Used Car News 2/18/13

February 18, 2013

ON THE WEB:

Carfax Warns of Open Recalls Sold Online

Carfax is warning consumers about the number of cars with open recalls being sold online. New research from Carfax shows the number of cars for sale online with unfixed recalls increased an average of more than 25 percent in Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Indiana, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Manheim Hosts Spanish Sales

Manheim California hosted its first-”Manheim en Español” auction Feb. 1.

The sale will be held weekly and will be conducted exclusively in Spanish. It was designed in collaboration with Spanish-speaking dealer customers in Southern California.

NADA Launches Online Education Service

NADA U FUEL, a private online community, is being launched by NADA University, the education and training arm of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

Internet Drives AutoNation Name Change

ship names familiar to generations of car buyers are disappearing across the nation.

Gone are Maroone in Florida and Champion in Texas.

All will now be known by the name of their corporate

that this move has been in the works for more than a decade. It was not taken lightly.

“These are fabulous names that we’re leaving behind,” Jackson said.

mon name across the nation and, more importantly, across the Internet.

Making the change requires a significant marketing investment.

“If you live in one of

our markets that’s being changed, you’ll know it,”

The one hurdle for changing the names is a familiar one for dealers – government.

Jackson said the pace of change depends on AutoNation’s ability to change the name on various permits.

Auto Retail Gains Momentum; Concerns Remain

By Ted Craig

ORLANDO, Fla. – The tone of several new-car industry events held recently was one of moving forward into better times.

The theme of this year’s National Automobile Dealers Association was “Momentum.” The word was pasted everywhere in Orlando and felt by most visiting the city.

Dietmar Exler, vice president of Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA, told attendees of the American Financial Services Association vehicle conference that he expects strong sales for the auto industry and strong growth overall

unless “something stupid” happens.

Itay Michaeli, autos equity analyst at Citibank, told AFSA attendees one way to help is economic assurance programs from the manufacturers.

He said Hyundai’s promise of taking back a car if the consumers lost a job proved very successful.

There were some warnings that the road ahead may still prove bumpy.

Nick Stanutz, head of auto finance and dealer services for Huntington National Bank, said the industry needed to come together and find answers to the challenges posed by regulation and new shopping methods.

It’s time to shift … the way you think about foor planning.

Lexus Lifestyle

CFPB Turns Attention to Automotive Financing

By Ted Craig

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Consumer Finance Protection Bureau is getting ready to take a look at auto finance and its likely interest is “disparate impact.”

Richard Hackett, the CFPB’s assistant director, installment and liquidity lending markets, is making the rounds of auto finance trade groups, having spoken to the Consumer Bankers Association and the American Financial Services Association vehicle conference.

Hackett avoided giving a set timeline for action in auto finance when speaking at AFSA. He said the bureau takes its time in creating new regulations.

“It takes a lot to learn about these markets,” Hackett said. “It’s why the rules don’t come rolling of the printing press on a weekly basis.”

Hackett did, however, make a direct point about disparate impact. This is when a seemingly neutral practice has a negative impact on a group, such as a

racial minority.

An example would be the lawsuits against General Motors Acceptance Corp. and Nissan Motors Acceptance Corp. claiming minorities were charged a higher

rate for financing. The finance companies claimed the diference was due to lower average credit scores among minority buyers, but still agreed to cap their rates on all contracts for a time.

All finance companies, including dealers’ in-house finance companies, fall under the CFPB’s jurisdiction.

The “largest players” in a field fall under the CFPB’s direct supervision.

Attorney Michael Benoit said that based on the CF-

PB’s definition of large players among credit reporting agencies, that definition of a larger player may prove fairly small.

Hackett said the standard is 10 percent of the total in-

the impression of inadequate compliance management.

One area the CFPB already made a statement in concerns service providers. Last summer, several major

dustry headcount and 50 percent of the market.

The CFPB is currently filling out its examination staf Benoit said many of these examiners are learning on the job.

“If you’re the subject of an examination, you’re going to be teaching the CFPB examiner the law,” he said.

An examiner will ask for a large amount of documents, to be produced in a short amount of time. Failure to make the deadline creates

financial institutions paid fines for the actions of their third-party providers.

Benoit said finance companies need to treat service providers more like employees. Many of these providers may object, he said.

“Over time, they will become more accepting because this is the reality of it,” Benoit said. “There’s an education process that needs to happen.”

However, while the CFPB won’t directly oversee most dealers, they may oversee their relationship with the finance companies.

Hackett said dealer participation was not under threat.

“There’s nothing wrong with them being paid for originating loans,” Hackett said.

Benoit said the keys to avoiding problems with CFPB are documenting both how business should be conducted and how it is. He recommends looking at a business the way a regulator would.

Regulators, of course, don’t sell cars.

“It really takes a lot of effort away from your core business,” said Alabama dealer Forrest McConnell, vice chairman of the National Automobile Dealers Association.

“There’s a need for regulation, but there’s a limit.”

One group that the CFPB may consider a service provider is dealers. Dealers received an exemption from the DoddFrank Act as long as they only sold or leased vehicles and serviced them.

Conditions Right for Increased Used Sales at Franchise Stores

Signs continue pointing toward a strong year for used-car sales among franchise dealers.

At the recent National Automobile Dealers Association convention, Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst with the NADA Used Car Guide, highlighted several factors that will keep used-vehicle prices at historically high levels this year.

“Car buyers will find 2013 another excellent year to trade-in their current vehicles for either new or previously owned cars or trucks,” Banks said.

Banks outlined five key factors that will result in high used-vehicle prices in 2013.

Fed policy and a highly competitive lending environment will continue to see credit standards loosen and availability grow.

The recovery in housing and construction will pick up steam, benefitting both the economy and employment. This will help stoke demand for traditional used-car and -truck shoppers. Employment will continue to improve, especially toward the latter half of the year once the outcomes of the government sequester and debt ceiling extension are better known.

With a predicted increase of 8 percent, the supply of units up to three years in age will grow for the

first time since 2006, but even with the increase, volume will still be 25 percent below where it was in the three years leading up to 2009.

While it’s expected that the recovery in new-vehicle sales will siphon of a portion of used-vehicle demand, there remains pent-up demand for those consumers who traditionally purchase only used vehicles. “As job growth continues to

Undoubtedly, the new-vehicle sales performance in 2012 was helped along by higher used trade-in prices.

Jonathon Banks

progressively improve, used-vehicle intenders will gradually replace their current vehicles with newer, pre-owned ones, thereby helping to compensate for the loss of newvehicle substitute demand,” Banks said.

Taken as a collective, NADA predicts the price of units up to eight years in age will average $14,375 this

year, down 0.8 percent from 2012’s figure of $14,500.

Compared to last year, NADA expects that prices will be softer in the first half of the year as consumers and businesses react to the expiration of the 2 percent payroll tax holiday and political activity surrounding the deferred federal budget sequester and the debt ceiling extension.

“Excluding last December’s inflated showing from Hurricane Sandy, used prices in the second half of the year should essentially match what was observed in 2012,” Banks said.

Last year, both the new- and used automotive markets made several notable achievements.

New-vehicle sales accelerated by more than 13 percent in 2012, which was 500,000 more than the year’s initial consensus forecast and also the largest annual increase recorded since 1984.

“Undoubtedly, the new-vehicle sales performance in 2012 was helped along by higher used tradein prices,” Banks said.

By NADA’s estimation, used-vehicle prices for units up to eight years in age rose by 1.2 percent in 2012, thereby extending a three-year run of appreciation with prices increasing by a staggering 32 percent since bottoming out in 2008.

Many dealers believe that the

used-vehicle department will be the most profitable within the franchise dealership this year.

That’s one of the findings of recent survey of new-car dealers conducted by Ally Financial.

The survey also found that nearly 60 percent of dealers are expecting their new-car sales to grow by more than 10 percent this year.

More than 54 percent of dealers surveyed expect consumer confidence to be the key factor in sustaining auto sales momentum in 2013.

The age of vehicles on the road, incentives and the availability of new-vehicle inventory will also support sales growth, dealers said. About half of dealers surveyed indicate that customer credit profiles are improving.

Further, more than 70 percent of dealers expect sales of F&I products, such as vehicle service contracts, to increase this year.

“We expect 2013 to be a strong year for the auto industry as the economy and consumer credit profiles steadily improve and as new models attract customers to showrooms,” said Tim Russi, president of auto finance for Ally Financial. “We met with many dealers at NADA who reinforced our position and share our optimism and passion to make it happen.”

NEWS BRIEFS

RouteOne Retains NIADA Endorsement

RouteOne LLC announced that the National Independent Automotive Dealer Association (NIADA) has once again endorsed the firm as its credit application management system of choice. As an endorsed NIADA National Member Benefit Partner since 2009, RouteOne has assisted NIADA’s 20,000 independent auto retail dealership members with streamlining their F&I process through the utilization of RouteOne’s credit application network.

RouteOne LLC and ADAM Systems also announced that they have jointly developed enhanced data integration for their common customers.

This real-time integration provides a bi-directional connection between RouteOne’s web-based credit application management system and the ADAM Systems Dealer Management System.

The integration exchanges information for fast and accurate credit applications, submissions, and responses. Additionally, F&I data is also exchanged for important dealer reporting and analysis. These integrations save the dealership time and avoid keying errors.

ADAM customers currently subscribed to the legacy RouteOne interface will be contacted for upgrade instructions.

Car-Mart Adds Another Store America’s Car-Mart Inc. announced the opening of its 120th dealership.

The dealership is located in Bethel Heights, Ark.

Bethel Heights is the chain’s 38th location in Arkansas. This dealership will be operated under the Discount Auto brand.

Bethel Heights is Car-Mart’s 6th new dealership for this fiscal year. The chain presently has four new locations secured which will keep it on track for 10 for the full fiscal year.

Ally Tops Finance List

For the second year in a row, Ally Financial ranked number one in financing consumer auto sales in the U.S., according to AutoCount by Experian Automotive.

The company financed nearly 1.5 million new and used vehicles through franchised and independent dealers last year.

Used vehicle financing and leasing comprised 46 percent of Ally’s auto

contract originations in 2012, up from 14 percent three years ago, reflecting the company’s commitment to broaden its business in support of the industry.

Ally is hiring an additional 200 sales and underwriting staf members this year in order to broaden its business reach and increase service to dealers.

CarMax Buys Back Shares

The board of directors for CarMax Inc. approved a $500 million extension of the company’s existing share repurchase program for its outstanding common stock.

This extension is in addition to the previously announced $300 million repurchase authorization approved by the board on Oct. 17. This $500 million authorization expires on Dec. 31, 2014.

Purchases under the repurchase program may be made in open market or privately negotiated transactions and are expected to comply with Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-18. Purchases will be made from time to time at CarMax’s discretion and the timing and amount of any share repurchases will be determined based on share price, market conditions, legal requirements and other factors.

