Though the nation”s economy may not be “out of the woods just yet,” several Columbus automobile dealers are beginning to see a jump start in their car sales.
“A lot of people have been coming here since General Motors mailed out notices to the dealerships it was pulling its support from last month,” said Clyde Rhea, general manager of Carl Hogan Automotive on Highway 45 North, whose dealership was not affected by last month”s GM dealership closings.
“Since then, people have been coming in here expecting things to be bad. But in reality, things are great for us right now,” Rhea added. “If you watch TV, all the news programs are talking about how bad everything is right now. That”s really just not accurate.”
Steady increases
Across the Friendly City, many dealerships are reporting sales figures higher than this time last year. Although some car lots admitted business is down from last year, they agreed sales steadily are increasing.
“Things have really picked up a bit from the fall and winter seasons,” said Russell Street, general manager of Columbus Nissan on Highway 12 East. “It”s still not quite what it was a year ago today, but things are definitely getting better for us.”
Last month, Columbus Nissan saw about 75 percent of the sales figures it recorded in May 2008, Street explained.
“Where we saw about 120 total sales last May, we saw about 80 sales this year. We are operating at about 75 percent of a record month, so that”s a good thing,” Street said. “Consumer confidence is coming back a little, and that means people are more willing to make those big purchase decisions again.”
Across town, increased business is spelling out a “bright future outlook” for Carl Hogan Automotive, Rhea said.
“We had a very good May this year. I think we sold about 110 cars, which is definitely very good for this area,” Rhea explained. “There is a report that gets put out that outlines different dealers” sales figures, and we are No. 1 in new and used car sales in Columbus and pretty much everywhere within 50 miles of here.”
Carl Hogan Automotive also recently was recognized as one of the top GM dealerships in the nation. Each year, GM rates all dealerships on several criteria, including customer satisfaction and how well the dealerships maintain their lot inventories.
“Any dealership that gets a score of 100 is basically hitting on all cylinders. This year, we got a 119.6, and we are pretty proud of that,” Rhea added. “A lot of people are discovering that right now is the best time to buy a car. There are some very strong deals out there right now.”
Day to day
Although business during the past few months has been “off” for employees at Premier Ford, Lincoln and Mercury on Highway 45 North, the dealership is seeing stronger sales when compared with last year, according to Premier Ford General Manager Chris Keene.
“It”s day-to-day business right now. That”s the best way I know how to summarize it,” Keene said, adding the dealership is selling about 85 cars per month. “The good news is that we had a better May this year than we did last year. We”re holding our own in this economy.”
During the past month, GM and Chrysler filed bankruptcy in federal court. Shortly after declaring bankruptcy, Chrysler merged with French automaker Fiat before reporting financially solvency again. GM currently is attempting to emerge from bankruptcy.
Because Ford has neither accepted any federal government bailout money nor filed bankruptcy, Keene said customer confidence in the automaker has been strong.
“The Ford executives have expressed confidence about the company”s economic future,” said Keene. “And they haven”t taken any bailout money from the government. I think that has helped the public perception toward Ford, which in turn helps our sales.
“Business is definitely tough for the entire industry right now,” Keene added. “But I know we can weather the storm and still provide great service for our customers.”
”Run it right”
Although the Columbus Motor Co. on Highway 182 near Propst Park last month was impacted by Chrysler”s dealership closings, the longtime local auto dealer lately has seen a business “explosion,” according to dealership owner Tom Younger.
“Chrysler really came down on some of their dealers last month,” said Younger. “But when they announced they were pulling support from my dealership, business just exploded.”
Even though Columbus Motor Co. is working to sell off its remaining Chrysler inventory, most of the dealership”s business has come from late-model used car sales, Younger said.
The dealership is not closing as a result of losing Chrysler”s support, Younger said. Although all new Chrysler vehicles have been moved from the lot, the motor company will remain open as a late-model used car lot.
“We”ve been selling about four or five cars per day since Chrysler made that announcement,” Younger said with a laugh. “I don”t know, maybe that was one of the best things for us.
“I”ve had people calling from all over the place, even as far away as Virginia, saying ”if I can”t buy new from you, I”ll buy used,”” Younger added. “We just want to run it small and run it right. I know that may not work for some of the bigger dealerships, but it sure works for us.”
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