The Real Car Business

... There has been chatter lately in the lanes about the competition from above. No, not the devine, but from the screen above the auctioneers head. The online bidder. It's become obvious that there is an increasing presence of online bidders and depending on how the auction displays its online bidders, chances are you recognize the dealership. The difference is that that bidder was a traditional "auction guy" and now, has moved toward staying in the store and buying from there. So what is triggering this migration? The cars online are not pre-selected, better quality cars... infact yesterday at Southern Auto Auction (CT) a 1990 Mercedes SL500 had on line activity (the antithesis to only the newest, lowest mileage cars sell online). There is a growing comfort level and the understanding that if an on line purchase arrives at your store not as described, the seller/auction will take it back. This combined with the tremendous travel time savings has put the on line b...

Amidst the change in values and demand, perhaps never before has it been as difficult to forecast what lies ahead. It seems to be the overhwhelming majority of used car dealers sales are down... way off.. as far as 70% YTD. People have just plain old stopped coming in! New car stores report decreased sales YTD as well... Bill Ryan (Boch Toyota, MA) suggested that they may be "... off as much as 25% right now...". So... what do you do with your current inventory? How do you forecast what to stock for the next market? The next market is actually available right now. It's in the auction lanes tomorrow. With little scientific research, limited market analysis, and even less planning than goes into what to pack for lunch... the auction buyer is signaling what lies ahead. Of course each individual plans on what to buy and sell, but when the variable of competitive auction bidding is added the dynamic changes. But patterns reveal themselves and a path ahead becomes a b...