Groupon Offers First Voucher for Car Dealership
12.07.11
Groupon is doing its first auto dealership deal in the country today at LaFontaine Buick GMC Cadillac in Highland Township, Mich., according to Automotive News. Robert Milner, general sales manager at the dealership, said he was a little reluctant to be the first dealer in the country to try the Groupon deal but likes the idea of setting a precedent. "We're dipping a toe in it," he said. Consumers spend $199 for a voucher worth $500 toward the purchase of a car, redeemable this year. Between giving up $300 to consumers and $100 to Groupon, each sale will cost the dealership $400. Unsure of what the demand will be, LaFontaine capped the deal at 150 vouchers, Mr. Milner said. "But if I get 150 people and it costs $400 per commitment, I'm all in on that," he said. Mr. Milner said the typical advertising expense per car is $350 to $400, putting the Groupon cost in line with budgeted expenses. In a statement Groupon issued through its Chicago-based public relations firm SS PR, the company said car dealerships are a next step for the company.
Source: AdAge.com
Car dealers focus on allied businesses as margins fall
11.07.11
Car dealers, faced with thin margins, intense competition and slowing sales, are diversifying into allied businesses. Dealers of various car makers in Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai say they have started leasing cars to companies, running driving schools and radio taxi services and selling insurance policies as alternative sources of income. These businesses, they say, also help boost their core activities of selling cars and spare parts and servicing. Passenger car sales in Asia’s third largest market, which expanded 30% in fiscal 2010-11, saw an almost flat growth of 1.6% in June because of rising interest rates and fuel costs. Lobby group Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (Siam) pared its sales growth outlook for the current fiscal to 10-12% from 16-18%. For dealers, the gross margin is typically 3-5% on the sale of a new car, 20-30% on spare parts and more than 50% on services. Margins are expected to shrink in coming years. Car makers will
Source: Livemint
Car Dealerships??
Jan 17, 2007 by ILoveMySailor | Posted in Buying & Selling
Are there any car dealerships out there that will buy a car from you without you buying a car from them? My husband is VERY interested in getting rid of his '98 Pontiac Grand Prix but cant find anyone to buy it. THANKS!!!
I dont want a website to advertise the car on, i've heard that there are dealerships that will buy your car without you buying one from them....sorry, should have been more specific.
Contact your local Pontiac dealership and ask to speak to the used car manager. If the dealership is interested they will ask you to bring it down for them to look at it. Just make sure they understand that you do not wish to replace it so you don't get to the dealership and they try to sell you a new one. Also there are a lot companies that specialize in buying used cars. I'm in the NYC area and we have a co. called Car Cash. I'm sure there is a similar outfit near you.
Tony J | Jan 17, 2007
www.carmax.com
Mike Hunt | Jan 17, 2007
CarMax advertises that they will. Have him check kbb.com and nada.com for the wholesale value of his car before he accepts any deals, though. Don't want to sell it for less than it's worth.
J.R. | Jan 17, 2007
ebay or park it in the front yard you will get a better price that way
mustang_silverado | Jan 17, 2007
most car dealerships that have a used car lot would probably do that.
thunder2sys | Jan 17, 2007
There are several smaller dealerships near me that will just buy cars right out without you purchasing a car. Just get in the phone book and start calling I guess.
Most larger dealerships won't buy them, but dealerships that sell used cars exclusivly probably will. They always need more inventory.
Ron Porkmore | Jan 17, 2007
If you want to sell it cheap enought they will, but you will not get a fair price. But yes they will, go to a smaller dealer first
Mr. Wonderful | Jan 17, 2007
It depends upon the condition and miles of the vehicle.
New car dealerships typically will not sell anything over 100,000 miles on it.
Small independent used car dealerships might be more apt to purchase the car, but realize that you will get less than from selling it to a friend or private party.
Robert S | Jan 17, 2007
Car dealerships...?
May 05, 2008 by Morsmorde | Posted in Buying & Selling
what possible questions could i interview a car dealership, with regards to disposing an asset, i.e the car or deprection
I am not sure that I understand your question but I think that you are asking me what you should consider about the value of a car after you have bought one? As soon as you buy a new car it will lose value as you drive it off of the lot. I would not ask the dealer this question as he is going to shade it to sound like you have a hell of a fine car and that it will be worth a lot of money for many years to come. Go on line (Kelley Blue book) and look at the value of a similar car that is three or four years old this is not always 100% correct but it is 95% of the time. Usually they will give you three different figures one is Excellent Condition, the next will be in Good Conditiond and the last is Fair Condition. doing a little research before going to the dealer is in your best interest. You can find out what the car's suggested MSP is. The dealers will know that you have done your home work and will treat you a little bit better as they will have no idea as to how much you know or don't know.
ffperki | May 06, 2008
are car dealerships responsible to inform buyers about a used vehicles history before selling?
May 06, 2007 by sokraits1959 | Posted in Buying & Selling
i recently bought a 2004 grand-am at a new/used car dealership. the steering seemed to have too much play in it. my son went onto a web site and found the used car i purchased was in an accident two years ago. is it the dealerships responsibility to inform potential buyers of used cars about any accident history of the vehicle?
A car salesman could cheat his mother and not bother him. If a salesman new there was a good chance of you getting killed in the car you just bought but telling you would cost him a sale. He still would let you drive off the lot.
