Dealers: Page 109
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Courtesy of WardsAuto
It’s Wrong To Blame Dealers
A quick study of the golden years of automotive retail would show the benefits of what happens when dealers are in control of the customer experience. My father was fond of pointing out that when manufacturers use all their talent to build the best they can, and dealers are unfettered to sell as many as they can, great things happen. But when manufacturers are too focused on how and what dealers do,
By Peter Brandow • Jan. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dealership Service Departments Use CRM To Defend Turf
It's a new day for the auto-service industry, with 82% of surveyed car owners saying they intend to keep their vehicles longer, says Lonnie Miller, R.L. Polk & Co.'s director-industry analysis. As owners of aging vehicles, 58% of those people say they'll spend more on parts, repairs and maintenance. But it might be less money than the industry hopes. Of 90% who say they follow a manufacturer-recommended
By Steve Finlay • Jan. 1, 2010 -
Explore the Trendline➔
Courtesy of Kia Corporation
TrendlineArtificial Intelligence
Automakers and dealers alike are increasingly seeing the use case for AI within their operations. Explore some use cases in this trendline.
By WardsAuto staff -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Firm Touts Speed in Remarketing Repossessed Vehicles
Windsor Remarketing is signing up clients who need fast liquidation of their repossessed vehicles. The company helps auto lenders, banks, credit unions, dealer groups and investors to remarket repossessed vehicles. The firm says it customizes streamlined remarketing solutions for clients, regardless of size or type of collateral. Services include: auction communication, transportation to the most
Jan. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Follow Up Declined Repairs
Ever wonder how much in profits is left on the table from declined repairs? If no efforts are made to sell the job after the customer declines the repairs, the store is missing out. Tracking Declined Repairs Tracking declined repairs is essential for follow up. The easiest method to track declined repairs is to create a unique labor operation code on the dealer-management system. The service advisors
By James Clausen • Jan. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Get Quick With Reply Button
Most auto shoppers who send email leads to dealerships dislike the way their messages are handled, according to a survey by AutoTrader.com. Only 37% of new-car shoppers who submitted leads were satisfied with the process. The satisfaction rate was higher for used-car shoppers: 49%. Most satisfied are people who got a response within three hours. A response time of between three hours and a day left
By Steve Finlay • Jan. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Mobile Marketing Carries Benefits But Plenty of Risks, Too
Mobile ad spending is poised to grow 27% to $2.1 billion in 2010, according to the Mobile Marketing Assn. However, there's good news and bad news for marketers who are wading into the mobile marketing wars. The good newsL The audience for mobile marketing is growing. The bad news: The audience still is relatively small and in a limited segment. Marketers who mobile market to the wrong consumer group
Jan. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Micro and Macro Don’t Mix
Last month, I recommended that dealers look beyond the monthly cycle reporting. This month, I'll tell how to do that. Here's a basic example of the disadvantages of the monthly approach: a dealership sold 80 new and 40 used vehicles, and had a departmental gross profit of $100,000 in October. In November, it sold 60 new and 30 used vehicles at another gross profit of $100,000. Most dealers looking
By Phil Villegas • Jan. 1, 2010 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Button-Down Dealers Became Feisty Activists
“There’s no such thing as what they told us – that the train has left the station,” Tammy Darvish says.
By Lillie Guyer • Dec. 18, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Where Will ‘Orphaned’ Dealership Customers Go?
The industry has seen a 7.3% reduction in the dealer count, which now stands at 18,617. It won’t necessarily be easy going for the survivors.
By Steve Finlay • Dec. 16, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Growth, Change Seen for Golden State Auto Market in 2010
The California New Car Dealers Assn. is calling for a slight boost in statewide registrations in the fourth quarter and an even bigger jump of at least 10% in the new year.
By Erik Derr • Dec. 15, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Although Online Ratings Can Rattle Dealers, the Pesky Postings Offer Opportunities
Social networking websites often become open forums in which Internet users either praise or pan dealerships. It ranges from saying, I'm recommending you to everyone I know' to, You suck, says Aaron Strout, chief marketing officer at Powered Inc., a brand-building firm. Dealers and other business people dread the latter, but he sees it as an opportunity to fix a broken relationship. If a customer
By Steve Finlay • Dec. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Exec with Luxury-Car Background New CEO for NCM Inc.
