 to 15 percent on sales. (Our conversion rates) are in the high 60s and 70s.
“In Kansas, we don’t have double-digit unemployment, we didn’t have the housing (crash) or foreclosures. We stayed pretty steady. Our big industry here is aircraft and it stayed somewhat consistent.
“We got a Ford dealer here selling 400 to 450 cars  a month and another Ford dealer is selling 300 a month.
“They’re doing business, but they’re not trading for as many cars and they’re keeping cars a little deeper than they used to, with a little more miles.
“The Cash for Clunkers program hasn’t helped. My base car was a $5,000 car.
“The other problem were the storms out here. There were 200,000 cars that got hail damage in Oklahoma City. That’s shortened up supply even more.
“About 90 percent of our offerings are dealer consignment and the rest are fleet-lease and repossessions.
“We do a pretty good job for  Enterprise Rent-A-Car, so we get a lot of their cars. We’re actually getting Enterprise to send us all of their hail-damaged cars and they’re taking all of their non-damaged cars to (Oklahoma City to replace the damaged ones).
“We’ll sell those vehicles as-is. We’re in tornado alley, so we’ve got a lot of hail damage (repair) people here. My roommate has been in Oklahoma City for a month doing hail repairs. I’ve got 2010 Tahoes, Suburbans and 300Ms with (low mileage) that have $4,000 worth of damage.
“Plus there were another 200,000 cars in Nashville, Tenn., damaged by the floods.
“About 300 dealers are coming to the lanes every week.
“That’s actually about the same as this time last year.
“Most of our dealers are coming from Kansas, but we also draw from Oklahoma, Missouri and Nebraska.
“The dealers in the lanes are frustrated. Everybody wants the same car, so (the prices) are higher than heck.
“Outside of that, though, everybody’s pretty positive.
“Our repossessions are steady. But what’s big down here are the title loans. We get all those cars. I don’t necessarily agree with (title loan business practices), but somebody’s going to sell them.
“Our average price is about $5,000. That’s up from this time last year. I believe that’s up because of the (tighter) supply.
“Trucks always do well here. We’re a domestic-driven market. The Fords, Chevys and Dodges do well. That $7,000 to $10,000 car, whatever it is, is doing well.
“The $1,500 to $2,500 car is a hard car to sell right now. Tote-the-note guys are selling a lot of cars for cash because a lot of customers are nervous about having payments. They’re nervous about the economy.”

New Mexico
Ray Vickers Jr., owner, Farmington Auto Auction, Farmington, N.M.:
“Business is good.
“We run about 100 to 125 a week. We have two lanes and run one.
“Volumes seem to be down from this time last year. I think the Cash for Clunkers program took a lot of cars out of the market. Plus, not as many new cars have been built, so there’s not as many trade-ins, so there’s just a shortage of cars in the market.
“Sales percentages are up to about 60 percent.
“The number of dealers in the lanes may be up as well, compared to this time last year. Normally, we’ll get 75 to 100 each week. But dealers are working the sales harder, going to different places to find cars.
“Many of our dealers are local. We also get a lot of dealers from southern Colorado.
“There have been some new dealers in the lanes. Our registration of dealerships is up.
“The mood of the dealers is frustration. They’re having to pay more for cars. Since the (retail) sales are not that great, I don’t understand why dealers are paying so much for cars everywhere.
“Fleet-lease make up about 20 percent of our business. But volumes have gone down.
“Repossessions have been up a little bit. More people just aren’t making their payments.
“We also run a few salvage cars on sale day. But we don’t do a  whole lot.
“Our average price is about $3,200, the last time I checked. I would say that’s up $300 or $400 compared to this time last year.
“I’m also seeing more higher mileage cars. I think it’s because the cars are (more durable) and people are hanging on to them longer.
“But I’m not seeing a change in the mix of vehicles offered.
“I’m seeing that online has picked up.”

MICHIGAN
Matt Koning, general manager, Broadmoor Motors, Caledonia, Mich.:
“We’ve been in business 22 years. We have one location.
“On average, we’re keeping about 80 vehicles on our lot.