Published By General Media LLC

USED CAR NEWS (ISSN 1555-7413) is published at 24114 Harper, St. Clair Shores, MI 48080

Phone: 586-772-5200 or 800-794-0760 Fax: 586-772-9400

www.usedcarnews.com

Charles M. Thomas Founder (1947-2002)

Lynda R. Thomas, Publisher Colleen Fitzgerald, General Manager

Editorial: Ted Craig, Managing Editor Jefrey Bellant, Staf Writer

Contributing Writers: Emily Caswell, Sheila McGrath, Jenny KIng

Columnist: Tony Moorby

Advertising:

Shannon Colby, Account Manager

Megan Frump, Account Manager

Marie Hingst, Account Manager

Circulation: Helen Thomas

Production: Josie Godlewski, Media Manager Tim Montie, Graphic Designer

Used Car News is published the first and third Monday of each month. Subscribers: We print advertisements as sent to us by auctions and other advertisers. It is not possible to verify the correctness of listed vehicles in auction ads. Most lists are partial and all lists are subject to last minute changes by auto auctions, so before travelling a long distance for a particular auto auction event, contact the auction by telephone for a fax of vehicles in the sale. Used Car News assumes no guarantees or liabilities concerning the accuracy of any advertisements. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in any form is prohibited without the written consent of the publisher.

Please submit clear, legible copy. Payments from first time advertisers must accompany the insertion order. Distribution is guaranteed by U.S. Postal Carriers. The advertising reservation deadline is 5:00 p.m. Friday, 10 days prior to the issue date. Camera ready ads must be received by noon on Monday prior to the issue date.

KBB Names Best Buys

Shoppers in the market for an afordable used car should check out the list of 10 Best Used Cars Under $8,000 compiled by the editors of Kelley Blue Book.

Kelley editors compiled all the used cars from 2003 and newer with a Kelley Blue Book Suggested Retail Value of less than $8,000 as of January. Then they went through the list and handpicked the 10 standouts with the most appealing mixes of reliability and desirability.

“The vehicles on our short list ofer incredible value for today’s budget-

conscious car shopper,” said Jack R. Nerad, executive editorial director for Kelley Blue Book’s KBB.com.

The winners of KBB.com’s 2013 10 Best Used Cars Under $8,000 are:

Santander Finances Chrysler Sales

Chrysler Group LLC announced an agreement with Santander Consumer USA Inc. to provide a full spectrum of auto financing services to Chrysler Group and Fiat customers and dealers under the name Chrysler Capital.

Chrysler Capital is designed to provide Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and Fiat customers with competitive retail purchase and lease financing. It also will provide wholesale financing and related services to Chrysler Group and FIAT dealers. Chrysler Capital will launch May 1.

“We expect Chrysler Capital to help Chrysler Group continue its sales growth by ofering consumers the most competitive and innovative retail purchase and lease financing available in the marketplace,” said Peter Grady, vice president of Network Development and Fleet for Chrysler Group. “We found in Santander Consumer USA a nimble partner backed by the strength and experience of a worldwide banking leader. We have been impressed with Santander Consumer USA’s capabilities, energy and attitude about selling Chrysler Group vehicles.”

Santander Consumer USA, a financial services company based in Dallas, is majority owned by global banking leader Banco Santander of

Madrid, Spain.

Under this 10-year, private-label agreement, Santander Consumer USA will establish a separate business unit dedicated to providing financial services under the Chrysler Capital name. In addition to dealer new and used vehicle inventory, Chrysler Capital will provide financing for dealership construction, real estate, working capital and revolving lines of credit. Under the agreement, Santander Consumer USA will provide Chrysler Group with a nonrefundable upfront payment and a quarterly share of revenues.

Until the May 1 launch, Chrysler Group and Fiat dealers will continue to do business as usual through Ally Financial Inc. and other financial institutions.

“Ally will continue to provide financial services to Chrysler Group and Fiat dealers and their customers at the very least through the end of Chrysler Group’s existing contract with Ally which expires April 30,” Grady said. “Ally has been a good business partner for Chrysler and has forged strong relationships with many of our dealers. Chrysler Group expects that Ally will continue to do a good job for our dealers and retail customers beyond the April 30 expiration of our current agreement.”

We Auction Every Vehicle

With more than 30 years of salvage auction experience, IAA helps you reach the right buyers. Our targeted marketing reaches buyers across the globe, and our live and live-online auction encourages healthy competition. High-mileage, damaged or repossessed, we drive higher retentions for every type of vehicle.

Company Sues Over Name

By Jeffrey Bellant

A California dealership has been sued over its name and temporarily forced to take down its website.

The owner of USAA Auto Group and its wholesale company, USAA Remarketing, based in Oceanside, Calif., is being sued by USAA (also known as United Services Automobile Association) for trademark infringement in using the USAA name.

said. “We carry highline vehicles like Mercedes, BMWs and Audis.”

Bacon said she followed the requirements to open up the business.

“When went through the state to get our name, our dealer license, insurance and rider, with no problem,” she said.

She said a month ago she got a call from a USAA attorney about the suit and was surprised.

Bacon said the origin of the dealership’s name is made up of the

“The defendants made it clear they weren’t going to stop using the name ‘USAA.’”

Roger Wildermuth

USAA, a diversified services group of companies whose membership includes mostly military veterans and their families, filed suit in San Antonio, Texas, where its home ofce is based.

Aris Bacon, the owner of the dealership, said she and her husband have been in the car business for about 20 years, though only recently operated in Oceanside.

Bacon said she opened up USAA Remarketing two years ago and started the retail lot in December.

“We carry about 48 to 50 cars,” she

initials of the business partners –Sam, Aris and Allan ‘united.’

The USAA attorney told them they had to shut down their website and use of the USAA name, she said.

Roger Wildermuth, company spokesman for Texas-based firm USAA, confirmed the lawsuit was filed in San Antonio’s Bexar County District Court. The court placed a temporary restraining order barring the dealer from using “USAA” in their business names or on the Internet.

Continued on next page

USSA

– Continued from prior page

Wildermuth released a company statement on the matter:

“USAA helps our members to find, finance and insure vehicles at usaa.com. Services and websites using our name, USAA, for the buying and financing of cars are clearly designed to confuse and misdirect USAA members looking for our services and place our reputation at risk.”

Wildermuth said the company’s attorney contacted the dealer to resolve the issue.

“The defendants made it clear they weren’t going to stop using the name ‘USAA,’” he said.

But Bacon said she ofered to change the name to “USA” or something else, but was rebufed.

“I haven’t even hired an attorney yet,” she said.

Bacon said she wants to resolve the issue so that her money can go into the business and not to attorneys.

She said the court has delayed a hearing on the matter until early March, in the hope that the two sides can reach an accommodation.

Bacon said the dealership has served military personnel from nearby Camp Pendleton and even recommended that they go to USAA for auto loans or insurance, which are two of the products provided by the San Antonio-based company.

That may be an issue with the plaintif, since USAA’s business caters to the military.

Pol Pays for Buying Used Car

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) – A former legislator received a slap on the wrist for how he bought a used truck.

The Fair Political Practices Commission issued a warning letter to former Senate minority leader Bob Dutton but did not impose a fine.

Dutton, a Rancho Cucamonga Republican, used campaign money to buy the 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe, which had been his state-issued

vehicle.

Gary Winuk, chief of the commission’s enforcement division, said in the letter that Dutton violated campaign law because the vehicle’s title was in Dutton’s name individually as well as in the name of his campaign committee.

Winuk said the commission decided against a fine because Dutton told investigators he used his name to obtain insurance.

THAT LETS YOU PL AY AT THE TOP OF YOUR GAME

PAGE 8 - Technology Spotlight

AutoTrader Withdraws IPO, Continues Acquisitions

AutoTrader.com has withdrawn its bid for an intial public ofering, but continues to expand.

The company cited “prevailing market conditions” as the reason for its decision.

AutoTrader.com had added several companies in the past few years as it headed toward its IPO and continues to do so.

The company recently acquired Automotive Information Systems (AIS), a provider of auto incentive integration.

“Incentives are complex and confusing,” said AutoTrader.com CEO Chip Perry. “It is hard for dealers and consumers to understand and use incentives for maximum benefit. The reality is that consumers and dealers alike are leaving incentive money on the table and OEMs are not capturing the total value from their incentive strategies,.”

By integrating AIS incentive data with AutoTrader. com Perry said it will be easier for OEMs, dealers and consumers to maximize the application of new car incentives and rebates.

To provide greater transparency for consumers, AutoTrader.com and Kelley Blue Book will integrate AIS incentive information with car pricing data; helping consumers make more informed choices when shopping for new vehicles.

“Our team is excited to join forces with the AutoTrader

Group,” said Troy Ontko , founder of AIS. “Our mission of providing our customers with clarity on how incentives work aligns perfectly with AutoTrader Group’s belief that the industry is best served when new vehicle incentives are available, transparent, and accurate in the consumer shopping process. AIS will continue to provide OEMs, dealers and third party sites with the most accurate and timely incentive information.”

AutoTrader also launched a new business-to-business advertising campaign, launching this month, takes aim at common misperceptions about how consumers shop for cars.

Themed “Do you know today’s customer?”, the campaign will highlight insights about consumer shopping behavior in order to help dealers more efciently and efectively reach shoppers online.

“Today, dealers have access to more information than ever about how consumers shop for cars, and our goal is to bring this information to dealers in a way that will capture their attention, spark consultative conversations with their AutoTrader.com reps, and ultimately, help dealers move the needle in their online advertising,” said Clark Wood , chief marketing ofcer at AutoTrader.com.

Steeped in deep research, the campaign tackles several themes in automotive

marketing, including: in the online shopping process,

advertising versus traditional advertising,

shoppers who are close to purchase,chandising vehicle inventory online,

car shoppers on third-party sites, and -

erence among consumers to walk-in to a dealership without contacting the dealer

by phone or email before the visit.

“Our promise to our dealer customers has always been that ‘we work for you,’ and that promise continues in this new year,” Wood said.

“We believe that by providing our dealers with the latest information about car shopping behavior, coupled with how that information can translate into action, we can bring additional value to the partnerships we continue to foster with our customers.”

Over the course of the year, the new campaign will come to life through media buys

in print and digital publications, in AutoTrader.com’s presence at major industry shows such as the upcoming National Automotive Dealers Association (NADA) Convention in Orlando, and also on AutoTrader.com’s We Work For You microsite. Included on this microsite will be videos of six dealers talking about their experiences with advertising, as well as eight consumers discussing their car shopping journeys. To view the current creative for the campaign and to watch the videos, visit www.WeWorkForYou.com.

Manheim Creates Digital General Manager Position

Allan Wilwayco

Manheim has created a new executive position thattance of online sales. Manheim appointed Allan Wilwayco to the newly created position of digital general manager. In this role, he will be responsible for the management and

February 18, 2013

execution of Simulcast Everywhere and other new and enhanced mobile and digital products.

In addition, Wilwayco will lead the development and delivery of a digital operating and sales strategy across the organization.

He will work with field locations and partner with the product development team to maintain a thorough understanding of all auction operations.

Wilwayco will report to Tim Janego, regional vice president, East.

Wilwayco brings more than 20 years of indus-

try experience to his new position, having held a number of previous leadership roles at Manheim.

He led cross-functional teams responsible for operations and corporate strategy. He will continue to maintain an active role with the company’s customers and day-to-day operations.

