Skip to main content

There is change on the horizon

For the past 2-3 weeks I have been making a point of seeking out the most experienced auction dealers and asking them of the market we're swimming in. As strange as it seems there really is no panic or worry... rather that this too will pass and the march will go on.

The big concern I hear voiced in the vast middle of the auction populous is where the cars will come from over the next 10-14 months; the short term. What there doesn't seem to be is an understanding that after that period, there will have been a complete correction or adjustment to the "new" levels in availability of vehicles. New car sales made the adjustment away from the heady days of huge fleets and rental car gluts and adopted creative leasing, sharp incentivizes, and deep discounts. Today's level of 12.6 million new vehicle sales annually* will continue to feed the used vehicle supply and despite the "short term fear", there will in fact be cars available to buy at auction in the future!! The key is to take a page from the most sage... let this pass and begin to shape your business for 2012 and beyond.

Be sure to get to auction weekly- stay in tune with what's being talked about amongst the competition. Don't be afraid to sell in to this market- keep your inventory well below 90 days aged. And when buying in this market, take comfort in knowing that they aren't cheaper anywhere else right now... everybody is paying the same price!
*http://online.wsj.com/mdc/public/page/2_3022-autosales.html

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Reimagining service... it's time!

I have been attending and participating in a new podcast, "Auto Transport Intel" that Jay Wertzberger produces and broadcasts with Ty Thompson. It drills in on automotive transport and is dedicated to improving the industry. A topic I explored with them recently was focused on not how to get new business as a transporter but a revealing look at some of the reasons we can't get new business. The theme was that if we look at ourselves with open eyes and ask if we feel if we're putting our best foot forward, what little things could we do to improve our professional profile... and that triggered the theme, "reimagining service". Over the next several weeks, I'll define Reimagining Service in more detail, and we will dig in on the relationships that the car auctions have with vehicle transporters. Stay tuned!
1 comment
Read more

Heard around the auction block

As a college freshman, I enjoyed the mandatory Psychology 101 & 102 courses... but if I had known then that I would need to be counseling my customers now, I would have taken better notes! I'm telling you... seasoned and experienced auction pros are confused and conflicted with what is going on in this winter market and the joke is that they must need to see a "shrink". The chatter at the block is staggering! Nobody is comfortable with what they have in inventory, don't know what to add or deduct form that inventory, and aren't sure what anything is worth right now. Generally, the market is flat (if not down) and traditionally [it] should be ticking up in terms of the number of bodies in the lanes (the very best barometer). Rather, there is a noticeable number of missing buyers and that's the primary factor pushing the market index down. The question is, where are these buyers? For the balance of February... plod through your inventory and make adj
Post a Comment
Read more

A Resignation That Opens The Door

Just one year ago this week marked a point that I had never been before over a 30+ year career and it was a professional decison that had to be made. I was not healthy and I was not at the lofted level of dedication I'd held myself to. The decision was easy! I resigned. I committed to my team to a seamless transition and told them there would be no disingenous goodbye followed by an announcement on the competitor I was going to join. Resignation became dedicating more time to my family, friends, my health, and to the larger community that surrounds us all. Unencumbered by a business culture stalled in its own way, I relished "taking the high road" journeying thousands upon thousands of miles with eyes and ears wide open and no timetable. And there it was in front of my wife and I every trip we took: The door of opportunity swung wide open with one clear-cut decision. A year on now spiritually and bodily rejuvenated, I re-engage to be purposelful in mentoring
Post a Comment
Read more