“That’s more than we were carrying this time last year. It’s just because we’re growing.
“We’re selling between 43 and 55 units per month. So we’re selling about 10 more per month on average. We’re setting records for ourselves. We’re fortunate that we’re having a good year, although now it’s getting a little slow. We did get a lot of business during tax season.
“I attribute the increase to a lot of Internet development and buying the right inventory. There’s a number of reasons.
“We’re strictly a retail business. We don’t do buy-here, pay-here or subprime.
“We deal primarily with one credit union (to get financing for our customers). We have some other banks that we’ll use from time to time. But the one credit union is the strongest and most aggressive.
“Ten years ago, the lending was all from banks, but now it’s mostly credit unions.
“The average model years on our lot are 2006 to 2007. Average miles are about 40,000.
“For the last five years, we’re been bringing in some higher-mileage import stuff , just to have something different from other dealers. So that’s brought our average mileage up.
“It’s harder to get that nice low-mile stuff. But we still buy a lot of off-lease stuff.
“Most of our vehicles are bought from auctions. But we’ll also buy some off the curb, from Craig’s List and from other dealers.
“We’ll use Manheim Metro Detroit in Flat Rock, Mich., a lot.
“I would say we carry 60 percent domestic and 40 percent imports.
“There are some people here that will only drive domestic, but since Chrysler and General Motors took money from the government, it’s broadened people’s perspective.
“They’re now considering both Ford Motor Co. vehicles and imports because they’re ticked off about the (bailouts).
“We carry 50 percent cars and 50 percent trucks, if you include minivans with trucks. We sell a lot of minivans.
“With SUVs, that’s one area where I think people are overpaying.
“Our average retail prices is around the $13,000 to $15,000 range.
“About 70 percent of our customers first find out about us through the Internet. If people drive in to check out a car, more than likely they’ve seen it on the Internet first. We’re definitely paying more attention to the Internet. Spending more time on finding out what people look for and why they chose us over someone else.
“The most recent vehicle we sold was a 2004 Mini Cooper. It had 34,000 miles and sold for $12,500.
“We were named the Michigan Quality Dealer of the Year and will compete for the National Quality Dealer of the Year award this summer at the National
Independent Automobile Dealers Association’s annual conference.
NORTH CAROLINA
Karen Barbee, vice president, Troutman Motors, Concord, N.C.:
“Business has improve greatly. We have one lot and keep about 70 vehicles that are actually ready for sale.
“We’re trying to stock more vehicles, but they seem to be harder to find.
“This year, from January through April, we’re averaging about 73 sales per month. That’s up a few from this time last year.
“People seem to be more comfortable with the economy now than they were a year ago.
“We’re strictly retail and we work with banks and credit unions (to get credit for customers). It takes a little longer to get people approved than it used to. The reason is they’re verifying a lot more information than they did in the past.
“However, it’s still better (getting approvals) than what it was a year ago.
“Our average price ranges between $7,000 and $8,800. Our average model year range is 2006 to 2007. That depends on what we can find.
“Mileage is also creeping up.
“We carry more cars than trucks, maybe 90 percent to 10 percent. It’s used to be more like 70 to 30. We just don’t see as many people asking for trucks. I think it has to do with gas mileage.
“We used to carry a lot more imports, but now it’s probably 65 imports to 35 domestics.
“The Toyota recalls have not affected demand.
“Our vehicles come from auctions and some franchise dealers. We just bought 19 units from a franchise dealer.
“It’s been a little more difficult to get cars. It seems like we’re already paying retail at auctions. It’s harder to come home and sell that vehicle for a profit.
“We’re trying to be more proactive in using our website with Cars.com and AutoTrader.com.
“We’re also trying harder to make sure to post (good) pictures and descriptions.
“Almost all of our customers are going to the Internet.
“The last car we sold was a 2002 Acura with 130,000 miles. We got $8,000.”

ARKANSAS
Delane Hooten, general manager, Central Arkansas Auto Auction Inc., Beebe, Ark.;
“We have three lanes and we run two or three, depending on the consignment
volume.