In addition to naming a new digital general manager, Manheim’s Rick Burick was promoted to general sales manager of

sales strategy. In Burick’s new role, he will be responsible for overseeing three teams that contribute to growing sales and enhancing service: sales strategy, sales efectiveness and Manheim’s trade desks.

Burick has had a successful track record with Manheim, most recently leading a team of 11 managers responsible for the development of Manheim’s sales teams.

Kim Waterman has also

taken on a new auction manager role for Manheim Central California, reporting to Julie Picard, market vice president for the Pacific market. Previously, Waterman was an area marketing manager for Manheim.

In her new role, Waterman will lead the local management and employee teams in continuing to grow the business and enhance the customer experience for dealers.

Dealers Expect to Grow Sales

Automotive dealers expect an increase in sales in 2013, according to a new survey from Chase Auto Finance.

The Chase Auto Finance Dealer Survey, which reveals dealers’ 2013 expectations on hiring, financing, auto industry trends and the U.S. and local economy, also found that an overwhelming majority of dealers believe the auto industry and their own dealership businesses are improving and primed for growth.

Nearly half (45 percent) of auto dealers surveyed expect sales growth between five to 10 percent this year, while 22 percent expect sales to increase 11 to 15 percent. Another 10 percent anticipate sales to increase 16 to 20 percent and five percent of auto dealers are planning sales growth of 20 percent or more in 2013.

Specifically, auto dealers expect new and pre-owned sales growth in 2013.

Two-thirds (67 percent) anticipate new sales to increase, while 73 percent of dealers expect growth in pre-owned sales. Additionally, dealers expect healthy increases in service sales (49 percent), service contract/warranty sales (48 percent) and leases (42 percent).

More than half of dealers (57 percent) say the sedan will be the

top selling type of automobile in 2013. Trucks (17 percent) are a distant second, followed by crossover vehicles (13 percent) and SUVs (9 percent).

The trends look similar for fleet sales, which are an important indicator for economic growth.

Dealers who also participate in fleet sales (44 percent) said the sedan is expected to fuel sales growth (53 percent), followed by trucks (47 percent), crossover vehicles (20 percent) and SUVs (20 percent).

More than three in four (77 percent) auto dealers surveyed believe their dealership business is improving, and 68 percent believe the economy in their local community is strengthening.

As for the national economy, nearly a third of dealers (32 percent) believe the national economy will start getting better later this year and more than half (52 percent) said not until after 2013.

More than 60 percent of dealers are likely to expand their inventory in the next six months. As dealerships expand, they also expect to create more jobs.

They are less likely to seek financing to fund their expansion plans. More than six in 10 dealers (65 percent) say they are “somewhat” or “very” unlikely to seek financing.

City Mulls Ending Restrictions

By Sheila McGrath

An association of car dealers in Poway, Calif., found it pays to stand together.

After years of struggling with a city sign ordinance that restricted banners, pennants and other temporary signs, a group of seven dealers from the Poway Road of Cars in San Diego County recently approached the city to ask that the restrictions be relaxed. The City Council met with them at a workshop in January to hammer out a compromise, and this month, the council will vote on it.

The Poway Road of Cars is home to eight dealerships. But since the road is located five miles from the nearest freeway, dealers say they have a hard time luring customers.

“We don’t have the natural trafc that’s passing by, so we’re concentrating on capturing the immediate market in Poway,” said Mark Abelkop, who owns three franchise dealerships on the Road of Cars. Poway has about 50,000 residents.

Dealerships are allowed to have permanent signs, but since the early 1990s, the city has limited most types of temporary signs to grand opening events. The restrictions began as a way to keep the road from looking too cluttered, said Bob

Manis, Poway’s director of development services.

Manis said city ofcials asked dealers to name things that they thought would help.

Dealers said they’d like to be able to hang banners between light posts on their lots, hang smaller banners directly on light posts, put up tents, hang pennants across their lots, and be allowed to use search lights and inflatables on occasion.

The council members reacted favorably to the first three items on the list, Manis said. On Feb. 19, the council will vote on allowing a one-year trial of those methods.

Abelkop said what the dealers are trying to do is create an atmosphere with lots of color and an appearance of lots of activity.

Being able to put up banners with messages about financing or rebates will also help, he said.

Abelkop, who has been in the car business in the San Diego area for 25 years, said the dealers had been asking for the changes for years.

The diference this time, he said, was “we decided to go together rather than individually and take our case to the city manager.”

The Poway Road of Cars generates about $2.5 million in sales tax revenue for the city annually, according to the association.

WEDNESDAY MARCH 20TH THURSDAY MARCH 21ST

Join us in Kansas City, Missouri for our Auctions and Aces sale offering two days of auction action, 1200 cars and trucks and plenty of prizes. Plus, this year we’re raising the stakes with our Midwest Moneybags promotion. Buy or sell during February 21st - March 21st and be entered into our Midwest Moneybags promotion. Five lucky customers will be drawn on March 21st to participate in our Midwest Moneybags promotion for a chance to win up to

Barlow President, Barlow Auto Group

Car Sales Launder Drug Money

CINCINNATI (AP) – A southwest Ohio police ofcer admitted that he deposited money meant to avoid bank reporting requirements in an alleged marijuana smuggling operation involving used-car sales.

Federal authorities said the conspiracy began around June 2006 when one unnamed defendant began receiving shipments of marijuana hidden in the gas tanks of vehicles at a Cincinnati auto business.

That person and police ofcer Bryon Roos, 43, would operate usedcar businesses to launder drug proceeds and provide “what appeared to be a legitimate source of income,’’ according to the government.

Roos pleaded guilty to one count of structuring financial transactions to evade federal reporting requirements. Roos had pleaded not guilty in August to charges of money laun-

dering, illegally structuring financial transactions, and conspiring to bring hundreds of pounds of marijuana to southern Ohio from Texas. Roos was indicted with 10 other men, some of who have also pleaded guilty or have agreed to plead guilty. Details of Roos’ plea weren’t immediately available. A federal judge ordered a presentencing investigation of Roos, a decorated ofcer in the Cincinnati suburb of North College Hill who once received a medal of valor for rescuing a woman from a burning home.

Last year’s indictment also alleged that marijuana was shipped in crates containing tile and granite countertop bars transported by commercial freight companies to various locations in Hamilton County and adjoining Butler County before it was broken down and distributed.

Dealer Admits to Not Paying Taxes

A former used-car dealer pleaded guilty to failing to pay sales tax to New York state over the course of five years. Shlaine Freeland pleaded to grand larceny in the second degree. This is the highest charge for which he could have been convicted had he gone to trial.

Freeland admitted that between Sept. 1, 2008 and Aug. 31, 2012, as

owner of a Bufalo used-car dealership and repair shop, he stole sales tax in the amount of $91,831.97 collected on behalf of New York state resulting from vehicle sales and did not report those earnings on his New York State income tax return. Sentencing is scheduled for July 1. Freeland faces a maximum prison sentence of 5 to 15 years.

ADESA Boston March 8, 22

508-626-7000

ADESA Charlotte March 7, 21

704-587-7653

ADESA Cincinnati/Dayton March 19

937-746-4000

ADESA Golden Gate March 12, 26 209-839-8000

ADESA Houston March 6, 20 281-580-1800

ADESA Indianapolis March 5, 19 800-925-1210

ADESA Kansas City March 5, 19 816-525-1100

ADESA Lexington March 7 859-263-5163

ADESA New Jersey March 14, 28 908-725-2200

ADESA San Diego March 28

619-661-5565

ADESA Tulsa March 8

918-437-9044

Brasher’s Salt Lake AA March 26 801-322-1234

Columbus Fair AA March 20, 27

614-497-2000

Manheim Atlanta March 14, 27, 28 404-762-9211

Manheim BaltimoreWashington March 12 410-796-8899

Manheim Dallas March 13, 27 877-860-1651

Manheim Denver March 13 800-822-1177

Manheim Detroit March 7, 21 734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg March 14 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee March 13, 27 262-835-4436

Manheim Minneapolis March 6 763-425-7653

Manheim Nashville March 6, 20 877-386-5004

Manheim Nevada March 15 702-361-1000

Manheim New Jersey March 13, 27 609-298-3400

Manheim New Orleans March 27

985-643-2061

Manheim Orlando March 5, 12, 19, 26 800-337-8491

Manheim Pennsylvania March 1, 14, 15, 28, 29 800-777-2053

Manheim Phoenix March 7, 14, 21, 28 623-907-7000

Manheim Pittsburgh March 13

724-452-5555

Chase Choose Chase on ADESA.com and OVE.com for quality bank-sourced vehicles. Contact auctions directly for current sale information.

Manheim Riverside March 5, 7, 12, 19, 21 909-689-6000

Manheim Seattle March 6 206-762-1600

Southern AA March 6 860-292-7500

ADESA Boston March 22

508-626-7000

ADESA Golden Gate March 26 209-839-8000

Manheim Atlanta March 27 404-762-9211

Manheim Dallas March 13 877-860-1651

Manheim Milwaukee March 13 262-835-4436

Manheim Orlando March 19 800-337-8491

Mazda Capital Services

ADESA Boston March 8

508-626-7000

ADESA Charlotte March 7

704-587-7653

ADESA Golden Gate March 12 209-839-8000

ADESA Houston March 6 281-580-1800

Columbus Fair AA March 27 614-497-2000

Manheim Atlanta March 28 404-762-9211

Manheim Dallas March 13 877-860-1651

Manheim Detroit March 7, 21 734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg March 14 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee March 27 262-835-4436

Subaru Motors Finance

ADESA Boston March 8 508-626-7000

Brasher’s Salt Lake March 26 801-322-1234

Columbus Fair AA March 20 614-497-2000

Retail / Loan and lease accounts are owned by

© 2012 JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. All rights reserved. (12-381) 06/12

Manheim Atlanta March 14 404-762-9211

Manheim Denver March 13 800-822-1177

Manheim Detroit March 7, 21 734-654-7100

Manheim Fredericksburg March 14 540-368-3400

Manheim Milwaukee March 13 262-835-4436

Manheim New Jersey March 27 609-298-3400

Manheim Orlando March 12 800-337-8491

Manheim Pennsylvania March 14, 28 800-777-2053

Manheim Phoenix March 7 623-907-7000

Manheim Riverside March 7, 21 909-689-6000

Manheim New Jersey March 13 609-298-3400

Manheim Orlando March 5 800-337-8491

Manheim Pennsylvania March 1, 15, 29 800-777-2053

Manheim Pittsburgh March 13 724-452-5555

Manheim Riverside March 12 909-689-6000

Manheim Pennsylvania March 15 800-777-2053

Manheim Pittsburgh March 13 724-452-5555

Manheim Riverside March 19 909-689-6000

Manheim Seattle March 6 206-762-1600

Southern AA March 6 860-292-7500

SmokeLess Motor Oil SmokeLess Motor Oil

PEOPLE IN THE NEWS

Attorney Returns to Firm

Hudson Cook, LLP, a nationwide provider of legal compliance services for the financial services industry, recently announced the return of Thomas J. Buiteweg as a partner at the firm’s Ann Arbor, Mich., ofce.

Buiteweg will focus his practice on federal and state consumer financial services laws with particular emphasis in automotive financing.