An executive who has worked for three luxury car companies is the new president and CEO for NCM Associates. Inc., a firm that offers training and consultation to auto dealers. Paul A. Faletti, Jr. will oversee all NCM operations from the Overland Park, KS corporate office, says NCM Board Chairman. This is an important event in the history of this great company. Faletti's experience includes domestic
Dec. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Repair Shops Grab for Dealership Business
Number-cruncher Polk cites data indicating high-cost service bills reduce overall customer loyalty. That can hurt more than just a dealership’s service department.
By Steve Finlay • Nov. 24, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Dealership Still Going Strong at Age 100
Through the years, the store has weathered all kinds of setbacks, including the Great Depression, the closing of Oldsmobile, GM’s current cash problems and layoffs at several big Toledo auto parts plants.
By Mac Gordon • Nov. 20, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Smart Dealers Get Off Gross
What's going on when the controller and accounting team are at a loss to explain how their dealership is consistently growing net profits while front-end grosses are softer than they'd been in years past? Well, it's clear that they're stuck with an old-school mentality that focuses on profit per vehicle retailed, not on competitive pricing that leads to quicker inventory turns. Fortunately for the
By Dale Pollak • Nov. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Tend To Organic Documents
From the headline of this column, you might be asking, What are organic documents? They are the records critical to the existence and operation of your dealership. So what are we talking about? Corporation or LLC Documents: The formation and ongoing validity of your corporation or limited liability company is critical to shield equity owners from liabilities. If the company's separate organization
By Michael Charapp • Nov. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
CPA: Timely Bank Reconciliations Too Often Overlooked
A most important accounting function for a new-car dealership is the accurate and prompt preparation of bank reconciliations. But most dealers are not qualified to determine if this is being done, says certified public accountant Carl Woodward of Woodward and Associates, specializing in dealership accounting matters. We have heard office staff tell dealers the bank reconciliation was done when it
Nov. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Best-Kept Tax Secret Revealed
For dealers, it's a best-kept secret for recouping hidden money at tax time. It is an understanding of tax depreciations through cost-segregation studies of building expenses and renovations. Cost segregation is an Internal Revenue Service-approved method of re-classifying components and improvements of a commercial building from real to personal property. This process allows the assets to be depreciated
By Lillie Guyer • Nov. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Auto Financing: ‘No One Knows What Normal is Anymore’
With a hint of nostalgia, people in the lending industry recall how different it was little more than a year ago before the chaos.
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 30, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
New Red Flags Rule Worries Dealers
During a Q&A session, some conference participants criticize aspects of the federal initiative, citing a perceived indistinctiveness to it all.
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 8, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
‘Handcuffed’ Saturn Dealers Consider Their Fates
Saturn dealers have been “holding on by a thread” since GM announced it was divesting itself of the brand. Now the brand nears a sad end.
By Steve Finlay • Oct. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
How Dealers Can Help Their Cause With Lenders
“The days of jamming lenders are over,” says Glenn Roberts of Zurich Insurance.
By Steve Finlay • Sept. 28, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Athletes and Dealerships - More Strikeouts Than Homeruns
Editor's note: This story is part of the WardsAuto digital archive, which may include content that was first published in print, or in different web layouts.A Minneapolis Business Journal Reporter called me the other day to tell me Twins catcher Joe Mauer had just bought the land on which Denny H...
Sept. 18, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Women Dealers Lose Ground
If you look at the number of minority women dealers today, you wonder, can this be real? They are miniscule barely a ripple. In 2008, there were 929 women dealer principals in the U.S. ranks, says the National Assn. of Minority Automobile Dealers. The numbers are plunging. In July, the National Automobile Dealers Assn. reported 792 women dealers. Several were forced out of business because of the
By Lillie Guyer • Sept. 1, 2009 -
Courtesy of WardsAuto
Drivers Neglect Maintenance
Drivers intend to keep their vehicles longer than they originally intended, but may not be adjusting their maintenance habits to keep pace with their change in plans, according to a survey commissioned by ExxonMobil. The survey polled drivers who are ages 18 and older and participate in the decision-making about automotive maintenance. Many dealerships, suffering from a decline in vehicle sales, are
Sept. 1, 2009
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