Mister Bald | May 06, 2007
No. How would they know? Only thing they have to show is the actual mileage on the vehicle, even then its based on the previous owners signed statement.
Crawfish | May 06, 2007
yes and no for that reason you must ask for a vehicle history report or they will never info you of anything. but they are supposed to tell you if the vehicle is a salvage title or not
jesse j | May 06, 2007
There are no requirements of the dealerships to tell you about the history of a car. If they know of a salvage they are required to tell you. If they tell you a false history (driven my a little old lady on Sundays only) they are wrong. Used cars are sold "as is" - you should always get a vehicle history report and an inspection.
Informatica | May 06, 2007
dealerships are not supposed to tell you but with the vin number you should spend the cash and get a vehicle report for it i think its from carfax those are very helpful when buying a car. it tells you from the day it was bought if, when, and where it crashed.
paintfury | May 06, 2007
Not only are the dealers not required to tell you if it's in an accident, they often don't know themselves until the client asks for a carfax. Some dealers are so busy, they don't run faxes on everything, nor does everything show up.
So who do we place blame on? Guess what? It's the same people who bitch about getting screwed by dealers, many of these people get into accidents and have no problem trading the car in and not disclosing that it was hit (they don't have to), and then passing it on to someone else.
So as you read these answers, remember, most of us have had an accident in our life, and the car went somewhere. It's not the dealers fault, it's the publics fault.
jay | May 06, 2007
What will happen next to car dealerships when the Cash for Clunkers program end this Monday?
Aug 24, 2009 by Jason | Posted in Buying & Selling
Dealerships have been selling a lot of cars for the past month. Many people with old car in their driveway came in and trade for car with more fuel friendly. Car dealerships across the nation selling more cars than 2 months ago. GM, Chrysler and other manufactures say they will make more cars and more jobs to meet the demand for CARS program. My questions are What will happen next to car dealerships and manufactures when the Cash for Clunkers end? Will consumers buy cars and dealers sell more and manufactures make more cars?
After the program ends, many dealers will find that sales slow down to almost nothing. Any rebate or incentive program causes people to buy vehicles earlier than they normally would. Many of the people who may have purchased a car in October or November will have already purchased with the clunker program, so sales will be slow.
Those who do not have to buy a car now, and who have a clunker type car will hold off purchase, in the hope that the program is revived.
The dealers will also have a problem, because the clunker program has taken away another source of profit. When a dealer takes a car in trade, they appraise the car and put what is called Cash Value (CV) on it. It does not matter what the paperwork that the buyer sees lists for a trade, they have the CV as what they have actually given for the car.
The used car department then decides what to do with the car. They may sell it to a wholesale dealer, they may take it to the auction themselves, or they may decide to put the vehicle on the used car lot and sell it retail. The goal of the used car manager is to make a profit on every car. For example, if someone brings in a car that has major mechanical problems, I may put a CV on it of $100. The deal may show an allowance of $700 for the car, but $600 of that is discount off the price of the car that they are purchasing.
I want to sell that car for a profit, and most likely will get $125-$175 for it, either from a wholesale dealer, or a junk buyer. $25-$75 profit is not much, and on nicer cars the dealer will make more. If you figure that the dealer does 100 clunker deals (which the dealer is only given a $50 allowance and has to pay for the destruction of the motor, meaning that they do not make much) that would have averaged a $150 profit per used car, that is a loss of potential profit to the dealer of $15,000.
Add to that the fact that many dealers have not yet been paid for the clunkers, and may actually be owed $400,000 or more, and you can see that the dealers are going to have a serious cash flow problem. More than one will end up having to file bankruptcy from this.
fire4511 | Aug 24, 2009
Are there any used car dealerships in or near Tallahassee?
Apr 10, 2008 by Double You | Posted in Buying & Selling
I need to know if there are any used car dealerships in or near Tallahassee because I am thinking of buying a car. I am also looking for quality car dealerships not those that have cars that seem to be pulled right out of the local dumpster.
Nope.
No one in tallahassee every has to buy or sell a car. When they do, they go to Idaho, where herds of car lots roam free on the open plains as nature intended.
xx_satanic_mechanic_xx | Apr 10, 2008
Car dealerships - News
Used Car Prices On The Rise
KOLO - Sep 15, 2010
The Cash for Clunkers program - which was supposed to help boost new auto sales - is actually crushing sales at used car dealerships nationwide. and more »
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Employment picture especially dim for new-car dealerships
Automotive News (blog) - Sep 13, 2010
I was just looking at some numbers from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the forecast for employment at new-car dealerships is worse than for other Dealers Used Cars buying and selling - Carsall 3 news articles »
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Private Colleges Adopt Car Lot Strategy
U.S. News & World Report - Sep 15, 2010
Schools that make it a practice to discount for all but a tiny percentage of their student body are in danger of being viewed like "car dealerships, and more »
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Used Car Demand Skyrockets, Prices Climb
WRTV Indianapolis - Sep 14, 2010
INDIANAPOLIS -- Used-car shoppers are finding much less selection and higher prices while perusing dealerships in search of a ride. and more »
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Laurie Foster Joins Cars.com as New Dealer Training Manager
PR Newswire (press release) - Sep 14, 2010
Cars.com is the leading destination for online car shoppers, offering credible, easy-to-understand information from consumers and experts to help buyers and more »
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