Family subsidiary JM&A Group. Pritchard is responsible for World Omni’s Service Center operations as well as for training and business process re-engineering eforts. Pritchard began his career with World Omni in 1996 and transferred to JM&A Group in 2000.

As vice president of Southeast Toyota Finance Sales and Dealer Services, Toifel is responsible for the company’s functions that directly interface with automotive dealer customers. Toifel joined World Omni in 1984.

Buiteweg, a former partner with Hudson Cook, was most recently serving as counsel at Ally Bank. Buiteweg is the current co-chair of the Personal Property Financing Subcommittee of the American Bar Association’s Consumer Financial Services Committee. He is also a member of the Governing Committee for the Conference on Consumer Finance Law.

Buiteweg is a magna cum laude graduate of the University of Michigan Law School. He received his Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Accounting from the University of Notre Dame, graduating sum cum laude. He is also a certified public accountant.

“We are very pleased to have Tom return to the firm,” said Tom Hudson, partner at the Hanover, Md., office of Hudson Cook. “He is widely recognized as a leading attorney in automotive finance law.”

World Omni Adds Positions

Dan Chait, president of World Omni Financial Corp., announced four senior-level promotions on the heels of a record-breaking year.

A subsidiary of JM Family Enterprises, Inc., World Omni is a provider of financial products and services to automotive dealers, consumers and lenders. World Omni’s primary businesses are Southeast Toyota Finance, CenterOne Financial Services, DataScan Field Services and DataScan Technologies.

The organizational changes include: Mike Tiufekchiev has been promoted to group vice president, originations; Mike Pritchard has been named group vice president, operations; Brick Toifel has assumed new responsibilities as vice president of Southeast Toyota Finance Sales and Dealer Services; and Brent Sergot has been appointed president of DataScan Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries, DataScan Technologies and DataScan Field Services.

Tiufekchiev is responsible for Southeast Toyota Finance sales and marketing, dealer services, risk management, pricing, and commercial operations. Prior to joining World Omni in 1999, he served in senior roles with Ford Credit and GMAC.

Pritchard is returning to World Omni from sister company and JM

Sergot has been appointed president of DataScan Holdings LLC and its subsidiaries, DataScan Technologies and DataScan Field Services. Additionally, he continues in his role as vice president and general manager of CenterOne Financial Services. Prior to joining World Omni in 2001, Sergot served in senior positions at the Greater Auction Group, Walden Automotive Group, MarketWise Solutions and Autodaq.

Auction Makes Personnel Changes

Pittsburgh Independent Auto Auction (PIAA) has announced several major organizational changes involving key personnel.

Chris Angelicchio has been promoted to general manager. He has worked in various positions at PIAA for more than 10 years including serving as assistant general manager for the past five years.

Aaron Bell has been appointed director of operations. Bell has been with PIAA for seven years and has served in various capacities including arbitration manager.

In another change, Bernie Nemec has been named manager of dealer services. Nemec is a 12-year veteran in customer service at PIAA.

Brasher’s Names New GM

Brasher’s Auto Auctions announced that Mark Melton has been named the general manager at Brasher’s Northwest Auto Auction in Eugene, Ore.

“We are very pleased to announce Mark Melton’s promotion to the general manager’s post at Brasher’s Northwest Auto Auction,” said owner John Brasher. “He has been an integral part of our team at Brasher’s for many years, and has consistently set high standards for service and performance.”

Melton has worked for Brasher’s since 1998 when he joined the sales team at Brasher’s Portland Auto Auction. After 18 months in Portland, he moved to Eugene where he has held various responsibilities over the years. He graduated magna cum laude from Utah Valley State College with degrees in business management and accounting.

NextGear Capital: What’s Next for Floor Planning

The Biggest Remarketing Story of 2012 Reveals What’s Next for 2013

Introducing NextGear Capital

CARMEL, Ind. – On Feb. 1, NextGear Capital was announced as the new name for an inventory finance powerhouse created through the merger of industry leaders Manheim Automotive Financial Services (MAFS) and Dealer Services Corporation (DSC).

Former DSC President Brian Geitner will lead the newly-minted NextGear Capital as president, bringing his passion for serving the industry and his proven track record in building successful floor plan companies.

“Creating NextGear Capital is a vi sionary endeavor,” said Geitner, “because we are building a industry-serving floor plan company on the solid foundations of two great industry leaders with strong cultures of customer focus and service.”

and services, our industry-leading customer experience will serve the needs of dealers and auctions, alike.”

Great People Make Great Companies

“Our excellent staff and their high level of customer service are what make us different from any other finance company in the industry,” Geitner said. “We will continue to invest in leading technology to help our people and our customers shift ahead, one gear at a time, to the next level.”

NextGear Capital customers will have access to their accounts in four convenient ways: dedicated Account Executives for in-person visits at their businesses, an advanced Customer Service Center available 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. in all markets, and convenient access through online account management and mobile floor plan applications.

I am extremely excited about what’s next for our customers.

of auctions will enjoy a wider variety of customized inventory finance options for retail, wholesale, salvage and many specialties, including rental, heavy truck, RV and receivables financing.

NextGear Capital’s corporate headquarters will be located in Carmel, Ind., where construction is currently underway on a facility to accommodate projected growth.

Visit

information.

The name NextGear Capital was chosen from dozens of researched options, said Geitner, to reflect the leadership role the new independent company will play in moving the remarketing finance industry forward. He added that NextGear Capital will be able to offer customers more value by making the process of buying and selling inventory faster, simpler and ultimately more profitable.

“I am extremely excited about what’s next for our customers,” Geitner emphasized. “With a broader offering of products

– Brian Geitner

“When you do business with NextGear Capital,” said Patrick Brennan, Group Vice President of Manheim Automotive Financial Services, “you get a lot more than just financing options. You receive a robust array of services and support to help you acquire and move your inventory.”

The combined customer base of more than 17,000 dealers and hundreds

TECHNOLOGY Spotlight

M2M Solution Drives ROI for Vehicle Finance Industry

As the numbers for 2012 roll in, the outlook for the vehicle finance industry appears strong. Vehicle sales, as well as values are on the rise. In fact, 2012 represented the best used-car sales since 2007, with 40.5 billion units sold – up from 4.5% from 2011.

Credit is loosening up as well, leading more lenders to approve more loans for credit-challenged consumers. To meet this growing demand, the vehicle finance industry has seen a resurgence in subprime auto loans. In December 2012, subprime buyers with FICO scores of 550 jumped to 17.1% of total usedcar sales, up dramatically from 9.8% in December 2011.

M2M for Collateral Management

With more and deeper subprime auto loans being approved, the industry must adopt innovative and efective ways to protect their assets, manage their collateral, and mitigate risk. Like many businesses across multiple industries, the smartest players are turning to machine-to-machine (M2M) technologies to help them do exactly that.

M2M solutions allow companies to capture critical business data using mobile devices in the field, pushing this information to devices in the ofce where it’s served up as actionable business intelligence.

For the vehicle financing industry, M2M ofers tremendous potential for

enhanced collateral management, improved efciencies and productivity, reduced risk, and enhanced borrower communications.

To deliver on this promise vehicle finance companies must make sure the M2M solution they invest in is supported by the right environment – one that meets a checklist of best practices.

One company that’s focused on maximizing the advantages of M2M for the vehicle finance industry through its leading brands GoldStar GPS and EnfoTrace GPS is Spireon, a developer of M2M business intelligence automotive aolutions.. Powering these solutions is Spireon’s next generation NSpire M2M Intelligence Platform.

NSpire: Built on Best Practices

Built from the ground-up, the NSpire M2M Intelligence Platform operates in a highly scalable, reliable, secure and adaptable private-cloud environment comprised of a leading-edge network of databases, data centers, Web servers, internet connections, and robust software.

This private environment, dedicated solely to Spireon’s customers and applications, is designed to ensure the highest availability of real-time data. In fact, Spireon’s NSpire M2M Intelligence Platform was recently recognized as “Best Business Intelligence Platform” during the Battle of the Platforms at

the M2M Evolution expo in January. NSpire meets the complete checklist of best practices, starting with reliable performance. The NSpire infrastructure includes built-in redundancy; if one component – such as a database or internet connection – fails, another part of the cloud takes over the job. This ensures customers have continual, uninterrupted access to accurate, current data.

For vehicle finance companies, this means you’ll always be able to pinpoint the exact location of a vehicle in real-time for faster, less costly recovery. The real-time data is collected, crunched and translated into reports with amazing speed.

This redundancy also means you’ll stay connected to your borrowers via payment reminders and alerts that reduce delinquencies.

NSpire Accomodates Growth

Spireon’s NSpire platform is scaled for growth. Engineered with flexible code, NSpire makes it easy to add more capacity – more servers, more databases – to meet an increase in trafc.

As lenders sell more subprime auto loans and need to track more vehicles, NSpire easily accommodates the growth in devices, data and demand without delaying service availability.

NSpire’s flexible design makes it easy to integrate other commonly used

third-party systems such as portfolio management systems, allowing lenders to protect and maximize their existing investments. And as new technologies emerge, NSpire makes it easy to integrate these as well so customers can take advantage of the latest advances.

Top-Tier Security Features

Security is a priority in the vehicle finance industry. It should also be a priority with the M2M solution you select.

NSpire includes stringent security controls across its environment. This includes making sure your borrowers’ data is never accessible over the internet.

NSpire’s network encompasses strategically located data centers that employ multiple top-tier security features. Round-the-clock network monitoring allows Spireon’s engineers to quickly identify and address any security or performance issues that could put your data at risk.

Adopting an M2M solution is a smart move. To ensure the greatest return for your M2M investment, it’s important to ask your provider how they support the reliable performance, availability, scalability and security of their system.

To learn more about Spireon, its leading brands GoldStar GPS, Enfotrace GPS, and the NSpire M2M Intelligence Platform, visit Spireon.com.

“We

— Stacey Foerster

Payment Processing: Knowledge is Power

“Knowledge is Power” and in the world of merchant services this is exactly the case. The more retailers know about their current merchant services contract, the industry, and their options the better they can position themselves to get the rates they deserve. As car dealers know, negotiation is key in the sale of a vehicle and the same holds true for getting the best payment processing rates. Everything is negotiable.

Where to start? The first thing a dealer should do is look at a current contract, and calculate the efective rate. Simply dividing your total cost by the total volume processed, and moving the decimal point two numbers to the right does this. An average efective rate for the buy-here, pay-here auto finance industry is 2.5%, a great rate would be somewhere around 2%. If it’s above 3%, alternatives should be sought immediately!

Another area to look at is Additional Fees or Occurrence Fees. Detailed analysis of hundreds of merchant statements turns up fees of more than $30 per month that are simply labeled “Basic Fee.” What is a basic fee? “Basically” the provider is charging for nothing. If it doesn’t sound right, chances are it is not.

One thing to be mindful of is whether there are any fees with the acronym

E.I.R.F next to it. Electronic Interchange Reimbursement Fee charges transactions at a higher percentage rate based on the way you processed a payment. For example, if the transaction date is two days past the authorized date, or if the authorized payment amount and the settled amount are diferent; these are instances that can increase the rate you are being charged by VISA and MasterCard.