“Sales are going well, though prices are higher than normal.
“Our problem is trying to find enough consignment. It’s the same everywhere.
“We normally run an average of 250 to 275 vehicles per sale. That’s about the same as this time last year. We’re a pretty stable auction.
“Most of our cars are dealer-consigned. We’re probably the largest dealer-consignment sale in the state.
“We have a few bank repossessions, but most of our cars are from new-car trade-ins and used-car inventory changes.
“Sales percentages are between 45 and 50 percent.
“Our total number of bidders at a recent sale was 212. That’s probably about average. Usually, it’s between 185 and 220.
“Bidders come from all over the state. We also get some dealers out of Missouri and Tennessee.
“We also get some out of Texas and Oklahoma.
“Dealers are in an upbeat mood right now. But quality cars are still in short supply. I think the Cash for Clunkers program took a lot of quality vehicles off the streets and off the market. People were bringing in some cars (under Cash for Clunkers) that were very good vehicles.
“The average price here is $4,500 to $6,500. It fact, that might be a little bit low. We have been selling a lot more $10,000-to-$15,000 vehicles than we have in the past.
“Diesel trucks, three-quarter-ton and one-ton trucks do real well here.
“I haven’t seen any particular vehicle struggle.
“I know the wholesalers are having a  hard time right now because they don’t know how much money to put into any cars.
“I’m optimistic that we’ll continue to have something to sell and have people to buy it.
“Even if it’s bicycles, we’ll find something to sell.”
WASHINGTON
Robert McConkey, Jr., president, DAA Northwest, Spokane, Wash.;
“The first quarter was really robust. The volumes may have been down, but the sales percentages were at all-time highs.
“As long as we’ve been tracking these numbers, we’ve seen business subside in April and May, then regain momentum in June. So I think we’re in that cycle where we see it back-off a little bit. I don’t see this as a major shift in the market, though, or a dramatic drop, because there is still a shortage of cars in the market.
“People don’t always recognize that there’s a seasonal adjustment that happens in April and May, but it’s very typical.
“We have eight lanes and we’re running six and seven lanes every week. Then, once a month, we’ll have our promotional sales and run eight lanes. We’re utilizing all of our lanes most of the time.
“Our volumes are averaging about 1,400 units a week. That’s down, probably, 150 units or so from this time
last year.
“During our monthly promotional events, our volume climbs up to about 2,200 to 2,300. On the off weeks, we’re running anywhere from 1,000 to 1,250 units.
“We saw, consistently, sales percentages near or above the 70s throughout the first quarter. We were averaging in the high 60s. That’s a little stronger than this time last year.
“However, we’ve seen our percentages drop into the mid-50s, upper 50s over the past five weeks.
“About 55 to 60 percent of our vehicles are dealer
consignment.  We also have a small factory presence with Ford Motor Co., but our (non-dealer) vehicles are almost exclusively fleet-lease.
“Dealer consignment is up while our fleet-lease business is off about 15 percent.
“Our monthly motorsports and RV sales have been a big growth area for us.
“Our motorsports sale runs about 150-plus units, while our RV sales run 70 to 90 units.
“The motorsports sale consist mostly of Harley Davidson Financial units. But we’re starting to see an increase in other banks, too. We’ve had motorsports sales with 200 units, just motorcycles. That’s been a big part of our growth. They bring in a whole different clientele.
“Once a month, we’ll run a two-day promotional event with Ford, Ford Motor Credit, GMAC and other repo consignors. We’ll also run a big sale for Avis and Enterprise. That’s 300 to 500 cars on that Wednesday. Then on Thursday, we’ll run the
regular sale with between 1,800-2,200 units.
“The rental units sell well and the consignors have been happy.
“Compared to last year, I think we’ll be even or up on the rental car volume overall. The rental cars did peak in mileage with the last cycle. We had a lot of cars in the 40,000-50,000 mile range. Now, the ones coming back are not so bad. Most of them are in the 30,000s.
“The average price in our lanes overall is hovering around $9,000. That’s probably even with this time last year. We have a solid truck market that helps with that overall average.