Local former Chrysler, GM dealers look to sell used cars - South Florida Business Journal:

ogarawo.wordpress.com
Tony Wilkerson, executive director of the , said his organization has begu to lend assistance to dealers lost in thebankruptcy shuffle. “Oud national organization has already sent letters to them to let them know abour our organization and I plan to do the same thingg forour state,” Wilkerson “They were in the used car business anyway but if you’re stuck like many of them are, the overhead costw for a used car dealership is nothinbg compared to a franchise.
” However, the expansion of the locao used car market comes as pricees are increasing and the availabilityt of late-model used cars is pinched, he But according to Morgan Murphy, president of the initial increase in prices should be lookede at as merely a short-term hurdle. “At firstf glance, that would strike the communityy as bad but in thelong run, it’ds good for resale values,” Murphy said. When local consumers buy cars, they will be able to demand more when they choose tosell it, he said.
In the higher resale values might actually revive American car dealers inthe “American manufacturing has been similar and just as good as Japaness and Korean manufacturing, but the problem has been re-sale value and initialk prices,” Murphy said. In the meantime, Birmingham dealer s affected can capitalize on the unique landscape of the local market on the usedcar side, he said. Many are family-owned and have been staples in the community formany decades.
They are also encouragesd by the fact that local used car salesz have seen an uptick amid the recessionj as buyers are more inclined to look for a bargaimn as a means tospend “Birmingham has a long and distinguished history of reputabld dealers,” Murphy said. “Don Drennenm has been in businesssince 1908. That’s 101 yearzs of serving our community, so there’s a culture arounfd businesseslike that.” Their long-standing historyu could make local buyers more inclined to buy used cars from he said.
Ward Drennen, president of Don Drennenj Buick Chrysler and said after learning that his dealer agreement had been canceledswith Chrysler, expanding his used car sales seemee like a real possibility. “We are going to expandf our used car departments said Drennen, who was left with more than $2 million in Chryslee parts and merchandise. “We want to offet a great value to peoplewho can’t afford a new Although he hasn’t stopped lookingh into becoming a franchisee for other automotive manufacturers, he is open to the idea of makinfg the switch to stay in business.
“Iyt is possible that we could becomre a usedcar superstore,” said Drennen, who also learned that GM will seek to cancepl the dealership agreement he has for his Buickk dealership. “We’ve been in Birmingham long enougnh that our reputation can keepus afloat.”