Understanding how the industry works will better assist dealers in determining how to set up merchant services contracts. What is the pricing model? Tiered, Fixed or Interchange Cost Plus?

transactions. If a dealership is contracted on Tiered or Fixed Pricing it could be paying upwards of 2.55% for the same transaction.

Paymaxx Pro uses the Interchange Cost Plus model exclusively, and is why it can reduce costs for dealers across the board.

For the buy-here, pay-here auto industry, the most-efective pricing model to be on is Interchange Cost Plus. The demographic that these dealers interact with on a daily basis is the debit card and prepaid card group. Interchange Cost Plus is the only pricing model that has the benefit of the Durbin Amendment.

In October of 2011, the federal government passed an amendment regulating “Big Banks” to only charge 0.0005% on volume and $0.22 per transaction of debit and prepaid debit

Once dealers understand exactly what they are paying for and how much they are paying they need to make sure they get their funds as quickly as possible. With today’s technology dealers can ofer the customer many options to make payments. The more options they have the more apt they are to pay timely. While it is still possible to take a payment in person through your swipe terminal or call in and make a payment over the phone, the electronic payment industry is always coming up with new and innovative ways to accept payments.

Paymaxx Pro has integrated with Dealer Management Systems, created customized Web-Page Portals, and is on the horizon of offering Pre-Paid Debit Cards, Mobile Web

Payments and Automated Phone Payments. The options are becoming endless.

While this can all seem overwhelming and might lead some to feel like they don’t have time for it; it’s important to make time for this because with each electronic transaction you make or receive, you could be spending more than you must.

Just as you have reliable lenders, DMS’ and employees you should have a reliable Merchant Services provider that you can call when you have questions or concerns. There is nothing worse that pressing “1” to access your account, “3” to get to technical support, and waiting 15 minutes on hold to end up getting disconnected.

Paymaxx Pro prides itself on personal and knowledgable service and the staf is always happy to answer any questions you may have. In fact Paymaxx Pro is so confident we know this industry and the best options for dealers that we guarantee we can save you money on your current processing or we’ll give you $500!

Paymaxx Pro provides the automotive industry with payment solutions. Innovative. Secure. Competitive. Contact us at 877.527.5658 or via e-mail at savings@paymaxxpro.com. Dealers can visit the website at www. paymaxxpro.com.

5 Best Practices for All Car Dealers

By Drew Davitan, Director of Marketing, Skypatrol LLC

I spend 15 hours a day connected to the internet. Even while writing this article, email, Skype, and a web browser are open on my computer. Skypatrol, LLC serves customers down the street, across the country and on the other side of the world . While I take great pride in shaking a customer’s hand and looking him in the eye, I’ll never have the opportunity to meet most of them in person. When I travel things get complicated. I have notes to give, projects to manage and a marketing team that needs my input, my deliverables and occasionally, my guidance. I need to be on the same page with them, often in real-time.

Our marketing team at Skypatrol uses almost a dozen “cloud” based applications to do our jobs. Everything from project management to mass email, file storage and live meetings are accessible to anyone of us globally.

Not everyone is comfortable working like this, but there are some incredible benefits. These tools already use good practices for getting things done. I don’t need to figure out how a file sharing system should be set up, I just need to find the right “app” and follow its process. We follow a lot of other processes as well. Almost every good idea we implement is inspired from an article

(like this one) or a company in another industry that does really cool things. In school they called this benchmarking and I like to benchmark the winners.

While much of my day is spent online, engaged in Skypatrol projects, I would have no new ideas if I didn’t spend some time reading, watching and learning from other sources. In my digital travels I have picked up hundreds of great business practices.

These are my top 5 for car dealers regardless of their size:

Market like the big brands

Dollar for dollar one of the largest media buying groups in the world is the US automotive industry (spending an estimated $30.8 billion in 2013). These companies really know what they are doing and they follow a specific set of rules we all can learn from:

1) They don’t try new things just to try new things. They follow what resonates with their customers and they stick with it (think “Built Ford Tough”, “Volkswagen’s Das Auto”, “Toyotathon”). What was the most successful promotion your dealership ever ran? Why aren’t you running a similar variant every month? 2) Auto brands are consistent with their message. Print ads match television spots, billboards and mailers all of which communicate the unique value of that brand. Lexus sedans are smooth, quiet, and luxurious; Chevy

Trucks are powerful, rugged, and dependable. What kind of dealership are you? What unique value do you provide to your customers? Does everything you do consistently communicate that?

Local online search

Your customers are local. Don’t compete with every other car dealer in the world. There are a few things you can do for little to no money online that will increase how many people call in or show up at your dealership. 1) Add your location(s) to Google Places and pay for a sponsored listing (this only costs $25 and is totally worth it).

2) Put your physical address on every page of your website and everything you do online. 3) Add your business, its address and contact info to Foursquare, Yelp, Twitter, Facebook and Google +. Check these sites at least once a week. This is where your potential customers are and you need to be in front of them.

Cross market

This one is simple and easy. Do you have a tow service, a body shop and a mechanic you do business with? Many people who need a tow truck, a body shop or a mechanic will need a new car either immediately or very soon. How are you incentivizing your “partners” to send you new business? How are you helping them as well?

Be Human

The numbers don’t lie. Advertising that includes a personal human touch gets more people to the dealership than anything else. Put your managers, salespeople and mechanics in your ads. Let your customers build a relationship with your company’s people before they set foot on the lot.

Incorporate GPS technology into subprime finance & F&I

This one is our marketing pitch: Skypatrol sells reliable, affordable GPS recovery products for subprime dealers. We also offer the very best consumer tracking F&I programs on the market with the very highest margins. You can read our white paper (found on our website) or anything from NABD, NIADA or the other wonderful organizations in this industry that talk about the value of recovery and payment assurance technology. They all are very clear on the importance of these products for dealers. Feel free to research our competitors as well, they also offer a lot of information on the subject. Skypatrol provides a unique value to our customers. We manage the details and provide simple, easy to use products backed by industry leading customer support. We are always here to take your calls and answer your emails, davitian@skypatrol.com.

1.

3.

4.

5.

How Shoppers REALLY Find You Online

Recently, AutoTrader.com conducted a digital audience analysis to provide dealers a more transparent view of the online marketplace by looking at car shoppers’ online behavior. Leveraging proprietary data and technology via AutoTrader.com, Kelley Blue Book (kbb.com) and select partner companies, as well as Adobe technology, this digital audience analysis looked at the online behavior of more than 3 million car shoppers across 1,300 active dealerships to better understand:

was on that led them to the dealer website), they vastly underreport indirect referrals, which are previous shopping activities on other automotive sites. As a result, thirdparty sites often don’t get proper attribution for the car shoppers they’re driving to dealer websites.

Typical dealer site traffic reports show third-party site referrals at only 2- to 5% while search engines often appear to drive a much rate higher of traffic. These numbers, however, can be quite misleading and can have a negative effect on how advertising dollars are invested.

session. Instead, shoppers move in and out of sessions over a period of time and use search engines to locate dealers they were exposed to during previous shopping sessions. How Search Factors into Shopping Behavior

keywords that shoppers enter into search engines to help identify what type of site visitors they are. What You Need to Know

shoppers visit

The findings revealed important insights about the role and influence of third-party sites (e.g., AutoTrader. com, kbb.com) and search engines during the car shopping process and illustrate how crucial it is to accurately capture and measure traffic sources to your website.

Over-Reliance on Web Analytics Tools Can Be Misleading

Dealers use a variety of tools to source shoppers; many rely heavily on website analytics tools to understand visitor activity to their reliable data when it comes to direct referrals (the last webpage a visitor

The digital audience analysis, on the other hand, found that that 48% of shoppers on dealer websites had also been to AutoTrader.com or Kelley Blue Book, while 39% had actually visited these sites first. Yet twothirds of them used a search engine to access the dealer site after going to AutoTrader.com. That means car shoppers more likely learn about a dealership on third-party sites, and then use a search engine to locate the dealer website to conduct further research and shopping.

for shoppers to navigate to a dealer site through a search engine, it also makes perfect sense. The 11+ hours they spend online shopping for a car1 does not occur in a single shopping

Search engines play an important role in the car shopping process; however their influence is easily lost in website traffic reports. In the Polk Automotive Buyer Influence Study,1 the majority of new- and used vehicle buyers used search engines as a “yellow pages”type directory service that provides a convenient way of getting to sites and businesses they are already aware of. Specifically, the Polk Study cited that the most common reasons car buyers used search engines were to access a dealers’ website, address or phone number; and access a manufacturer’s site and third-party sites. The digital audience analysis affirmed the role of search-as-directory premise. So, for dealers who use direct referral analytics as their barometer for ad spends, they need to understand these analytics might be misleading. As well, dealers who are heavily invested in SEM risk double-paying for valuable exposure they are already getting in other forms of advertising. Instead, they should focus on understanding the

the way you think it does. In other words, consumers don’t typically start their car shopping on a search engine by typing in “2013 Chevrolet Silverado.” More often than not, they use a search engine as a way to find you AFTER they’ve been shopping on a third-party site.

use third-party sites to shop, and these sites drive highly qualified shoppers to dealership websites. Advertising on third-party websites is a strategic and cost-efficient way to reach and influence high-quality, in-market shoppers.

on website analytics tools. Since they are designed to report direct referral activity only, they neglect to capture indirect referrals. For more information on the Digital Audience Analysis white paper, go to the www.dealerlearningcenter. com.

Source: Polk Automotive Buyer Influence Study, 2011

Alternate Financing: A Necessary Part of Business

Northland Auto Enterprises, the creator of the original Used Car Leasing program - Ren’T’Own®, recently launched a new website – www. RtoLto.com.

This site is geared toward educating the car-buying public on the benefits of used car leasing and provides the dealers with free sales leads. This website and the free sales leads prove again that Northland follows through on their motto of “Helping Dealers Succeed”. Northland had three goals in mind when developing the new website:

1. Educating the car buying public on what Ren’T’Own® and Lease’T’Own® is all about.

2. Allow an easy way for customers to locate local Ren’T’Own® and Lease’T’Own® dealers. (Free leads for dealers).

3. Ofer a comfortable and easy way for customers to apply on-line for a Ren’T’Own® or Lease’T’Own® car. (Free leads and pre-qualified customers)

A Facebook fan page, Twitter account, and blog have also been launched and are all geared toward educating consumers on the benefits of used car leasing and directing them to the nationwide network of Ren’T’Own® dealers.

methods at the dealership has become a necessary part of doing business. Used car leasing with Ren’T’Own® is the ideal business model that will set you apart from other dealerships. Northland is helping to drive these customers in your direction.

Since 1990, Northland Auto Enterprises, Inc. has been in the business of increasing sales, bottom line profits and marketing opportunities within the automotive industry. Northland helps car dealers, and other automotive enterprises become more profitable and more competitive. The Ren’T’Own® and Lease’T’Own® business models have a proven history of over 20 years and are being used by dealers in 48 states.

For more information call 1-8008879-3433 or visit us on the Web at www.northlanddealers.com.

All it takes to start receiving free leads is to become an active Ren’T’Own® or Lease’T’Own® dealer with a minimum of one current vehicle in your fleet. It’s that easy! With over 17 million credit challenged customers in the United States, ofering alternate financing

The Antenna Matters

The radio antenna included in a GPS tracking device is a very critical component. Unfortunately, it is too often overlooked when evaluating diferent products. Antenna efciency and directionality has a significant impact on the ability to connect to your asset. This connectivity improves your ability to locate a car and it provides for installation flexibility. It also reduces significant hassles such as not being able to reactivate a disabled starter.

When going through the FCC’s certification process a GPS device must demonstrate that its antenna is at least 27% efcient. Essentially if 100 milliwatts are put into the antenna at least 27 must broadcast. Antenna efciency is key in a GPS tracker as it’s the part raising its hand saying, “here I am”.

Whereas the best antennas hit 70% efficiency, most on the market barely reach minimumspec. Thediferenceinsensitivity between 70% and 27% is several orders of magnitude.

Selecting a multidirectional antenna is also advantageous. The broader the transmittance angle of the antenna, the less sensitive it will be to orientation. A more efcient antenna broadcasting in many directions will be more flexible than a less efcient one with a concentrated beam.

Out in the real world this means that most devices must be placed and oriented very carefully within the vehicle.

Customers are commonly told that connectivity issues are due to a “bad install”.

Thismaybetruebutinstallationsensitivity is driven in many cases by a fundamentally weak antenna design.

There are two ways a device user can deal with this issue. First, create a detailed process for the installation of devices in your vehicles that ensures correct placement and orientation of the device. Each device should be tested as a part of this process.

Second, make sure you are not utilizing a device with a poor design. Have your installer mount a test device upside down under the front seat. If a device can withstand this level of bad installation you will know you have a device featuring good design.

Bad installations happen but so does bad design. Make sure you are taking appropriate steps to minimize the impact on your operation.

iMETRIK Automotive is a global leader in machine-to-machine (M2M) embedded wireless solutions that enables companies to reduce cost and increase control of remote assets.

The company designs and manufactures devices and acts as a wireless carrier to complete its end-to-end quality delivery model.

iMETRIKreachestheautomotivemarket via strategic reseller relationships.

The Importance of Technology in BHPH Today

By Kenneth B. Shilson, CPA Founder/President, NABD

As operators begin 2013 they are focused on selling vehicles while Buy Here, Pay Here (BHPH) customers have the required down payments. Although this is understandable in the short term, their longer term focus should be to implement systems and processes which make their operations more efcient and profitable.

Inflation and rising costs are inevitable in 2013, and technology plays a vital role in each operator’s ability to control increasing costs. What technology should be included in a BHPH operator’s tool box? Here are some examples which should be considered:

a) Payment devices – disablers, GPS, and dual technology can be used to improve collections, recoveries and to reduce the number of collectors needed to service the portfolio.

b) Integrated pay portals facilitate customer repayments and allow customers to pay installment contracts without appearing in person at the dealership. Deposits are expedited and the processing of cash transactions is more efcient using this technology.

c) Integrated Dealer Management software can link to both (a) and (b) above and provides the foundation for efficient internal systems and processes.

d) Automated collection calls using

predictive dialers increases collection coverage and efciency, which improves both cash flow and profitability.

The list above is not intended to be complete and should be used to stimulate further thought and consideration. Want to see all this technology and to network with users and industry experts? Plan on attending the NABD Dealer Academy and National BHPH Conference on May 19-23 at The Wynn in Las Vegas. It provides attendees with the opportunity to see and evaluate it in action! In a rising cost environment, technology is the best way to reduce costs and increase efciency.

I hope all operators have a successful selling season and the vision to focus on improved profitability and cash flow for the remainder of 2013. Many in the industry are now using this technology, so don’t miss the opportunity to remain competitive. Good luck and we’ll see you in Las Vegas.

Kenneth Shilson, CPA, is President of the National Alliance of Buy Here, Pay Here Dealers (NABD), which will host its 15th Annual National Conference For Buy Here, Pay Here and Dealer Academy at the Wynn in Las Vegas, Nevada on May 19-23, 2013. For registration or for more information, visit www.bhphinfo.com or call 832-767-4759.

Manage Leads, Build Customer Relationships

By Howard Leavitt, AutoRaptor CRM

Each segment of the automobile retail industry — franchise dealers, independent dealers, and buy-here, pay-here dealers — has unique operating practices and processes.

While the systems and culture may vary, the fundamental practice of building customer relationships remains the same.

When it comes to most efectively utilizing your dealerships’ most valuable asset — your customers — dealers across the board face the same challenges: to efectively and efciently maintain customer information, and how to use that information to sell more cars.

Data management is universal, whether you’re a single-rooftop buyhere, payhere dealer or an auto group.

Why manage data?

Customers are a dealership’s most valuable asset. Each lead, walk-in, internet request or phone call comes at a cost. Money spent on signage, web sites, advertising costs, anything used to drive trafc. Add up those expenses and divide that by the number of leads that came your way.

You’ll be surprised to see the total amount it costs you to get a single lead. It’s easy to recognize the importance of getting and holding on to customer information.

Customer information is crucial to

squeeze every last ounce of business out of leads and get the most return from advertising. In terms of dollars and cents, adopting a system to maintain customer information, making customer follow-up simple, is a worthwhile investment.

Thebestwaytomanagecustomerdata

Having a good system for managing customer data for continued follow-up and relationship building is important. You need a system tailored to your needs, one that gives quick access to information when needed, and provides for accountability for your sales staf

The first step to reverse the paper trend is to acknowledge you are losing valuable information. Has your staf been trained to collect the lead’s full name, phone numbers and email address? Make it a priority to demand the collection of data as a way to operate your business. The lack of collecting email addresses is a common problem in today’s automobile marketplace. It reduces your ability to compete efectively. Teach it, demand it, and use it to sell more cars.

Find out more at www.autoraptor.com or 888-421-6533.

PassTime Is More Than a Just a Vendor

You may think all GPS companies are the same. They offer generally the same products, similar Web sites and features. You might even switch between products, interchanging them based on the latest offer you received. If your GPS provider is just a vendor and it meets your needs, then why change?

Well, if they are just a vendor, simply a seller (or reseller) of a device, then you might as well. But providers in this space are not all the same. PassTime, which has been in business for more than twenty years and is a trusted name in the industry, is more than a vendor – they are a partner.

Partner is a term that is thrown around a lot these days. So what is it that makes PassTime a partner with its customers? Here are a few things to think about when looking at your GPS device provider.

Disclosures: You likely are aware of the need to disclose GPS and similar products to the customers using them. Depending on the state, specific requirements may vary, but failing to disclose exposes lenders to legal action against them, on a variety of grounds.

Does your GPS provider counsel you on disclosing the devices to customers? Further, does the company give you written legal disclosures

to use? Or do they tell you to do it on your own?

PassTime has worked with some of the top legal professionals in the space to create state-specific, written disclosures outlining the use of the device, how it operates, and the responsibilities of all parties with respect to the device. This free service helps PassTime protect its customers and make sure they are following proper disclosure processes.

issue, do they respond? PassTime offers its partners dedicated sales and service reps in addition to 24/7 live customer support. PassTime believes that its customers deserve to speak to a real live person. You shouldn’t have to leave a voicemail and wait for a call back while your done-deal is slipping away.

Quality product: Yes, everyone says that their product is high quality- so why pay more? Judge for yourself. When you get the product,

24/7 live support: If you have used any sort of GPS device in the past, you know that certain issues occur. Various installers working on countless makes and models of vehicles, cellular and GPS technology, websites, and the devices themselves are all factors that can lead to your questions or need to troubleshoot.

When that need arises, how does the device provider stack up? You might have a sales rep that calls you five times a day when they want an order, but when you have an

how does it look? If you want to use starter-interrupt features or an audible warning, do you have to hook up additional wires or harnesses? Most importantly, how does it operate? Does your provider give you the tools necessary to ensure the device is installed, set up and continually working properly? Are you in the dark until you need to find a vehicle, and then take your chances? PassTime designs, develops, and manufactures its own products, (not buying then reselling devices). It can ensure the quality of

its products because it controls the manufacturing processes. PassTime’s products fit the subprime lending market because they were designed specifically for it.

Additionally, PassTime offers installation verification services to test all components of an install as well as reports to show the current status of devices. With a device failure rate under 0.5% on over a million devices sold, PassTime truly offers a quality product.

PassTime loves to sell product as much as anyone in the industry. But because the company values its customers as partners, it invests time, resources and capital into superior product quality, support and even provides legal disclosure forms.

When you choose a GPS provider, look a little deeper than you may have before.

See if your vendor is simply looking to sell as many devices as possible, or is it a company looking out for your best interests, conducts itself with a positive reputation in the industry, a company that is more than a vendor, a company that is your partner.

For more information about PassTime, please visit us at the ALL NEW www.passtimeusa.com, email info@passtimeusa.com or call 877-PASSTIME.

Technology Abounds at BHPH World 2013

Only 120 million or so people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl XLVII and saw a great game, except for 34 minutes of rambling announcers trying to fill in the 34 minutes of down time that came from having a blackout occur shortly after the second half kick of It should serve as a lesson to all of us. Not having one’s technological ducks in a row can cost you money, waste valuable time and destroy a reputation — as fast as the speed of light.

If you are a buy-here, pay-here dealer in North America, you have a chance to see the latest available to you from the nation’s top technology vendors. Whether it’s a DMS, payment processing systems, CRM tools, payment assurance devices, telephony systems or the latest in skip tracing, it will all be under one roof at the 19th Annual Leedom Group BHPH World 2013 Convention April 8-10 at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.

The nation’s longest-running event dedicated to the deep subprime and buy-here, pay-here marketplaces will be host to the largest vendor exposition in the country dedicated to this marketplace. Literally dozens of vendors whose sole purpose is to make a dealer’s life easier through the better use of technology will be on hand at this must-attend event.

Leedom Group Executives Chris Leedom and Chuck Bonanno have been in full planning mode with their team and the convention’s Dealer Advisory Committee to organize and plan this

of speakers and over 20 workshops where you can hear from the best in the business,” Bonanno said. “People ask us why this is the best event to attend to see all that is buy-here, pay-

LEEDOM GROUP 19 TH ANNUAL W ORLD CONVENTION 2013

year’s event.

Leedom added.

One of the main benefits of attending an industry event like the BHPH World Convention is it expands a dealer’s horizons. It’s almost inevitable when they hear about new practices or concepts and how they will integrate into an operation.

“Much of this comes from the interaction with dealers that exchange ideas and stories throughout the entire program,” Bonanno said. “We love these discussions and it is part of what makes this industry great — our ability to share what we know to help others.”

As a dealer himself, Leedom is excited about the new technological innovations that await dealers at this year’s convention.

“I was just going over a preview of this year’s program and it is jampacked,” Leedom said. “There is a lot going on in our industry and you do not want to miss this marquee event where everything buy-here, pay-here is represented.”

This year Leedom Group has assembled a program that is customdesigned to appeal to each and every dealer. Its approach has been and will always be to scour the industry for the best concepts and new strategies to help dealers achieve success.

“We have a tremendous line-up

here. The answer is this convention ofers twice the number of workshops of any other event, features the most open exhibit hall time (and yes the food and drinks are always amazing – and included) and has a following of more than 10,000 attendees since inception.”

LEEDOM GROUP 19 TH ANNUAL

Leedom said he is always amazed at how many dealers truly compliment his team on ideas and concepts they are going to put into practice when they get home.

“It is even more rewarding to see the emails coming from them after they go home with stories of success,”

“The technology spotlighted at BHPH World 2013 will help all of us in the months and years ahead,” Leedom noted. “It’s a tribute to our vendors and the dealers they serve that advances in dealership technology is developed so quickly and adopted so readily in our industry.”

For more information about the BHPH World 2013 Convention April 8-10 in Las Vegas, visit the convention Web site at www.bhphworld. com or call 888.582.5009 or send an e-mail to Diann Flanders at diann@ leedomgroup.com.

iGOTCHA GPS Grows Relationships QUICKly in 2013

In January 2012, iGOTCHA GPS launched their QUICK device and the industry was soon well aware a new device standard had been established.

In June 2012, iGOTCHA GPS revamped and launched its 3rd version of their dealer interface. This update was quickly recognized as the most user-friendly interface available, while providing superior programming technology and blazing locate speeds.

iGOTCHA GPS has consolidated its competitive advantage in the GPS tracking industry and gained unparalleled momentum following the introduction of its high performance QUICK tracking device.

The release of its much anticipated new web interface combined with continued exceptional customer support makes Callpass the industry’s preeminent technology leader.

The new Web interface adds dynamic visionary features, functionality and security options not contemplated on its predecessor device. Customers have adopted these enhancements and currently enjoy the industry’s fastest, most versatile device.

iGOTCHA GPS continues to provide the best products and services to their customers through innovation and product design. By seeking customer input, iGOTCHA GPS has actively engaged and involved their customers in the creative and feature functionality improvement processes.

Having direct customer input furthers the eforts of providing the best tracking solution in the industry and continues to separate iGOTCHA GPS from its competitors.

2013 is of to a phenomenal start and with tax season now upon us, iGOTCHA GPS continues their ascension in the industry becoming the fastest growing, most reliable, and highly regarded GPS tracking device company.

If change is part of your new year’s resolution for 2013 then the time to change GPS providers is now.

It’s time you had a better GPS tracking experience, it’s time for Quick!

Also immediately available, iGOTCHA GPS is rolling out the new Area Agent program. Lucrative careers with opportunity are now available for experienced GPS resellers, distributors and marketing professionals. If you have GPS experience and want to earn the industry’s highest compensation, call today and find out what iGotcha has to ofer. You will be amazed, but these positions wont last!

For more information about iGOTCHA GPS visit www.callpasstech.com or call 877-324-1443.

Search for Actionable Intelligence is Over

What if dealerships could improve profitability, customer retention and associate morale just by changing the way data is managed in the dealership?

Six months ago, NCM® Associates began introducing its clients to its new Web-based dealership data management tool, axcessa™.

The need for this technology is clear: because so much of a dealership’s data is contained in separate fixed, variable and accounting systems, getting to actionable business information often takes hours or even days.

As much as 30 percent of a manager’s time is spent extracting and compiling

data into management reports rather than on productive activities. The irony is that managers are spending numerous hours each month creating reports so they and their executive teams can make better decisions about being more productive!

NCM axcessa puts an end to manual reports. With a single login, it delivers the right information to the right people in the right format in under a minute. Meanwhile, managers are driving departmental efficiencies, dealers are being proactive, and customers are seeing the difference. For information call 877.361.4961.

Dependable Dual System Protects Your Investment

Payteck’s dual system is the best way to both protect your investment and take care of your customers.

As the values of buy-here, pay-here vehicles continue to increase, loans become riskier. Finance organizations are demanding larger down payments.

Now, more than ever, it’s important to protect your asset with both a proven code device and a GPS system.

The dual approach offers many advantages over a single unit. It provides real protection, not just a decoy.

Let’s say you want to have cellular coverage and a code device for the customer when a payment is made. The code device is a favorite with dealers because it brings customers in for payments and vehicle inspections.

When you use the code device in conjunction with a GPS system, you will always be able to track the vehicle should you need to recover it.

Another popular option is to use a GPS system in conjunction with a WebTeckPlus system. The device, concealed under the dash, provides unlimited commands to your customer. It can be used in every state, including Alaska and Hawaii.

The WebteckPlus, one of the most reliable systems available, has a very low cost of operation at only one dollar a month.

Payteck provides many solutions to vehicle fnance rather than just one method. For more info, email us at payteck@payteck.cc.

RETAIL MARKETS

FLORIDA

David Cox, owner/principal, Cox Motors LLC, Lakeland, Fla.:

“I’ve been in business at this location for about two years. I’ve been in business since 2001.

“I keep around 15 to 20 vehicles in inventory, on average.

“I source my vehicles from wholesalers and auctions.

“On average, I sell 10 to 15 units per month.

“That’s about the same as this time last year.

“I do buy-here, pay-here and lease-here, pay-here.

“I’ve been doing the leasehere, pay-here since moving into this new location.

“It’s worked out well.

“But one of the big hurdles is the amount of insurance that the customer is required to carry on a leased vehicle, which is more than a buy-here, pay-here vehicle.

“That’s a requirement in the state of Florida. It can cost the customer more money, too.

“I carry more domestics than imports. It’s probably 90 percent domestic, be-

cause of the cost of imports.

“About 90 percent of my vehicles are cars, and the rest are a mix of trucks, SUVs and vans.

“My miles have gone up over the years. On average, the vehicles carry about 115,000.

“The average model year is about 2003.

“We don’t have a service shop.

“I outsource (repair) work. My reconditioning costs are between $400 and $500 per vehicle. That’s about the same as last year.

“For marketing and advertising, I use my web site and I use a free local publication called the Auto Shopper.

“My average retail price is about $7,500.

“Recently, I sold a 2003 Buick LaSabre. I think that one had about 113,000 miles. The retail price was $7,900.

“Gauging by my customers, 2013 (is looking better).

“Through the end of last year, many of my customers had their (work) hours cut and they were a little tight on payments.

“But their hours are starting to come back.”

NORTH CAROLINA

Michael Darrow, president, The Auto Finders, Durham, N.C.:

“I have one location. In May, I will have been in business 20 years.

“I have about 46 units on the lot. That’s normal for this time of the year.

“(To acquire inventory), we get a lot of trade-ins, and we buy from auctions.

“We also get vehicles from Enterprise and Hertz. They send us a weekly run list of what they have, before they go to auction.

“On sales, we’re down just a little bit. Last year, we averaged 28 units per month. But the fourth quarter of last year was kind of slow, to be honest. We sold just around 20, which was similar to 2011.

“But overall in 2012, each month was better than the previous year – until we got to November and December.

“The other thing is we still have one of the highest unemployment rates in the country.

“We sell retail, subprime and buy-here, pay-here.

(The breakdown) is about 25 percent retail, 50 percent subprime and 25 percent buy-here, pay-here.

“We have come up a little bit on the number of buyhere, pay-here deals we do. We’ve increased that a little because the cash flow is getting better. So we’re putting more on the street.

“The average down payment on a buy-here, payhere sale is about $1,300. The average term is 27 months.

“We’ve tried to keep to our guidelines really tightly on buy-here, pay-here and have even let (deals) walk. It just doesn’t make sense to make a stupid deal.

“Our average retail price on buy-here, pay-here is $7,995. For retail and subprime, it’s $9,995.

“Our vehicles have, on average, 88,000 miles. The average year is about 2007.

“The buy-here, pay-here vehicles will be closer to 2003 or 2002 model years. The mileage on those is about 123,000.

“The majority of my inventory is cars, followed by SUVs and then trucks.

Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant

“Imports make up about 40 percent of my inventory, so it’s 60 percent domestic.

“We outsource our service and reconditioning.

“We’re averaging about $320 for recon per vehicle. But once you get over 100,000 miles, your recon is going to go up substantially. At that point, there might be a cracked windshield, dents and paint touch-ups.

“But I really don’t look for projects that might take two or three weeks to fix. I look to get something on the lot as quickly as possible to increase the turn.

“Primarily, our marketing/advertising is Internet, about 90 percent. We do a tiny amount of radio and a tiny amount of direct mail. Last year we were putting more in radio and more in mail.

“In the past, we used both of the (large third-party Internet sites), but we’ve gone away from them to Dealix and we buy their leads. That’s been going well.

“We recently sold a 2003 Honda CRV EX, with 95,000 miles. That sold for $9,300.”

WHOLESALE MARKETS

CALIFORNIA

Lewis Beshof, general manager, Prime Auto Auction, Carson, Calif.:

“Prime Auto Auction has been in business 15 years. But we’ve been at this location for 12 years.

“We have six lanes and we’re running four.

“Volumes are slowly creeping up. We’re averaging 800 to 900 per week.

“That’s a little bit higher than this time last year. The bottom line is, we’re owned by AutoNation, so a large number of vehicles we sell are AutoNation trades. They’ve done a great job of increasing their retail sales, which leads to a lot of trades going to the auction.

“We have a new fleet manager that we retained last summer and he’s increased our fleet volume. We also started a new franchise lane, which is for new-car stores only. That’s going well and we’ve increased that volume.

“We’re not into factory or highline sales. Of-lease sales are not really our core business, because we’ve built the auction around

dealer trades.

“Conversion rates are also creeping up. Our average is about 55 percent.

“As we get into spring and the tax season, the prices will go up.

“We average about 400 dealers in the lanes each week. The vast majority are from the greater Los Angeles area.

“We see a lot of new registrations, but they are also mostly from the Greater Los Angeles area.

“Most of our volume is dealer trades, with about 15 to 20 percent fleet-lease.

“Although our regular sale is on Friday, we also run an online remarketing sale on Tuesdays. That is for new-car franchises only to remarket their frontline inventory via our online bidding system on Auction Pipeline. That is very successful.

“The average selling price on the block is between $5,500 and $6,500.

“In terms of the dealers’ moods, I don’t think they are struggling as much as they were two or three years ago. They had to bat-

ten down the hatches, look at their cost structure and the inventory they were carrying, etc.

“The dealers who survived the past two or three years - the smart, successful ones - are looking for significant growth in the next two years, as the SAAR gets back to normal.

“This market is a good time to be in the business for a smart car guy. If you have your ducks in a row, business is only going to get better.”

LOUISIANA

Don Sistrunk, general manager, Louisiana’s 1st Choice Auto Auction, Hammond, La.:

“May will mark our 11th year.

“We have four lanes and we’re running all four lanes.

“Our volumes have been between 500 and 600 cars weekly.

“(On Feb. 4 and 5) we had our Rockin’ Mardi Gras sale, which was in conjunction with Mardi Gras down in this area. We kind of pattern it after the DAA Northwest Rock & Roll sale, but on a smaller scale, of course. It

Compiled by Jeffrey Bellant

was our first year of doing that. It was a two-day event with a big party. We had the Bag of Donuts band and the Cronkites play.

“We ran more than 900 cars during the sale the next day.

“Overall, however, for the past three years, we’ve increased our business 20 to 30 percent each year. That’s fantastic for us. It’s getting better and better for us.

We’re doing all the right things.

“I don’t have numbers yet, but I would guess the numbers for January and February are up considerably from last year.

“We’re running anywhere between 60 and 65 percent conversion rates.

“We draw about 300 dealers on average. During the big sale, we drew (an additional) 150 dealers.

“The majority of our dealer base comes from the New Orleans, Baton Rouge and southern Mississippi area.

“sAlso we’ll draw from Hammond and Slidell, which are close by.

“Things are good for the dealers now, though there

is a little bit of grumbling because (at press time) the income tax money has not come in as early as they expected it to. It’s starting to come in now.

“The majority of our business is dealer consignment. It’s probably 85 percent, compared to 15 percent lease-repo.

“We run several institutional accounts, including a couple of national ones.

“We also have a special sale for cars that don’t run, which runs along with specialty vehicles like box trucks or boats or RVs. On an average, we run about 20 or 25 units.

“All four of our lanes are also online. So we’re actually selling 12 to 13 cars per week online, plus we’re getting bids (on other vehicles).

“The average price of vehicles coming through the lanes is probably $5,500.

“We’re looking forward to the rest of 2013.

“We’re growing by leaps and bounds. We expanded our ofce facility in November. Now we’re going to have to pave more of our lot.”

FEBRUARY 2013

BMW 7-Series 750Li 4D Sedan 67700 62300 53300 48775 42150

Honda Accord LX 4D Sedan 15150 14800 13850 12125 10700

Hyundai Sonata GLS 4D Sedan 2.4 15800 14750 13750 10600 8750

Lexus ES 350 4D Luxury Sedan 30000 29000 26800 23150 20275

Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 4D Luxury Sedan 40600 40600 33800 30250 24600

Mitsubishi Galant ES 4D Sedan 12850 12100 10450 9025 7725

Nissan Altima Base 4D Sedan 14000 13200 11650 10300 8975

Nissan Altima S 4D Sedan 15300 14500 12950 11350 9975

Nissan Sentra Base 4D Sedan 12550 12200 10500 8800 7600

Toyota Camry LE 4D Sedan 15100 14800 14150 11850 10525

Toyota Corolla LE 4D Sedan 12450 12900 12150 9875 8625

Volkswagen Jetta SEL 4D Sedan 16500 16600 14300 12350 10475

Trucks Feb-12

2009

7650 6600 5700 4925

Chevrolet Impala LS 4D Sedan 9800 10100 8700 7650 6600

Chrysler 300 Touring 4D Sedan 13550 13650 12100 11475 9750

Chrysler Sebring LX 4D Sedan 7650 9200 7450 5750 4550

Ford Mustang Base 2D Coupe 12450 13000 11000 9200 7925

Ford Taurus SEL 4D Sedan 12000 11300 9250 8650 7325

Lincoln Town Car Signature Limited 4D Sedan 18850 17250 15400 11925 9850

Ford Focus SE 4D Sedan 8900 9150 8000 6400 5300

Import Cars Feb-12 Aug-12 Feb-13 Feb-14 Feb-15

Acura TL Base 4D Sedan 22000 19800 18800 14375 12000

BMW 3-Series 328i 4D Sedan 20200 19400 17900 15125 12725

BMW 7-Series 750Li 4D Sedan 55300 48500 39800 35475 29075

Honda Accord LX 4D Sedan 12250 12050 11300 9400 8075

Hyundai Sonata GLS 4D Sedan 9650 9550 8200 6800 5550

Lexus ES 350 4D Luxury Sedan 22400 21800 20100 16550 14175

Mercedes-Benz E Class E350 4D Luxury Sedan 27400 26800 22200 19350 15275

Mitsubishi Galant ES 4D Sedan 9450 9300 7950 6575 5350

Nissan

Nissan Altima S 4D Sedan 12200 11850 10300 9100 7800

Nissan Sentra Base 4D Sedan 10250 10150 8500 6775 5650

Toyota Camry LE 4D Sedan

SOURCE:

Disconnected Jottings From Tony Moorby...

I’ve never been an avid sports fanatic. I love sports and admire all the athleticism that goes with it – I just can’t get worked up to a frenzy in support of a particular team or person.

When I was young I held the school’s records for the 100 yards and the 220 yards for a couple of years and earned a medal at the White City Stadium in London, for hurdles. I enjoyed cycling –even belonged to a cycling club and going on 100 mile Sunday training rides was a regular thing. My brother and I were interested in racing and time-trialing as well as watching oval-track velodrome racing. Being English, soccer was a natural pursuit but our school was not that big into rugby. Cricket was boring and dangerous; like

rugby, not much protection stood between you and a visit to the emergency room. Basketball, at best, was a knockabout game to pass time in the gym while waiting to do something else. Netball, its

closest relative in England, was a game solely reserved for girls.

When I came to Nashville and the company’s fortunes later extended to leasing a box at the Titans’ stadium and a suite at the Predators’ ice hockey rink, watching sports in this most civilized fashion was as enjoyable for its social attachments as watching the games themselves.

It’s now necessary to sign a mortgage to visit a football game, buy a beer or three and eat a hot dog at a price for which you could buy the whole hog. Heaven fore-

CR R O O S S W D

By Miles Mellor

fend buying a t-shirt, for that would send you in to penury and all this for seats in the nose-bleed section! Give me my Barco-lounger with a cold one at the end of my elbow and I’ll get a better view than a referee and watch all the replays at a constant 70 degrees with my feet at a comfortable 110 degrees to the rest of my body. “Spoilsport!” I hear you say. It’s really a function of my advancing years and an abhorrence of any discomfort when it’s entirely unnecessary. I realize that I miss some of the atmosphere and the partying that goes on prior to a game but in our part of the world, standing in a parking lot, eating mediocre food can be at both extremes of the Fahrenheit scale. I’ve done the tailgating thing both as a recipient and a cook. The cooking was the most enjoyable but even then I’d be deficient of some important utensil to render the right results. In my kitchen at home I can do things blindfold and I never have to search for a corkscrew or bottle opener. As for the support of athletes these days it’s a crap shoot as to who’s doing what drugs or taking ‘backhanders’

Sponsored by

Down

1. Nissan SUV

2. Wheel turners

4. Edwardian

5. Top exec

Across

1. Plush Toyota sedan

3. ____ Tracker

5. Ford hybrid

9. Visit

10. ____ MP4-12C

12. Hondas

13. It’s where the dials and controls are

15. Oil price setters

17. Flex or Fusion

19. Hybrid ad abbreviation

21. ___ Commander

22. Word with box or shift

24. Sports-luxury automobile marque from Germany

25. Condition

28. Promotion

30. The Aventador, for one

34. Land of Ford and GM

36. Test site

37. Popular

38. First branded as a Morris and an Austin

39. “I can’t believe it!”

41. Best

42. Suffx with cash

44. Brit sports car maker

45. Time before 46. Element maker

to throw a game – as if they didn’t earn enough money already!

Take Lance Armstrong –please! Seriously, for the longest time it was a pleasure to see it taken to the French on their own turf in the Tour De France with all their references to drug-taking stinking of sour grapes. Meanwhile this ego maniac was lying through his teeth. To me he represents the worst case of fraud on the largest levels of any. Now this liar and cheat wants some kind of absolution (and more air-time to feed his ego) for coming clean. What a bloody cheek! He should be sued for every penny he ever took from a sponsor, including the Postal Service. They’re going broke – what the heck are they doing throwing money away sponsoring a cyclist, anyway?

He should do time and the media should never mention his name ever again – that would ofend him the deepest. Now the European Associations are turning up early evidence of bribery and corruption in soccer circles extending all the way to organized crime. Is that bending it like Beckham?

I’m afraid the money attachment to sports starts early – some local high school football teams here were giving all kinds of spifs to have jocks attend certain schools. At the college level there’s enough money thrown around to bend the moral compass of a saint (and some not-so-saintly) and it goes on and gets worse from there. Maybe the sport is in the competition between the authorities and the teams and players.

INSURANCE AUTO AUCTION S

6. Emil Jellinek’s daughter - whose name was given to a luxury car brand

7. Puts a mark on a survey

8. Get a peak!

9. iQ or tC

11. Replace a branded trademark name with another on basically the same car

14. ____stick

16. Went over the limit

18. Kia model

19. Mister’s wife

20. Student score (abbr.)

23. Stumbling expression

24. The Alp was a car (nationality)

26. Mazda SUV

27. _____ Spitfre

29. Give back, a leased car for example (2 words)

31. Green color

32. Move like a Rolls

33. Laughter noise

35. Car model 1991 “Legend”

40. Aston Martin letters

43. Driver’s

•

•

•

•

•

•

Payment Books $7.99 Customer Payment Books printed and shipped to you or your customer within 24 hrs. Order online or by fax...Wkly, Biwkly and Monthly payments. ONLY $7.99 per BOOK! Call 800-479-2226 to set up your account. Receive 5 books free w/ first order.

BEST DEALS ON WEBSITES We want to help you. Since 1999. 888-236-1434 www.AutoRevolution.com

NW Auto Dealers! Stop overpaying for insurance & bonds. 855-396-0488 www.ShepQuote.com Shepard & Shepard Insurance DEALER SERVICES

WEBSITES Starting at $30/mth No Set Up Fee / 877-266-8913 www.YourCarLot.com

Garage Liability Specialists! Exclusive markets! Williams $ Stazzone Ins., 800-868-1235 www.wsins.com

BUYERS

Clear-up ugly plastic headlites to a like new appearance. Call 1-866-998-4999 or visit www.uglyheadlights.com

WHOLESALE BUYER -REP 30 yrs exp. Fl based. Will travel, references avail. Call Michael P. 954-445-6589

AUCTION BUYER. Flat fee purchasing. All cars checked for accident/damage. 17 years, Florida based but will travel. Licensed and bonded dealer. Global Auto Group Inc., 561-262-3008, STEKRA@AOL.COM

FACILITIES FOR SALE/LEASE

USED CAR LOT for sale - Maple Shade, New Jersey. On busy Route 73. Half acre. $375,000. 856-321-9000.

For lease/sale. Owner will finance. 50 yr. family run business. Office full furnished: Desk, computer, camera system, alarm system. Lot signs, piped fencing. Corner car lot. Call 972-485-1816. Garland, TX

WOODLAWN, VA Used Car Lot with 2000 sq. ft. Office, plus 3000 sq. ft. Mechanic Shop with 5 Bays on 1 acre $275,000 with Owner Financing for 1/2 Down. Call (276) 235-1904

UCN NewsNow is

out Monday through Friday at 8am EST

Sent to dealers and remarketing professionals, UCN eNews is another new addition to our newsletter offerings.

eNews is sent every Wednesday at 1 p.m. EST, and features informative articles about the latest in technology, internet and social media.

March 18 - Payment

April

Well established pre-owned dealer, turn-key operation on the north-side of Houston looking to sell! Owner-financing for qualified buyer. 19 year old clientele base in same location. 2.02 acres mostly clear. Room for 150 plus cars. Fenced, lighted, concrete. More information please call Tracy 713-306-4847. Serious only.

May

June

Sent to dealers and remarketing professionals, Auction Extra is a new addition to our newsletter offerings.

Auction Extra is sent every Friday at 1 p.m. EST, and keeps you informed about the latest happenings in the auto industry.